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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 1801442, member: 57463&quot;]<i>Grading Coins by Photographs</i> is a speciality book.&nbsp; The author, Q. David Bowers, is called &quot;the dean of U.S. Numismatics&quot; for a reason. We all see &quot;photographs&quot; (digital images) of coins far more often than we see coins, so that is why he wrote the book: to help people know what they are looking at.</p><p><br /></p><p>This book is not meant to be &quot;Photograde.&quot;&nbsp; The Photograde books (several editions) were intended to show exactly what coins look like in their grades.&nbsp; Whether that ever was achieved remains arguable, though we all have the book, of course.</p><p><br /></p><p>I agree that the ANA Standards are the universal best for most cases.&nbsp; However, beyond that, we know that certain series (the US 20-cent, and of course Early American Copper) have their own standards.&nbsp; EAC has an entire vocabulary of its own.</p><p><br /></p><p>I agree that probably the best way to learn is to see coins graded by experts.&nbsp; There is nothing wrong with going to a coin store to look at coins, both in 2x2 graded by the dealer and slabbed by other experts.&nbsp; The same thing applies at shows; and coin shows are an excellent opportunity to sit and learn from a room of knowledgeable people.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, at the Michigan State Numismatic Society, they brought in expert graders for for special grading classes.&nbsp; The classes ran before the convention. I forget what the price was.&nbsp; But is another way to learn: see if your state or local club can arrange something like that.&nbsp; In my little hometown club (Howell, Michigan) we had a dealer who was a nationally known collector of EAC and Bob Matthews would come in for a meeting and show us how to grade Large Cents and Half Cents.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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