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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Beefer518, post: 2897852, member: 87737&quot;][USER=44615]@paddyman98[/USER] , you may want to re-read that.</p><p><br /></p><p>What paddy meant to say is from a technical standpoint, once a coin has left, or been distributed by, the Mint for use by the general public, it is considered &#039;circulated&#039;.</p><p><br /></p><p>As [USER=59677]@Burton Strauss III[/USER] said, numismatically, you&#039;re asking is how to tell a coin considered to be in Mint State (MS). Mint State grades run from MS-60 to MS-70. Below those grades you get into the Almost (or About) Uncirculated grades, AU-59 (never used) down through I think AU-50.</p><p><br /></p><p>An AU graded coin won&#039;t have the luster a Mint State coin will have. Now, what&#039;s luster? It&#039;s not a shiny coin. Shiny is caused by wear or cleaning. Luster is caused by the microscopic flow lines of the metal when struck by the dies. A shiny (circulated) coin will shine almost across the entire coin, all at once, and it will be a flat shine, sort of like a new car. A Mint State coin shines in almost a fan shaped line from one side of the coin to the other, and will appear to have a texture.</p><p><br /></p><p>Wear is what causes the luster to go away. Those microscopic lines get worn down, causing the light to reflect differently. The amount of wear, and the amount of remaining luster, are parts (not all) of what makes up the grade of the coin. The more luster, the less wear, the higher the grade, and vise verse.</p><p><br /></p><p>[USER=90324]@LuxUnit[/USER] &#039;s link is a better .gif of luster, but here are some images showing the difference between luster and shine (MS vs AU or lower). Posting these so they stay in the thread for future generations.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ex. 1 - Cartwheel. The luster rotates around the coin. Notice how the light reflects differently, even on Lincoln&#039;s profile, and in his hair. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]697415[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Ex. 2 - The coin shines on the high spots, with little or no luster, and the shine is flat and appears from all lighting angles. Look at her arm and cap. It is shiny along the entire length, and it has a flat/smooth look to it. Within the words &quot;Panama&quot; and &quot;Exposition&quot;, you can still see original mint luster. These areas were protected, and the luster has remained. Even though there is &#039;some&#039; luster, there is too much wear, and not nearly enough luster to put this coin anywhere near a grade in the MS range.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]697417[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Hope that also helps, even though the question was pretty much answered by the others.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you go to a coin shop, ask to see any coin (larger coins show luster better) in MS grade. You&#039;ll immediately see the luster, and you&#039;ll (almost) never question whether a coin in hand is mint state or not again. You could also go to a bank, and ask for a roll of small dollars (Presidential or Sacajawea), and you&#039;ll probably find an MS example or two in the roll (they don&#039;t circulate a lot). You&#039;ll probably get a good variety of grades in the roll as well.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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