Seamus8

I have finished reading two books on grading, i.e., "The Art and Science of Grading Coins" by Jason Poe and "The Official ANA Grading Standards for American Coins". I feel I have a very rudimentary understanding of the importance of surface quality, luster, strike, wear, contact marks, eye appeal, and toning. However, I could not find much information in either book about the effect stains have on a coin's grading, other than it will negatively affect their grades.

As an example, I have attached several photos of a 2012-D Roosevelt dime with several stains on the reservse. My question is how much (or how many grades) will this staining affect the coin's  grade?

The reason I ask is that I recently came across many coins who meet all the criteria of mint state coins, i.e., no wear, rub, or marks on the devices and fields, smooth original looking surfaces, good strike, good luster (cartwheel spokes), few, if any, contact marks, and great eye appeal and toning. I am not sure if these are circulated or uncirculated, but I now know that some of them meet the criteria of mint state.

Sandon (and others) thank you for your answer. I now know without a doubt that a coin that has been in circulation can receive a mint state designation. I promise to never ask this question or a similar question again. I got the definitive answer that I was looking for. 

I am confused again. I have read that only uncirculated coins can receive a mint state grade designation. However, I have seen on various YouTube videos that coins in circulation that you can receive from banks or stores as pocket change can also receive a mint state grade designation of MS 60 - 70, although this is rare.

I will ask this for the last time: Can coins in circulation receive a mint state grade designation of MS 60 - 70? or is AU 58 the highest designation coins in circulation can ever receive?

I bookmarked Error-Ref and ordered "Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection".

Thanks for the tips and recommendations. 

As I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and understand metallurgy, the book The Art & Science of Grading Coins will be a welcome addition to my nascent coin collection library.

I just ordered the 2023 paperback edition.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Greetings All, I have been reading the following three books to become familiar with U.S. coin grading and error coin, "The Official ANA Grading Standards", "Strike It Rich with Pocket Change", and "The Official Red Book, A Guide Book of U.S. Coins 2023."

Obviously, all three books have tremendously helped to educate me. However, I am still having problems recognizing (even with a 10X loupe and under a microscope) what: "Double Die Obverse" looks like. I've seen some more pronounced obvious examples on the PCGS and NGS websites. But I have a question about the two Lincoln pennies below.

Does there appear to be doubling in the letters in "LIBERTY"? Or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

Thanks for the ASE storage tips and websites to purchase.

Hijack away. I am leaning as I read.

Is there a preferred or correct method for storing silver eagles in the original US mint holders? Temperature, humidity, etc. requirements?

Will ASE's stored in slab holders "tarnish" or begin "orange edge toning"?

Also, what is the correct or preferred method of storing slabbed ASE's?

I recently saw an American Silver Eagle PCGS MS70 in a slab holder that had "orange edge toning".

Can some please explain what the "orange edge toning" means? Does it devalue the coin?

I have been researching proof coins and proof sets on the internet, but I thought I would ask the experts here the following (dumb) questions:

When you buy a proof set for the U.S. Mint, are all the coins in the set MS70 designation?

Or would the set contain a mixture of coins with MS61 to MS70 designations?

I recently bought and received from the U.S. Mint a set of 2020 P and D rolls of Marsh-Billings-Rockerfeller National Historical Park (VT) quarters.

My two questions are:

1. Are these quarters considered uncirculated?

2. Can they receive a Mint State 61 through 70 designation depending on the condition of the coin?

Not to belabor the point on grading, but (there is almost always a but) I found this 1993-D Quarter on PCGS. It is graded by PCGS as MS 50.

I am confused (again). I thought that only grades 60 through 70 were designated as MS and 50 through 58 were designated as AU.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Thanks for all the replies. I have a lot of reading and learning to do. If you look at the screenshot below of a 1972-D Kennedy Half Dollar, you will see that PCGS gave it a MS64 designation.

The coin was obviously in circulation as evidenced by the "wear" of the eagle and marks on the eagle's shield. Not to be a wiseass, but I thought I read in the above replies that only uncirculated coins can receive a mint state 60 to 70 designation. 

Can someone explain what I am missing or misinterpreting here?

Thanks. That answers that question. As I am new to this hobby, I thought that was the case, but I figured I had better ask now rather than later.

Thank you. The chart you sent definitely helps a lot. But now I have two other questions that maybe you can answer.

After reviewing the chart you sent, can a coin found in circulation be graded as a mint state 60-70, depending on its wear?

I have a few coins that I have in my pocket change stash that look to me to be about a mint state 64 or 65. Can they be graded as mint state?

I have another newbie (somewhat dumb) question. I have been researching how to grade coins and am confused (again). This time it is about the numbering system used. 

I know MS stands for mint state and AU stands for about uncirculated. I have seen coins referred to as MS 50, 53, 55, 58.

My question: are they the same as AU 50, 53, 55, 58?

Sandon,

Thank you so much for your article on coin grading. Needless to say, it was extremely helpful. I ordered the Red Book "Guide to U.S. Coins" today. I joined PCGS and have been exploring their website.

I have a lot of reading to do and a lot to learn, that's for sure.

Thanks again,

Seamus

I do not have a grading guide. Can you suggest where I can find a good grading guide on-line?

I am not going to save the coin I used in my example. I just grabbed the first quarter I saw that was covered in gunk.

Just curious if you were to grade it, what number would you give it?

I have been seeing a lot of quarters with a green to black gunky tar like substance on them. I now know that you are not supposed to clean coins. So, my question is there an approved safe method to remove the gunky substance without sacrificing the value of the coin? I am enclosing one example.

On 12/16/2022 at 10:40 AM, Sandon said:

   The term "cleaning" is confusing because the removal of surface dirt or other foreign matter from a coin without abrasively or chemically altering the surface of the coin--cleaning in a literal sense-- isn't considered improper "cleaning" but is instead referred to as "conservation". However, both of the examples you have given would be considered improper "cleaning" and would devalue the coin. Wiping a coin, even with something soft, leaves fine scratches on the coin known as "hairlines" that are undesirable. It constitutes abrasive "cleaning" if the hairlines are sufficiently extensive or noticeable. (If a coin is wet, pat--don't rub--it dry.)  Metal polish chemically alters the surface of the coin, leaving a very unnatural appearance, and the application of the polish is abrasive as well.  Collectors want original surfaces, not surfaces that are damaged or chemically contrived. 

   For a fuller explanation and a number of examples of "cleaned" coins see my custom registry set "Characteristics of Cleaned Coins" at Characteristics of "Cleaned" Coins - Custom Set (collectors-society.com) (right click link for menu to open).

The "Characteristics of Cleaned Coins" was extremely informative. Thank you.

On 12/16/2022 at 10:40 AM, Sandon said:

   The term "cleaning" is confusing because the removal of surface dirt or other foreign matter from a coin without abrasively or chemically altering the surface of the coin--cleaning in a literal sense-- isn't considered improper "cleaning" but is instead referred to as "conservation". However, both of the examples you have given would be considered improper "cleaning" and would devalue the coin. Wiping a coin, even with something soft, leaves fine scratches on the coin known as "hairlines" that are undesirable. It constitutes abrasive "cleaning" if the hairlines are sufficiently extensive or noticeable. (If a coin is wet, pat--don't rub--it dry.)  Metal polish chemically alters the surface of the coin, leaving a very unnatural appearance, and the application of the polish is abrasive as well.  Collectors want original surfaces, not surfaces that are damaged or chemically contrived. 

   For a fuller explanation and a number of examples of "cleaned" coins see my custom registry set "Characteristics of Cleaned Coins" at Characteristics of "Cleaned" Coins - Custom Set (collectors-society.com) (right click link for menu to open).

I am confused as to what constitutes cleaning a coin. I read that cleaning a coin lowers its value. Why is that?

But what is really confusing to me is what is meant by cleaning. For example, is wiping a coin with a paper towel or a soft cloth without any cleaning solution considered cleaning?

For silver coins, is cleaning with silver polish bad?

Can someone please explain how much or little cleaning is acceptable, if there is such a thing?