Still learning about the hobby. Was at the coin show today and a couple of dealers were discussing a group of raw coins one them just bought. One of them referred to a couple of coins as “sliders”. I asked him what that term meant, but his answer was rather vague. So is a “slider” a good coin or poor coin? Thank you in advance.
A slider is one that depending on who is grading it can slide up or down from one grade to another. AU to XF or UNC to AU. Usually the seller grades it higher than the buyer.
"PQ" is a part of our lingo is also something you should be wary of. It stands for "Premium Quality" and is usually assigned to B.U. coins which also tend to fall under the "slider" terminology. At best, most will likely be AU 58's but can't quite make the MS60 line. This especially applies to silver coins. Even the term MS60 with silver dollars is rarely seen anymore.
I've generally understood the term to mean a mid to high AU coin that an unscrupulous dealer will sell as uncirculated.
The term "slider" was originally applied to an uncirculated coin that was stored in a coin tray but because of motion of the tray the coin became lightly worn on the high points. So the uncirculated coin became what is now an AU-58. Here's an example: Notice the coins can slide around if the tray is moved. The term "slider" has become synonymous with the grade AU-58 even though coin trays are rarely used anymore. From another site: "One of the worst abuses foisted upon the unknowlegeable collector is the practice of selling "Sliders" as Uncirculated coins. A "Slider" is an coin that technically grades AU-58, in other words it shows just the barest hint of wear on the high points, but retains almost all of the original luster."
A great dealer I used about 30 years ago described a "slider" as a coin in strong XF that an unscrupulous person or dealer would try to pass off as an AU. Look at the wear on the coin not it's bright color.
