Coin grading is both an art and a science, requiring a series of objective measures of condition quality as well as the measured, subjective analysis by a trained professional. In general, a higher grade coin will qualify for the highest price, given its pristine condition relative to standard coin grades.
Today, there is a basic 70-point scale which emerged from the research of William Shelby, a coin analyst. At a base level, an un-circulated, standard coin has a grade of 60, while a grade of 0 signifies that the item has the lowest possible grade. In order to better understand investment decisions, it’s important to get a sense of how grades affect the price and value of different coins.
A grade 70 coin is considered perfect, even relative to standard un-circulated coins. The standard un-circulated coin is graded a 63, while there are variations depending on the qualify emerging from the mint. There is also a qualitative scale related to the numeric score, ranging from Mint to AU (Almost Un-circulated) to EF (Extremely Fine) all the way to Fine, Fair and Basal (retaining only its metals.)
In general, each state is correlated with a differing price point, resulting in valuations that are contingent upon a coin’s date or origin, geographical place and history. Professional appraisals can determine the approximate market price for a given coin.
