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Message:: [QUOTE="GDJMSP, post: 9563, member: 112"]What CohibaCris suggests is a good idea - it is always easier to learn if you have someone showing you how to grade and why one coin is this grade and another coin that grade. But there are other ways as well. But no matter what method you use - you have to closely examine thousands and thousands of coins to be able to grade accurately. For those who wish to take the time and expend the effort you can teach yourself. It requires a few books and reading as much as you can. I prefer the ANA Grading Guide but I have read them all numerous times. There are also several resources available on the internet. And the ANA has home study courses as well as courses that are given in person by some the best numismatists in the country. While you can learn the basics in a fairly short time - the intricacies of grading take years to learn. It is best to try and learn a particular series at first and then branch out into other series of coins for they are all different. And as has been said coins of different mints and different years, even within the same series are graded differently. As an example you could have a 1914-P Buffalo nickel graded MS64 and a 1926-S Buffalo nickel that looks to be a much lower grade if compared to the 1914-P  - but actually grades MS66.[/QUOTE]