AU-55 vs. AU-58.........

relicsncoins

Prethen's two cent piece brings up a good point. Is the difference strictly a wear issue? Or can an AU55 have the exact same wear as an AU58 but with a few more hits? My guess is it boils down to technical grading vs. market grading.

Fairlaneman

Hit wise and mark wise I think both could be the same. Its a question of luster when looking at the coin IMO. This is old school and now I have no idea when it comes to TPG's.

Ken

illini420

I think luster and overall eye appeal is also a big factor between 55 and 58.

Bear

A true 58 looks very much like a 64 ,with full luster and only a slight
degree of rub. A 55 has much less luster and more rub on high
and midpoints.

fcloud

IMO the 58 coin should be a coin that could pass for an MS coin, with some light rub (there should be some rub). AU55 could have some to full luster, but shows obvious signs of some minor wear.

AU58 (have no clue as to why this one isn't MS)

AU55

AU55 (more wear and color than the other 55)

Baley

there are a lot of ways a coin can be a 58, or a 55, or a 60 or a 63, a combination of nonperfection boiled down to an interger grade. no it's not just wear or marks or originality or lack therof or arm's length eye appeal, but a combo package deal.

kind of like there are a lot of ways a girl can rate an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, and everybody's got an opinion as to the categories for rating and how much to rate each one.

mumu

I was wondering this the other day before the existence of this thread. If an MS 63 coin and an MS 67 coin both got wear on them they could both end up as AU58s but be miles apart. This came to mind to me while looking at an AU58 peace dollar that looked impecable other than a couple touches of rub here and there.

JJM

I think luster needs to be easily apparent to the naked eye to
take it from a 55 to 58

BillJones

The criterion for an AU-58 is that you really have to look to find the wear. At least in my eyes, the wear is fairly obvious on an AU-55, although there is not much of it.

Coins in the AU-58 grade have been called "sliders" in the past. They kind of have a tendency to slide between Choice AU and Unc. when people are grading them.

PTVETTER

A true AU58 is like an Unc with roll rub or some other imperfection keeping it from MS

AU 55 has wear not much but from circulation not roll rub or cabinet friction.

veryfine

Here's an example of one of my PCGS AU-58 coins. The coin does not have glowing, bright luster. It is a deeper orange gold color with less luster on the devices. It does, however, have very few marks; the main reason I like it. Apparently, as others have said, AU-58 can be achieved in different ways.
I wasn't too concerned about the assigned grade, but rather, the overall "look" of the coin.
Please excuse the "luster flattening" scan.

Broadstruck

An AU55 will have MORE of the following then an AU58 = rub, marks, hairlines.
An AU55 will have LESS of the following then an AU58 = luster.

ziggy29

I've seen 55s with less rub than some 58s. The 58s tended to have fewer marks and better eye appeal, though. That tells me that "market grading" is not limited to MS coins.

kurtdog

<< <i>Prethen's two cent piece brings up a good point. Is the difference strictly a wear issue? >>

Let me put it this way, it should be.

<< <i>Or can an AU55 have the exact same wear as an AU58 but with a few more hits? >>

No.

<< <i>My guess is it boils down to technical grading vs. market grading. >>

That's not a bad guess. But let's not confuse apples and oranges. You start with the technical grade, and that's all about the level of circulation wear. Then, you evaluate the coin from a marketplace standpoint, and that's all about how pretty or ugly the coin looks. And there's nothing more intellectual to it than that...

Oh, and if the coin has strong "pedigree" (i.e., you know, the kind of chain-of-custody a status-seeking fool in the marketplace would pay extra money for) then you ignore that circulation wear as mere "cabinet friction" and you kick that circulated grade up to a mint state for it...

RWB

"AU-58" is the real About Uncirculated...a trace of wear/slight luster break.

The others, "AU-55" and "AU-53" are excuses for Extremely Fine condition coins. In my opinion, buying anything called "AU-55" is self deception unless you are paying an honest EF price.

PerryHall

<< <i>"AU-58" is the real About Uncirculated...a trace of wear/slight luster break.

The others, "AU-55" and "AU-53" are excuses for Extremely Fine condition coins. In my opinion, buying anything called "AU-55" is self deception unless you are paying an honest EF price. >>



Good luck finding an PCGS/NGC AU55 at an EF price.

RWB

Good luck finding an PCGS/NGC AU55 at an EF price.

That's true most of the time - called "grade inflation" ??

This is analogous to collectors feeling the must fill every album hole. In this instance, the fallacy of “numeric” grading creates a hole between 45 and 60 that hobbyists and profiteers insist on filling. It does not matter that in real grading there was no hole between EF and AU – one has now been artificially created and the hobby will have to absorb the added cost until it eats itself tail first.

anablep

From my experience, different grading companies have subtle, differing opinions as to what constitutes a 55 or a 58.

Sonorandesertrat

From my experience, different grading companies have differing opinions as to what constitutes a 55/58 and a 62, particularly concerning Capped Bust coinage

droopyd

From my admittedly limited experience, a 58 should be nearly indistinguishable from a mint state specimen - you'll really have to look to find out what keeps it from an MS grade.

A 55 on the other hand will be clearly worn on the highest points and should never be mistaken for a mint state coin.

bidask

<< <i>Prethen's two cent piece brings up a good point. Is the difference strictly a wear issue? Or can an AU55 have the exact same wear as an AU58 but with a few more hits? My guess is it boils down to technical grading vs. market grading. >>

I think degrees of mostly wear vs. rub.

relicsncoins

<< <i>From my admittedly limited experience, a 58 should be nearly indistinguishable from a mint state specimen - you'll really have to look to find out what keeps it from an MS grade.

A 55 on the other hand will be clearly worn on the highest points and should never be mistaken for a mint state coin. >>



Everyone says that until asked to guess a grade and they say something like; "That coin has too many hits to be a 58." If we are just talking about wear, a coin should be able to be bag marked to death, yet only have the slightest amount of wear and still be a 58.

JJ