Coin Grading Terms : South Western Collectibles Grading Service

The Sheldon Grading Scale
(Numismatic Grading)

About Good (AG-3) - Very heavily worn with portions of lettering, date and legends worn smooth. The date may be barely readable.

Good (G-4) - Heavily worn with design visible but faint in areas. Many details are flat.

Very Good (VG-8) - Well worn with main features cleasr an bold although rather flat.

Fine (F-12) - Moderate to considerable even wear. Entire design is bold with overall pleasing appearance.

Very Fine (VF-20) - Shows moderate wear on high points of design. All major details are clear.

Choice Very Fine (VF-30) - Light even wear on the surface and highest parts of the design. All lettering and major features are sharp.

Extremely Fine (EF-40) - Design is lightly worn throughout, but all features are sharp and well defined. Traces of luster may show.

Choice Extremely Fine (EF-45) - Light overall wear shows on highest points. All design details are very sharp. Some of the mint luster is visible.

About Uncirculated (AU-50) - Has traces of light wear on many of the high points. At least half of the mint luster is still present.

Choice About Uncirculated (AU-55) - Barest evidence of light wear on only the highest points of the design. Most of the mint luster remains.

Uncirculated (MS-60) - Has no trace of wear but may show a number of contact marks, and surface may be spotted or lack some luster.

Choice Uncirculated (MS-65) - An above average Uncirculated coin which may be brilliant or lightly toned and has very few contact marks on the surface or rim.

Perfect Uncirculated (MS-70) - Perfect new condition, showing no trace of wear. The finest quality possible, with no evidence of scratches, handling or contact with other coins.

Mint State (MS) - The term Mint State (MS) can be interchanged with Uncirculated (UNC) to describe "new" coins showing no trace of wear.

Proof (PR) - A specially made coin distinguished by sharpness of detail and usually with a brilliant mirrorlike surfaces. Proof refers to the method of manufacture and is not a condition. Pre-1968 proofs were made only at the Philadelphia Mint except in a few rare instances in which presentation pieces were struck at branch mints. Current proofs are made at the San Francisco an West Point mints.

Paper Currency Grading

Paper currency is graded on the basis of certain standards developed over the years by dealers and paper money organizations. The process of grading, being somewhat subjective, is more of an art than a science. While accurate grading requires skill and experience, determining an approximate grade is possible for even a novice collector.

The following sets out and describes the basic grades that may be assigned to a particular bill note or other paper currency item, starting from the highest grade to the lowest.

Remember: Eye Appeal and collectability are always factors in deciding value, not grade.

GEM UNCIRCULATED: A flawless uncirculated note. It is bright, crisp, well centered, free from any traces of handling. and has no folds, creases or bent corners.

CHOICE UNCIRCULATED: An uncirculated note with brighter than normal coloration and crispness but not quite as fresh looking as a gem uncirculated note. It must have no creases or bent corners.

ABOUT UNCIRCULATED: A clean and bright note with its original sheen but with some minor handling and showing very slight evidence of folds at a corner or through the center.

EXTREMELY FINE: A crisp, good looking note with bright but very slightly faded colors and showing light handling and some folds.

VERY FINE: An attractive note, but with more evidence of handling and wear such as several folds and some dirt and edge wear but with no tears and minimal loss of crispness.

FINE: A circulated note exhibiting considerable but not serious signs of wear such as folds, creases and wrinkling. The note will show some loss of crispness and evidence of some discoloration, no pieces of the note missing. The overall appearance of the note is still good though.

VERY GOOD: A well circulated, limp note with significant wear, discoloration, some staining, excessive folding, tiny pinholes and only small or minor pieces of the note missing.

GOOD: The term “Good” in the grading of paper currency is almost misleading. This grade refers to a heavily worn used note having several strong folds and creases, discoloration, edge tears, frayed corners, surface abrasions, stains, pinholes, and an overall poor appearance. No large pieces of the note are missing, however.

POOR: This is the lowest grade that can be accorded to a note. Such a note is severely damaged with large pieces missing and showing heavy surface wear, large holes, stains and considerable discoloration.

The Overstreet Grading Scale
(Comic Books and Trading Cards)

"Before a comic book's true value can be assessed, its condition or state of preservation must be determined. In all comic books, the better the condition the more desirable and valuable the book. Comic books in MINT condition will bring several times the price of the same book in POOR condition. Therefore it is very important to be able to properly grade your books. Comics should be graded from the inside out, so the following comic book areas should be examined before assigning a final grade.

Check inside pages, inside spine and covers and outside spine and covers for any tears, markings, brittleness, tape, soiling, chunks out or other defects that would affect the grade. After all the above steps have been taken, then the reader can begin to consider an overall grade for his or her book. The grading of a comic book is done by simply looking at the book and describing its condition, which may range from absolutely perfect condition MINT to extremely worn, dirty, and torn POOR.

There is no true grading
scale for Bobble Heads
________________
We will use our best effort
to describe each item accurately

CGC Grade	Symbol	Number
Mint	MT	9.9 - 10.0
Near Mint/Mint	NM/M	9.8
Near Mint	NM	9.2 - 9.7
Very Fine/Near Mint	VF/NM	9.0
Very Fine	VF	7.5 - 8.5
Fine/Very Fine	FN/VF	7.0
Fine	FN	5.5 - 6.5
Very Good/Fine	VG/FN	5.0
Very Good	VG	3.5 - 4.5
Good/Very Good	GD/VG	3.0
Good	GD	1.8 - 2.5
Fair/Good	FR/GD	1.5
Fair	FR	1.0
Poor	PR	0.5
*Grading Scale provided by the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.

Numerous variables influence the evaluation of a comic book's condition and all must be considered in the final evaluation. Although the grade of a comic book is based upon an accumulation of defects, some defects may be more extreme for a particular grade as long as other acceptable listed defects are almost non-existent. As grading is the most subjective aspect of determining a comic's value, it is very important that the grader be careful not to allow wishful thinking to influence what the eyes see. It is also very important to realize that older comics in MINT condition are extremely scarce and are rarely advertised for sale; most of the higher grade comics advertised range from VERY FINE to NEAR MINT."

~ Robert Overstreet

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