Hello can someone explain MDS, LDS and EDS identifiers that would help a beginner to decipher which state a coin is. I know some things just come with experience, but I thought I would ask. Thanks
It's not always as easy as you might think, but I'm trying to use an explanation that isn't so confusing. (Maybe someone can do better.) Sometimes an early die state (EDS) may only be that the coin is well struck with no tell-tale signs of die deterioration and no others have been found. Other times, a mid-die state (MDS) can be identified because the EDS coin has a small crack but the same crack on the MDS coin has expanded. Lastly, a late die state (LDS) coin may have signs of die polishing that weren't present on the same EDS or MDS coin. So many of the coins listed as varieties are in either excellent condition or some grade lower, but very rarely are they found in a wide range of die states. I once had a set of GA SQ's that had 5 distinctly separate stages of a die crack on the obverse. How would you classify these? EDS, Mid-EDS, MDS, Mid-LDS and LDS? Figure that one out! I hope this helps. Chris
Part of the problem is, like many other things numismatic the correct answer to your question is very much issue-specific.
By the way, it just dawned on me that all of the GA SQ's were uncirculated specimens that came from a $25 Mint bag. So, instead of being the die states I mentioned above, that should make them Extremely EDS, Very EDS, More EDS than not, and EDS. Right? Chris
Wrong, die state has nothing to do with the amount of wear the coin has, it relates to the amount of wear the DIE has.
