Coin Grading

During the past 35 years, ANACS has dedicated itself to the Numismatic community and has strived to exceed customers’ expectations by taking into account their needs and suggestions. With that in mind, ANACS is proud to announce the introduction of the sleek and dynamic Clearview 7™ holder.

ANACS has improved on the original Clearview holder, improving durability, while maintaining integrity. The stylish new capsule allows not only for easy grade and denomination identification, but a full view of the coin and its rim. Also, no final product is complete without the ANACS hologram, which is located on the reverse and serves as our stamp of authenticity.

Coupled with  improvements to the Clearview holder, ANACS has also chosen to eliminate the classic holder used to encapsulate details coins, therefore returning to a unity of encapsulation. Details graded coins are now encapsulated just as problem free coins with appropriate designations on their labels. This, along with the streamlined design, allows for easier storage.

By Doug Winter (republished with permission) www.raregoldcoins.com

Editors Note: The original article was published in 2000, so obviously the  prices quotes are no longer accurate. However the concept and application of incremental grading is  important especially in todays market.

Old time collectors often bemoan the fact that there are “too many grades.” In their opinion, there is no need for a ten point Mint State/Proof scale (i.e., Mint State-60 to Mint State-70 and Proof-60 to Proof-70) and even less of a need for multiple numerical levels in the circulated grades.

I strongly disagree with the theory that there are too many grades. In fact, I can let you in on a secret that would make many of these old collector’s eyes roll if they were aware of it. Expert graders, such as myself, actually use a whole series of “secret grades” (which I refer to as “incremental grades”) when examining coins.

Before I explain what incremental grades are, it is important to understand why they exist. Back in the “old days,” coins weren’t very expensive and there were not very large spreads between nice coins and not-so-nice coins. A really superb 1927 $20 might sell for $55-60 while an average quality example was readily available for $50-55. This all changed when coins became more popular and a greater emphasis was placed on owning “the best.” Today, a superb quality 1927 $20 might sell for $4000-5000 (or more) while an average quality Uncirculated example is worth just $400-500.

The most important thing to remember about grading is that it is subjective. While most experts can reach an impressive degree of consistency when grading a group of coins, there is always some room for disagreement. The reason this exists is due to the fact that a grade actually represents a shorthand for a range of grades. This is where the aforementioned “incremental grades” come into play. Continued

The U. S. Mint’s American Eagle gold bullion coin program debuted in 1986, and this called for the creation of several new collar sizes for the four-piece line-up. There was bound to be some trial and error as a result, yet the number of mint error coins actually escaping careful inspection at the mints has remained extremely small for the American Eagle series.

This amazing gold one-ounce coin dated MCMLXXXVI (1986) is just such an error, a coin struck almost entirely out of the collar. In fact, just a trace of the collar’s reeding is visible along the reverse rim. Both sides reveal tripled images of all peripheral elements, as a consequence of the coin’s unrestrained expansion between strikes.

Highest Price in History for Certified Gold Coin

An 1804 $10 Gold piece recently sold for $5M, the highest price ever paid for a certified gold coin. The coin was graded by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, and is the finest known of certified examples. Another famous example of this coin is part of the King of Siam Collection, also graded by NGC, and featured in the NGC Gallery.

The 1804 $10 proof gold piece was struck in 1834 for President Jackson, to give to foreign dignitaries as the United States began to open up trade with Asia.

This coin was also displayed as part of a guest exhibit at the Smithsonian Legendary Coins and Currency opening reception. NGC and NCS were the presenting sponsors of the exhibition.

The coin was traded between two anonymous collectors, and the transaction was handled by Albanese Rare Coins in Albion, NY.

Collectors and dealers took advantage of the debut exhibition to personally examine highlights of the Professional Coin Grading Service Grading Set during the recent September 2007 Long Beach Coin, Stamp and Collectibles Expo.

“I had an enjoyable time sitting down with some of the attendees to explain the subtleties of grading and why one coin was better than another,” said Ron Guth, President of PCGS, a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT).

“Based on the feedback I received from people who viewed the Grading Set, the most popular coins were counterfeits, altered and problem coins. Most people get a quick grasp on how to grade a coin based on the design details, but they’re hungry to learn about the sometimes troublesome nuances of cleaning, artificial color, authenticity and other areas that require a higher level of expertise.”

(Newport Beach, California) – The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) announced today that PCGS World Coin Population Reports^SM would be offered free of charge to all visitors to the PCGS website at www.pcgs.com/pop.

PCGS began offering electronic population data for world coins in November 2006 as part of a paid subscription to the PCGS Population Report^SM . Previously, world coin collectors were unable to obtain this valuable information in any form, printed or otherwise.

“PCGS is pleased to offer world coin collectors an opportunity to easily view population data for world coins, allowing them to determine relative rarity, to learn which coins are available at various grade levels, and to assist them in developing a condition census for the coins they collect,” said PCGS President, Ron Guth. “This information will have a dramatic effect on pricing for world coins and will fuel enthusiasm for the various Set Registries PCGS has in place (and planned) for the most popular countries.” Continued