I bought a 1902 Settlements Straits 10 cent piece today at a flea market. The vendor had given her opinion that it graded at AU. I know that grading is VERY subjective, but I am wondering if anyone can point me toward a reference for grading more obscure coins. I have the ANA photo grading resource for US coins, but I bought this one on a $3 gamble. I saw from the NGC website that the coin retails for around $20 in VF condition and for $150 in XF-40 condition. There is no price for a 1902 in AU-50, but there is for one in MS60. Without sending it to a grading service, I have no idea what the standards are for grading British and imperial coins. I would appreciate any advice!
Grading British coins is no different than grading any coin really. The methods are the same, but the primary difference between the US and the rest of the world is that the US uses a numerical system - eg: XF40, XF45 - and the rest of the world uses an adjectival system - eg: XF, Good XF. Some claim the Europeans are more strict when it comes to grading than the US TPGs are. And in some cases that is true. The Europeans tend follow standards more like ANA grading standards, eg: wear is wear no matter what caused it. Whereas the TPGs differentiate the cause of wear and will grade a coin as MS even though it has light wear. The Europeans will typically not. That said the Europeans are often much more lenient in regard to what makes a coin a problem coin than it is in the US. Many in Europe will grade coins as FDC/Unc that would be designated as problem coins here in the US. Their attitude, they way they look at things is just different than it is here in the US. That said, you may find this useful - http://www.predecimal.com/coin_grading.php
Gotcha-I will review the link you shared and will go from there. It seems like I need to be very careful with this coin. It may be worth a couple of dollars or perhaps more. Can you think of a reason why the NGC didn't list a value for a coin in AU condition for 1902? Just curious. If it will help, I will try to post a picture later. Thanks very much for your help!
Since I've not seen your coin I have idea what the grade actually might be, and it seems you are uncertain of it yourself. But here are links to two coins in XF/AU range sold at auction withing the last year or so. One for $79, one for $91. You can compare your coin to these and maybe get an idea. http://coins.ha.com/itm/straits-set...ts-edward-vii-10-cents-1902-/a/610021-61160.s http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1579105 Also, if you collect world coinage and want to check on values you will get a much more realistic idea of value by checking realized auction prices than you will ever get from any price guide. Price guides are notoriously inaccurate - all of them. Those 2 links above, one to Heritage and one to ACSearch, are about the best I've ever found for researching realized auction prices. And you can register at each and sign up to use both for free. There is one more that I use - http://www.coinarchives.com/
Thanks for your help! I can't get my camera to cooperate right now, but mine seems to be just above the XF/AU coin you showed. Since mine came from a flea market, it hasn't been graded. I should probably get it slabbed then, and see about an auction listing?
Anyone trying to grade their own coin by comparing it to pictures of a couple others, especially for somebody who does not know how to grade coins, is often an exercise in futility. There are several reasons for this, but one that is notable is that unbeknownst to their owners many coins are problem coins. And problem coins cannot be graded, they are ungradeable. And quite frankly, coins found at flea markets, pawn shops and the like are notorious for being problem coins and or even fakes. It is also very easy for those who do not know how to grade, when looking at pictures of other coins and comparing theirs to them, to overestimate the condition of their own coin. What I am trying to tell you is that it would be best for you to have somebody who knows coins look at your coin in person and give you their opinion before you ever attempt sending it in for grading. Otherwise you are liable to spend anywhere from $50-$80 for nothing.
