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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 2618906, member: 83956&quot;]Since I&#039;ve collected only ancients, I&#039;m unfamiliar with this particular grading methodology, which seems better suited to modern coins. So MS means &quot;mint state&quot;? From the HA site I read this definition: &quot;<b>Uncirculated (MS-60, 61, 62):</b> An uncirculated coin with noticeable deficiencies, generally either an overabundance of bagmarks, a poor strike, or poor luster. Although most price guides will give a price for coins in MS-60 condition, in many cases this is a very unusual grade, with typical uncirculated pieces often grading somewhere in the MS-62 to MS-64 range depending on the series.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Sometimes I see ancients described as &quot;as struck,&quot; so I wonder if &quot;MS&quot; correlates to this more common description &quot;as struck.&quot; But such language as &quot;uncirculated&quot; seems anachronistic for ancient coins. There were ancient hoarders, but not for aesthetic purposes.</p><p><br /></p><p>More grievous to me is the photography of this VCoins dealer. I recognized the coin right away from its bright center and dark edges.&nbsp; If you look at the bronzes at this site, all of them are shot this way. On the one hand, that does establish an aesthetic identity for this dealer, which can be a positive--like a trademark. But a coin shot like this, seen in isolation, might appear to the unaware buyer as an attractively toned coin, not one attractively lit. I wonder if such a lighting technique crosses another &quot;line&quot; in the representation of the coin itself. Surely all the bronzes on this site don&#039;t actually look this way in-hand.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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