Hi all. As a newbie, I want to get an idea of grading coins. I've attached a pic of a £1 coin and in my view, having read the official UK Grading guidelines (see below), I would give it a rating of VF. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Grade: Very Fine (VF) This term is used to describe the grade of a coin that shows definite signs of circulation. While having lost the sharpness of EF specimens, the general detail will still be very clear. Slight wear will be seen on the raised surfaces of the design. Question is, do you agree? Your answers will be very useful to me - many thanks, SteveL [/FONT]
Just to move on from initial question. What does the 25 in VF25 mean? Is this a grade within a grade, like a perfect VF would be VF100. I have printed off the UK list of Gradings but there is no mention of the figures appearing after the letters. Also, could someone direct me the a URL to get the list of US grading terminology. Thirdly, surface scratching as seen under magnifying glass. I guess that a coin that has been in circulation for many years is going to have a lot. How does this affect grading. Many thanks, SteveL
Hope you guys don't mind me asking some basic questions on this subject. I did drop in to a High Street Dealers with the intent of maybe viewing some examples (plus maybe purchasing my first uc mint coin). When it was obvious to the guy behind the counter I was not going to spend big money, I got a cold reaction and directed to the book rack. Needless to say, I didn't hang around too long in the shop. Felt intimidated, but hey, they lost a potential future good customer. Another point, what is the proper terminology for a scratch. Read it somewhere, but lost the url to article and cannot remember the word used. All the best, SteveL
Hi Steve this might be of some help to you, and sorry to hear about your experience unfortunatly that happens all to often http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com/grading-coins.html
