Coin grades explained

A coin's grade describes how much wear it shows. Two coins of the same year and mint can differ in price many times over because of grade alone, so it is the first thing to check on any listing.

The usual scale

Grade	Short form	What you see
Good	G	Heavily worn; the design is outlined, the date readable.
Very Good	VG	Worn, but the main design and legend are clear.
Fine	F	Moderate even wear; finer details gone.
Very Fine	VF	Light wear on the high points; most detail present.
Extremely Fine	XF or EF	Only slight wear on the highest points.
About Uncirculated	AU or aUNC	A trace of wear or rubbing; most of the mint lustre remains.
Uncirculated	UNC or BU	No wear at all, as it left the mint (bag marks from the mint are normal).
Proof	Proof	Struck specially for collectors from polished dies: mirror fields, frosted design.

A + (for example XF+) means a coin is at the top of its grade.

Slabbed (certified) coins

Grading services such as NGC and PCGS grade a coin on the 70-point Sheldon scale and seal it in a tamper-evident holder ("slab"): MS 60 to MS 70 for uncirculated coins, PF or PR for proofs, AU 50 to 58 below that. A slabbed coin's grade is the service's, not the seller's, and the slab number can be checked on the service's website.

How we grade

Unless a coin is slabbed, the grade on our listings is an honest assessment from the photos and the coin itself, and the photos show the exact piece you receive: judge it for yourself. If a coin arrives clearly below the grade stated, you can return it within 7 days (see our returns policy).

Which grade should I buy?

• For a gift or a first coin, VF to XF gives a good-looking piece at a fair price.
• For a collection, buy the best grade you can afford for the coins that matter most to you; key dates in high grade rise the most.
• UNC matters most for modern coins, which survive in quantity: a worn modern coin is rarely worth much more than its face value.