grading coins

[james gaydos]

hi , just wondering why when they grade a coin and it comes back au details why they dont put like inproperly cleaned au 50 .55 etc or etxtra fine 40 .45

[cpm9ball]

When it comes to a problem coin, I don't see why it would be necessary to give any more than a general grade, i.e. XF, AU, MS, etc. Consider yourself lucky. Years ago, problem coins would come back in a body bag.

 

Chris

[BillJones]

hi , just wondering why when they grade a coin and it comes back au details why they dont put like inproperly cleaned au 50 .55 etc or etxtra fine 40 .45

 

The reason is that doing so would add to the confusion.

 

If you take "Coin Facts" one of the weakness in their auction result listings is that they don't distinguish between an AU and a cleaned AU. You'll see what appears to be a bargain price result listed, but when you go the auction house web site, you learned that it is an "AU details" coin that has a defect.

 

There is usually a huge difference in price between a coin with a clean grade and coin with a problem. Some people believe in net grading, but that is controversial for a couple of reasons. First, how many grades do you deduct for a defect? Dealers and collectors can't agree on that. Second, most astute collectors would rather buy a straight graded EF than an AU that is net graded to EF because of cleaning. If the TPGs were to give net grades to problem coins, a lot of dealers would list them in ads at the net grade with no caveats rather than take the time and space to explain the difference.

 

And yes, now we are better off. Problem coins do get slabbed as "genuine" which is perfectly legitimate. In the old days they came back in worthless body bags which didn't do anybody any good.

 

[james gaydos]

thanks guys. was just wondering.

[GoldFinger1969]

While we're on the subject...what does it mean, "AU Details" ??

 

If a coin is AU because of general wear and tear, the label obviously never goes into detail on all the nicks and gouges. But if a coin got demoted to AU because it was cleaned or something involving alteration (not normal wear and tear over the decades), then the TPGs will say WHY it was AU. Presumably because otherwise it would look too good for the grade and this avoids confusion ?

 

Do I have it right ?

[DaveG]

Not quite.

 

"AU" means that a coin has circulated enough to meet the definition of About Uncirculated. Such a coin would be in a "problem-free" slab at AU-50 or AU-53, etc. Some people call this "straight graded."

 

"AU Details" means that the coin has circulated enough to meet the definition of About Uncirculated, but it has been mistreated (been cleaned, scratched or whatever). This means that the coin is a "problem" coin.

 

The reason a label on a "problem-free" coin doesn't go into detail on all the "nicks and gouges" is that the grade takes into account a certain amount of circulation wear (that is, nicks and gouges). The "nicks and gouges" matter more when they're not from circulation wear - such as when someone deliberately scratches a gold coin with a knife to see if it's real gold or gold plated.

 

You might want to go back and re-read all the material NGC has on grading coins on its home page. One can never learn too much about grading standards and what factors affect a coin's grade.

[GoldFinger1969]

Thanks Dave.....yeah, my focus wasn't so much on the AU part but the DETAILS descriptive.

 

So...."Details" = problem coin. I think I got it.

 

Yes, I hit the NGC website but didn't find some of my topics I wanted. I either got lost or need to spend more time there and on other sites. I am trying, PT jobs and job search take alot of time. YouTube also seems to have good stuff.

[O mint bug]

Either damaged or cleaned

[johnny9434]

When it comes to a problem coin, I don't see why it would be necessary to give any more than a general grade, i.e. XF, AU, MS, etc. Consider yourself lucky. Years ago, problem coins would come back in a body bag.

 

Chris

i got a few of them along the way, it sucked