Hey again everyone. i really would like to learn to grade coins but am having some trouble figuring out a good approach. I am planning on buying the PCGS book and the ANA book btu i hear alot of people saying you need alot of experience. the problem with this is there arnt any coin dealers near me that i could visit regularly. any advice?
Experience doesn't have to happen in person only. There are great posts here about grading, and very descriptive accounts on why people think coins graded the way they did on some threads. Pay attention to several threads in the Whats It Worth Section or Coin Chat section, those are typically where threads are about grading or value due to grade. You will learn quite a bit. If it was something specific, like Morgan Dollars, there is already a comprehensive guide here on CT, that I wrote a few days ago. Here are some other links that may be of use to you: (Variety of different gradings of coins) http://www.uscents.com/coppergrade/grades24.htm http://www.uscents.com/coppergrade/gradeshdblc.html http://www.uscents.com/coppergrade/gradesmatron.html http://www.uscents.com/coppergrade/gradesmature.html http://wnccoins.com/0014.htm And here is the thread I was speaking of earlier: http://www.cointalk.com/t115123/ These are just links that I have bookmarked, try looking on CoinTalk's Numismatic Resources part of the forum, to see more links for grading and other coin information.
buy the books, read them, look at as many certified coins as you can. It will be a long process. There are numerous threads and contests on here where people guess the grade from pictures. Once you have an idea of what to look for make a judgement and see how your opinion compares to others. Heritage auctions has great pictures, teletrade has decent pictures(all of certified coins.) Just remember grading by picture will only get you so far you will need to look at coins in hand and it will probably take quite a bit of time. don't get frustrated don't lose your patience. hope this helps.
I too am learning how to grade, I do have some coin dealers near me, so what I do is just look at typical pocket change. Then I examine with a 10x loop, get a piece of paper and cover up one side of the coin and write down or tally how many scratches,dents, hairlines or marks on each side obverse and reverse and the rim. When your count gets to high, you will learn how much wear is on your coin. It takes awhile but its a long process to learn IMO. Then I set a grade I think is appropriate double check it with a couple of grading books I have or take the coins I graded to the coin dealer that is patient and teaches me and see what he thinks. For you, you just might to try and take pictures and post them here under a thread like "learning to grade example 1,2,3etc
Stop using magnification, especially 10x. Nothing stronger than 5x is ever used for grading, and then only for ultra high grades. 95% of all grading is done with the naked eye.
