Grading rules
- A range of grades are used to describe the condition of coins. Valuation of a coin is impossible without a sound knowledge of the grading of coins. For this there is no real substitute for experience. However, the following is a guide to the main grading scheme used for coins:
(P) Poor: Inscriptions worn off, date illegible, only outline of design visible.
(G) Good: (sometimes Mediocre) Inscriptions and date considerably worn but legible.
(VG) Very Good: about 25% of the original detail visible. Considerable wear over the whole coin, and high spots worn through. Coins in this or the previous grades are really only collectable if extremely rare.
(F) Fine: about 50% of the original detail visible. Worn over whole area, but only the highest spots are worn completely through.Used enough coin, some details may be unclear or there is a corrosion.
(VF) Very Fine: about 75% of the original detail visible. Detail clear, but obvious evidence of limited circulation. High spots worn but detail remains. May have small defects like scratch or warn, but the quality is still above the average of the coins one can see in your pocket change. Traces of mint lustre may linger amongst the letters of the inscription.
(XF) Extremely Fine: about 90-95% of the original detail visible. Slight wear on high spots on close inspection, and all other detail clear and sharp. Hardly visible defects, nothing serious. Much mint lustre may remain.
(Unc) Uncirculated: 100% of the original detail visible. No wear, absolutely clear of any defects, shining, although it is possible for the design not to be fully struck up in the minting process. There may be bag abrasions. Older coins may be tarnished or toned.
(BU) Brilliant Uncirculated: Usually implies full mint lustre.
(Fleur de Coin) FDC: Perfect mint state, with no abrasions or marks, and full lustre.
Usually applied to proof coins only.
Proof: Not a condition, but the coin has been struck using specially prepared dies and blanks, and the minting process has been carried out usually twice with extra pressure to ensure the die is filled. Normally the fields are highly polished, with the design matte, however matte proofs where the whole coin is matte are known (especially the 1902 GB proofs), and sometimes even the design is polished. A characteristic of proof coins are the very sharp edges.
Many coins fall in between grades, and so terms such as 'nearly VF', 'good VF', 'gem BU' are encountered.
Grados de conservación (Spanish) |
Grades of preservation (English) |
Etats de conservation (French) |
Gradi di conservazione (Italian) |
Estados de conservaçao (Portuguese) |
|
Flor De Cuño - Prueba |
Brilliant unc. - Proof |
Flan bruni |
Fondo specchio |
|
|
Sin Circular |
Uncirculated |
Fleur de coin |
Fior di conio |
Soberba-FDC |
|
Extraordinaria Buena Condición |
Extremely fine |
Superbe |
Splendido |
Bela |
|
Muy Buena Condición |
Very fine |
Trés trés beau |
Bellisimo |
MBC |
|
Buena Condición (+) Plus |
Fine |
Trés beau |
Molto bello |
Buena Conservación |
|
Buena Condición |
Very good |
Beau |
Bello |
MREG |
|
Regular Conservación |
Good |
Trés bien conservée |
M |
REG |
|
Mala Conservación |
Poor |
Bien conservée |
|
MC |
Coinage metals and their abbreviations:
