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Circulated grades: AG, Good, Fine, VF, XF, AU
If a coin spent time in a pocket, the grade is about what is left of the design. AG through AU, in the order a shop uses, without a price list.
If a coin spent years in a pocket, the grade is not “old.” The grade is what is left of the picture.
The teaching row on this page is Mercury dimes. Left is tired. Right still has a face. Use it as a feeling, not as a slab certificate. Sheldon scale. Mercury dimes.
About Good and Good
AG means the date is a struggle and the rim has fallen into the letters. Good means you can read the date and the rim is there. Hair and feathers are mostly gone. A Good 1916-D dime is still a 1916-D. Mercury keys.
Very Good and Fine
Very Good brings some inner lines back. Fine is the first grade where a non-collector often says “that still looks like a coin.” About half the design. LIBERTY is usually there if the type has it.
Very Fine and Extremely Fine
VF keeps most of the design. High points are worn, not missing. XF (also called EF) is light wear on the highest points only. A little luster can hide in the letters. That is not Mint State.
About Uncirculated
AU is the trap. The coin looks new in a photo. The cheek or the knee has a whisper of rub. AU-58 is the famous almost. It is still circulated.
A shop will tilt the coin under a lamp. A phone flash hides rub. Why apps lie.
What this is not
Shine from a cleaning rag is not XF. Hairlines from a pencil eraser are not “luster.” Don’t clean. Details grades.
Common silver in VF or XF is often still junk silver. A key date in Good is a different conversation. Old is not rare.
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