Grading
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Grading is an art, not a science. Two people, looking at the same coin, may form different opinions about it and may grade it differently. The grades assigned to all coins on this site are mine, and mine only. They are my opinion of the preservation and condition of each copper. In many cases, the half and large cents in the National Numismatic Collection have been studied by other numismatists in the past, who assigned grades to them. In most cases, my grades agree with theirs. But there are exceptions! I graded each half and large cent twice. First, I graded them for sharpness, or how much wear the coin had seen. For this, I used the Official A.N.A. Grading Standards for United States Coins (Colorado Springs, CO: American Numismatic Society 1996). I then checked for any defects on the coin, man made, environmental, or mint made. These include dings, dents, scratches, porosity, corrosion, and even holes. I deducted from the sharpness grade for these defects and ended up with a net grade. The rationale for my net grade is given in the description of the coin. My intent in using a net grade is to identify the coin in a way that is consistent with other large and half cents of the same variety. In this way, a numismatist (one who studies and collects coins) will have some idea what the coin looks like, just from reading the grades and description. |