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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;medoraman, post: 1222572, member: 26302&quot;]Great point about grading Doug, one which I was going to post to Winged. Coming from a US coin background, be very careful in grading ancients. Traditional grading in ancients is simply grading the level of detail on the coin, period. &quot;Soft strike&quot;, &quot;worn dies&quot; etc can be noted but do not allow for a higher grade. Many coins left the mint as a F or VF, its as simple as that. In US grading ALL coins started as BU, even if they are missing a ton of details. Here, if struck poorly its a F. Do not let dealers pull that, XF weak strike BS. If you do you will simply be overpaying since if I purchase it from you I pay for details on the coin, bottom line. Yes its intersting if a coin was struck weakly or worn dies or flan defect, etc., but it does not change the grade.</p><p><br /></p><p>Too many sellers trying to put this US grading spin on ancient coins nowadays since it allows them to overcharge new collectors or US collectors. Prices in grade books and the like in ancients are ALWAYS for full details for the grade, no excuses. Honestly, I think it makes a ton more sense and is a much easier way to grade than US standards. I think you will find a VF ancient typically a nicer coin than a VF US coin. </p><p><br /></p><p>Oh, and we have a few FDC, (french for flower of the mint), that is basically MS63+ but they are extremely rare. Other than that our highest grade is a gXF. If you see AU or BU you know its a US collector grading it. A XF ancient is an EXTREMELY nice coin, (think AU55). A gXF is maybe a MS 58-62 but without the &quot;weak strike&quot; excuses.</p><p><br /></p><p>Chris[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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