MS67 on up

sinin1

This may seem like a stupid question but -

I just do not understand what makes a coin 67 or higher and how to tell the difference -(between 67/68/69/70)

I realize the strike must be strong/good luster/no ticks/etc. and most likely (but not necessarily) these will come from mint sets.

I have the Official guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection that PCGS puts out and really like it, but still am confused - do you have any suggestions for me?

homerunhall

Steve Ivy has called grades above 67 "concept grades."

While I understand what he means...or what I think he means, namely that the differences in 68 and 69 are minute...I do know that the graders take the 67/68/69/70 lines very seriously and they are, in my opinion, quite good at seperating the minute differences.

How do you learn to grade. I always said you buy a coin at a coin show for $100 and sell it for $110 and you remember (this may have been before slabs). You buy a coin for $100 and sell it for $80 and you remember more. Do that 5000 times and you'll probably know how to grade.

That's all fine and dandy for most coins...but what about 67/68/69?????

The best way to get good at telling the minute differences at the highest end of the grading scale is to look at a ton of super high end coins. In that regard the PCGS graders have a big advantage over all of us because they get to see all the nice coins.

I'm not trying to be evasive, it's just very hard to explain. I guess the best thing to do is go to a coin show and look at a lot of high end coins. The differences in the grades are subtle, but they are very real. When you look at 1000s of the highest end coins, those differences will become much more apparent.