time to change the grading scale ...

[Thane]

How many AU-58's do YOU own?

 

How many great coins do YOU own? Coins so great, they look BU, but have just that trace of wear? AU-58, right?

 

How many crappy coins do you own? Not a trace of wear, but all those NASTY bag marks and gouges and dings and scrapes? MS-60, right? (62 if you're lucky ...)

 

Why should those nasty MS-60 coins be "worth" more than those great AU-58 coins?

 

It's time to allow AU grades up to 64 and MS grades down to 50.

 

No uploaded image necessary ... we've all been there.

 

One last note: read all the journals! They're posting fast and furious, but there've been some good ones from the last couple days that've already disappeared from the CS homepage, due to posters like me :-)

 

See more journals by Thane

[okbustchaser]

In many if not most cases those MS-60 coins AREN'T worth more than nice AU-58 coins...the book just says so. This is why so many true AU coins are market-graded into MS holders--by ALL TPGs.

[jerseycat10]

I agree regarding overlapping AU and MS grades.

 

TPG market grading has proven that the MS basal state is flawed.

[James_OldeTowne]

In theory, indeed in fact, a TRUE AU-58 is worth more than MS-60, more than MS-61, and often more than MS-62 coins. However, my experience has been that many certified AU-58s are a bit overgraded, and maybe should only be AU-55. So the rule, unfortunately, doesn't hold true.

 

For my personal standard, if I pick up a coin and it looks UNC at normal viewing distance and magnification, then I start with MS-60. If at 5x it shows the slightest bit of friction, then it becomes AU-58 -- which for me is a coin that's essentially mint-state with friction just barely detectable. If there is no sign of friction, then I jump to MS-63 and go up or down from there.

 

Sadly, that means that all too many certifed MS-60/1/2 coins are AU-58s for me, yet still priced as "new" coins .