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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Insider, post: 2397605, member: 24314&quot;]John, you are the closest.&nbsp; As you know, in the 1970&#039;s the grades MS-62, 63, 64 did not exist.&nbsp; A former staff member at ANACS in the early 1970&#039;s writes that coins were photographed, weighed, and graded for internal identification.&nbsp; They developed a very strict grading system (Technical or archival) based on the Sheldon scale.&nbsp; The only grades used for Uncirculated coins were: Uncirculated and Choice Uncirculated. Sheldon had an MS-70 but these coins were rarely encountered - most were Proofs.&nbsp; The market did not recognize MS-70.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #b30000">Uncirculated</span> was used for all coins with NO TRACE OF WEAR.&nbsp; Once a coin had a trace it became AU.&nbsp; Today&#039;s grade equivalent: 60,61, 62, 63, and 64.</p><p><span style="color: #b30000">Choice Uncirculated</span> was used (exclusive of strike) on coins that today would grade 65 and higher. Choice coins had virtually no detracting marks, today they are called &quot;Gem.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>After ANACS moved to CO, the former ANACS director (Charles Hoskins) and a group of coin dealers founded the International Numismatic Society which had an authentication bureau (INSAB) in competition with ANA made up of former staff authenticators.&nbsp; INSAB became the first grading service in the US predating ANACS by several months.&nbsp; INS used the same grading standards that were formerly used (technical).&nbsp; Other services such as NCI came along.&nbsp; As you know,both ANACS and INSAB were using grading standards that were not compatible with the market and PCGS came along to fill the need. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>IMO, ANA really created problems in their grading system (NOT TECHNICAL as they claimed) by combining the degree of wear on a coin with the number of marks!&nbsp; Sight unseen a person did not know if an AU-50 (typical) was a beat up coin with virtually no wear or a coin w/very few marks but worn down close to XF. </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m thankful the TPGS are doing a much better job of things and most can agree what an MS-63 (for example) looks like&gt;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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