Graded Coins

Graded Gold and Silver Coins

The Sheldon Scale

The Sheldon Scale is the most popular modern coin grading system used by numismatic grading specialists to rate the quality of coins. The scale ranges from 1 to 70, with 70 being the highest level of quality. The two largest grading companies, the NGC and PGCS, both use this scale with some minor differences in naming conventions.

Mint State Coin Grades MS60 - MS70

Coins graded between 70 - 60 are considered mint state meaning they are of a similar quality to a freshly minted coin. The quality of these mint state coins varies from the lowest level MS-60 to the highest quality MS-70, which are considered as coins with no post-production imperfections at 5x magnification. When standard mint state coins are manufactured the coin blank is typically struck once to imprint the design. Proof coins are made to a higher specification where the coin blank is struck at least twice to give a more defined and higher quality imprint. Graded mint state proof coins have the two-letter code PF (NGC) or PR (PGCS) before their numeric grade.

Gold and silver graded coins in mint state are typically more modern coins that were not produced for circulation but for investors in bullion or as collectors' coins.

About Uncirculated Coin Grades AU50 - AU58

Extremely Fine Coin Grades XF40 - XF45

Very Fine Coin Grades VF20 - VF35

Fine Coin Grades F12 - F15

Very Good Coin Grades VG8 - VG10

Good Coin Grades VG8 - VG10

About Good Coin Grades AG3

Fair Coin Grades FR2

Poor Coin Grades PO1

Coin Grading Services

Typically, the graded coins that we buy and sell have been rated by the one of the two major coin grading specialists, the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) or the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).

NGC Graded Coins

The Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) is the worlds largest coin grading specialist, having graded an astonishing 60,000,000 coins. Their grading service covers not only investment grade gold and silver coins but also coins made from platinum, palladium, copper, bronze and a variety of other metals. They operate globally and offer grading services in the US, UK, Germany, China and the United Arab Emirates. Their reputation as a leading specialist in the field of numismatic grading and trust in the quality of their service makes it more straight forward to buy and sell NGC graded coins.

PCGS Graded Coins

The PCGS are an American organisation started in 1985 in California. The company filled the gap in the market for coin certification. They were experts that knew that while the grading system for coins was accurate, it needed to be enforced correctly, and so they recruited likeminded experts to operate in this market niche.