If you are into collecting coins, then you need to know how to grade coins as well. You'll find it's both an art and a science and if you're keen on coins, you'll find that this knowledge proves to be very helpful even if you are not really looking to becoming an expert in this field. At least it will make sure that you never get cheated.
What are grades? Well, in the 1950s, a man called Sheldon developed a system of grading from 1 to 70. Over the years, this has been revised, expanded, adapted and earlier definitions like Poor, Fine, Fair, Mint State, Uncirculated, etc have now been combined with numbers.
Where should you begin? Well, start with your own coins - that will be where you can build up experience. You need to familiarize yourself with the terminology of grading. For example, the very first thing you need to know is the 'obverse' of the coin, which refers to the face and the 'reverse' of the coin which refers to the back. Attention should be paid to the lettering which refers to both the letters and the numbers as well as the devices which refer to the buildings, faces, laurel wreaths, etc. You should also look for the 'wear' and the 'luster' as well as if any 'damage to the rim' has occurred.
Let's look at the Winged Liberty Head Dime as an example. There was one that was minted in 1941 which was 10% copper and 90% silver. Now these metals can very easily be identified and the quantities too, measured. So simple tests could tell you if it is a fake or not. Now look at the back or the obverse. You'll find that there's a lot of detail in the hair on the face at the back. If this is well defined, then you could probably classify it as EF or Extra Fine or maybe even Uncirculated. On the wing, the feathers should be clearly visible with the edge coming out from the background. Uncirculated coins too can have abrasions and nicks which can occur when they are moved around together in a bag. So even if the coin never really went out into circulation, it does suffer from some amount of wear and tear.
Another coin that is very popular with collectors is the Morgan Dollar. Look above the eye and the ear at the hairline to spot if there is wear and tear. You should clearly see the strands of hair and the folds of the cap should be free of wear and tear. The talons as well as the eagle's breast should stand out clearly as well as the tips of the wings and the feathers. Like the Jefferson Nickel, the Roosevelt Dime and the Lincoln Cent, coins which have a face should be checked for luster by looking at the forehead and the cheek. Make sure the luster is on account of very little usage and low wear and tear and not because it has been cleaned artificially. Keep in mind that coins that are subjected to artificial cleaning tend to lose some of their value. You can't really hide the fact because it shows up when you look at it through a magnifying glass, especially the abrasions and the unnatural sheen and color.
Grading helps put things in perspective when it comes to coins. Of course, there is always the element of individual differences when it comes to the degree of differences. That can only be solved when grading will one day be based on image recognition software. From the human point of view, subjectivity could be achieved by getting more than one point of view.
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