← Back to articles · Hobby & visiting shops ·
Mint State: MS-60 to MS-70 without the registry fight
Mint State means no wear. The number is marks, strike, and luster. MS-60 can look awful. MS-70 is a modern-coin word. We still look at the coin.
Mint State means no wear. Not “shiny.” Not “I kept it in a drawer.” No wear.
The number after MS is how beat-up the uncirculated coin is. Bag marks. Strike. Luster. Eye. Sheldon.
MS-60 through MS-62
Uncirculated and ugly. That is allowed. A 1921 Morgan that never spent can still look like it lost a fight in a canvas bag. We will still call it uncirculated if the high points are intact.
MS-63 and MS-64
This is what most people mean by “nice.” Some marks. Real luster. We see a lot of these in holders. We also see raw coins people swear are 65 because the photo was taken in a window.
MS-65 and up
On many older types, 65 is where the money jumps — if the date is a date people collect. A common 1881-S Morgan in 65 is a collected coin. A common 1964 Kennedy in 65 is still a 90% half until the room says otherwise. Kennedy metal. Morgans.
MS-70 is a modern word. Proof Gold Eagles. Some Silver Eagles. Do not bring a 1944 wheat and ask if it is a 70.
What we do at the glass
We tilt it. We look at the cheek, the breast, the knee. We look through the plastic if there is plastic. We do not pay a screenshot. Fake slabs. When to slab.
If you already have a holder we trust, that ends the argument about wear. It does not end the argument about whether anyone wants that date.