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Grade Your Coins

By Jake Truman

To the novice, it might seem like one coin is as good as the next. However, that�s just not the case. To determine value of coins of the same type, grading is performed. Basically, grading is the process that determines the condition�and the value�of the coin being looked at. The grade of a coin can wildly affect its value. Years past, Dr. William Shelby devised the 0-70 scale system for grading coins.

Today, this code is combined with letters to create a great coin grading scale that anyone can follow. In the remainder of this article, I am going to share with you nine different grades for coins. We will start with the best possible grade and work our way down from there.

The best possible grade is MS, which means Mint State. Actually, the MS grade has a numerical range from 60 to 70. An MS coin is perfect in every way and uncirculated. You don�t find MS-70 coins, you buy them�if you can. The majority of MS grade coins you will see are MS-65. If you turn on your TV, there�s probably a coin selling show that will have MS grade coins.

Next up is AU. Almost uncirculated (AU) coins typically have very light traces of wear on them. One thing is for sure. The novice will have trouble determining if the coin is AU-50, AU-55, or some other grade. Here�s a tip. Find the highest point on the coin (the part that sticks out the most) and look for wear. That will be your guide.

Below the AU grade is the EF grade, which means extremely fine. The EF coins have slightly more wear. Keep in mind that grading is a precise process. EF grade coins are very striking.

Very Fine coins (VF) have even more wear than the EF grade coins, but they are still great to look at. VF grade coins have sharp features, and light wear. It�s one step above the change you have in your pocket.

Fine coins are basically pocket change. These coins still resemble their mold, but they have worn details. Perhaps you have seen a worn coin from the 1960�s. If the coin is really showing some wear, it can be downgraded to Very Good (VG). The rims of the coin will still pop, but the coin has miles on it.

Should the coin be fairly worn, but the mint marking is still visible; it�s Good (G). Below Good is AG (Almost Good). The AG grade coin has excessive wear, and features like the date might be partly missing. Fair (F) coins are in miserable shape. They might even have holes in them or be misshaped. Finally, there is the Basal State coin, which is basically a worthless coin.

About the Author: The author is a coin collecting enthusiast. He also likes stamp collecting. He also entered the world of soap making.

Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=72041&ca=Recreation

The 1836 Gobrecht Dollar Collection

Coin Collecting Magazines Keep You Up To Date
By Charles Roman

There are many coin collecting magazines on the market today. These provide up to date information to the avid coin collector. These magazines are great for both the experienced collector and the novice. They can provide great resources to coin collectors and give information on new finds in the coin collecting world. There are several such magazines that provide this type of information of which the most popular five will be discussed in this article. These are the leading magazines for coin collectors.

Coin Connoisseur is one such magazine. They specialize in the collection of gold and silver coins. They are the leaders in news relating to rare coins and precious metal coins. The coin collecting magazines that are available all offer different features and Coin Connoisseur is packed full of information that is up to date. They provide information on the internet�s best rare coins, coinstats, and many other suggestions to prevent getting scammed and to better enjoy your collection. This magazine also runs several competitions for gold and other precious material bullion coins. These have no fixed monetary value but the value is based on the precious material they are made off. They are great investments as they are easy to sell with less red tape than bars or ingots.

Of the coin collecting magazines there is another that is very popular. This is Coin World magazine. This has the best coverage of coin collecting information on a weekly basis. This magazine is especially popular in the US and has great coverage on all the newest issues concerning coin collecting. They analyze the trends of the field and give information to the new and the experienced about the how and the why of coin collection. There is also the additional feature to get great saving when subscribing to this magazine.

Another of the popular coin collecting magazines is Coin Value Magazine. This has a timely editorial and has up to date price guides on coins on the market. This magazine has focused mainly on the tracking of the changes in value of most US coins. This magazine allows with subscription the personal tracking of your coin portfolio online. This is also published by Coin World publishers.

There are two other major coin collecting magazines. One of these is Coins magazine. This magazine tracks the coin market trends and includes tips for those wishing to purchase coins. They also keep their subscribers up to date on the latest occurrences in the field with regular publication of columns that deal with aspects of coin collecting. The other is Coin Prices magazine. This is geared mainly towards the serious collector wishing to glean information on the prices of coins and paper money. They also provide guidance on the grading and the evaluation of coins as well as many other subject areas related to collecting coins.

Charles Roman publishes Coins and Coin Collecting Your guide to getting the very best from your coin collection, including finding out coin values.

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