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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 1795707, member: 112&quot;]What happened when you did that, and what you are seeing on that web page, should tell you that a few things are possible. 1 maybe the people who estimated the grade of your coin were wrong, 2 - maybe the guy grading the coin on the web page is wrong, 3 - maybe they are both wrong.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Grading a coin, any coin, by looking at a picture is very difficult at best. Learning how to grade coins by looking at pictures is even more difficult than that. So realize what you are up against.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Sure pictures can be an aid in learning how to grade, but the best that a picture can do is give you a rough idea of what the coin really looks like. And because of that pictures can be very misleading. They can cause you to form incorrect ideas of what grade should be given to a given coin, and why.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Honestly, your best bet is to start with the ANA grading book, read it &amp; study it, learn what it says. And don&#039;t even bother looking at the pictures in the book. Instead pay the most attention to the forward, the first 40 or so pages of the book, and then the written descriptions &amp; criteria for each grade for each type of coin.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Once you have that mastered, then start looking at pictures of graded coins and grade them yourself based on what you have learned from the book. And if your grade is different than what was assigned to the coin try to figure why your grade is different. You do that for several years and it will go a long ways in teaching how to grade.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>But you also have to start looking at coins in hand after you have studied the book, and try to grade them, raw coins and graded coins. You&#039;ll soon see the difference between looking at the coins in hand and looking at pictures. And I can guarantee you you&#039;ll see things you never saw in the pictures.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Pictures are really only good for one thing, sharing your coins with others.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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