Grading
The Coin Grading Scale Explained
One to seventy, from Poor to Perfect. Where the scale came from and what each rung means.
Reviewed July 2026
The coin grading scale runs from 1 to 70, where 1 is a coin barely identifiable as a coin and 70 is a flawless one. It has a specific origin: Dr. William Herbert Sheldon devised it in 1949 to rank the condition of American large cents, publishing it in Early American Cents, 1793-1814 under the heading "A Quantitative Scale for condition." Every grade you will ever see on a slab descends from an attempt to sort copper pennies.
How a scale for cents became the scale for everything
Sheldon's original scale had become outdated by 1953. It was not until the 1970s that the American Numismatic Association chose to adapt it for use on all United States coins, and the scale in use today is a modification of the original, with additions, deletions and adjustments. The ANA's Official Grading Standards, the reference the American market runs on, are based in large part on it.
The numbers are not evenly spaced and never were. They cluster where collectors need precision, which is at the top: there are more distinct grades between MS-60 and MS-70 than between Poor and Fine.
The scale, rung by rung
| Grade | Name | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| PO-1 | Poor | Clear enough to identify. The date may be worn smooth. |
| FR-2 | Fair | Some detail shows. |
| AG-3 | About Good | Lettering readable but very heavily worn. |
| G-4 | Good | Rims slightly worn. Design visible but faint in areas. |
| VG-8 | Very Good | Two or three letters of LIBERTY show in full. |
| F-12 | Fine | All lettering sharp. Deeply recessed areas show detail. |
| VF-20 | Very Fine | Moderate wear on the higher surface features. |
| EF-40 | Extremely Fine | Overall sharpness. Light wear at the highest points. |
| AU-50 | About Uncirculated | Traces of wear. At least half the original luster remains. |
| AU-58 | Choice About Uncirculated | Almost all of the original mint luster remains. |
| MS-60 | Mint State | No wear, but dull luster and clusters of contact marks. |
| MS-63 | Choice Uncirculated | Slightly impaired luster, many small contact marks. |
| MS-65 | Gem Uncirculated | Attractive luster and strike. Minor marks only. |
| MS-70 | Perfect Uncirculated | No trace of wear, handling, scratches or contact. |
Intermediate rungs exist between most of these: G-6, VG-10, F-15, VF-25, VF-30, VF-35, EF-45, AU-55, and MS-61 through MS-69.
Circulated grades are about wear
Below AU-58, everything is a judgment about how much design the coin has lost. The old dealer's trick of reading the word LIBERTY is genuinely how the low grades were defined: at VG-8 two or three letters show in full, at VG-10 perhaps five or six. By Fine the lettering is sharp. By Extremely Fine the coin is crisp everywhere except its highest points.
Mint State is about everything except wear
Mint State means the coin was struck for circulation but never circulated. It was never handed across a counter, never jumbled in a pocket, never counted by a teller. Such a coin should show no wear at all. What separates MS-60 from MS-70 is not wear but damage and beauty: bag marks from coins knocking together, weakness of strike, the quality of the luster.
This is why an MS-60 coin can be genuinely ugly. It is unworn and unattractive at once: dull, washed-out luster, clusters of contact marks. Meanwhile an AU-58 with a whisper of rub on the high points but full original brilliance can be the more beautiful object. Collectors know this and price it that way.
Dealers also use adjectives, and the adjectives are unofficial. Uncirculated tends to mean MS-60 to MS-62; Choice Uncirculated MS-63 or MS-64; Gem Uncirculated MS-65 or MS-66; Superb Gem MS-67 to MS-69; Perfect Uncirculated MS-70. "Brilliant Uncirculated," the most common of all, is also the vaguest, and some numismatists argue it is used precisely because it commits the seller to nothing.
Proofs use the same numbers
Proof coins are graded on the same 1-to-70 scale, prefixed PR or PF to mark them as proofs rather than circulation strikes. A proof that has been mishandled or spent, and so falls below 60, is called an Impaired Proof rather than being lumped in with circulated coins, because it was never intended to circulate. See what is a proof coin.
Details grades: when the number goes away
Some coins are authentic but carry a defect serious enough that a straight grade would mislead. Grading services label these with the grade "details" instead, and the market discounts them sharply. Cleaning marks generally cap a coin at MS-62 or lower. PVC damage caps it at MS-63 or lower. Whizzing, where somebody has taken a wire brush to a coin to fake mint luster, caps it at AU-50 or lower. Any trace of wear caps it at AU-58 by definition.
The lesson for anyone holding an old coin is short: the fastest way to lose a grade is to try to improve the coin. See how to clean coins.
Grading is an opinion
Sources: the Sheldon coin grading scale, which collects the ANA and PCGS standards cited above. Bowers is blunt about what those standards can and cannot do: grading is interpretive, not exact, and it always admits a generous proportion of old-fashioned opinion. Treat any grade, including one on a slab, as a well-informed judgment rather than a measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is the coin grading scale?
It is a 70-point scale created by Dr. William Herbert Sheldon, first published in 1949 in his book Early American Cents, 1793-1814. It runs from 1 (Poor) to 70 (a flawless coin as minted). The American Numismatic Association adapted it in the 1970s for all United States coins, and its Official ANA Grading Standards are based largely on it.
What does MS-65 mean?
MS stands for Mint State, meaning the coin never circulated and shows no wear. The number, from 60 to 70, ranks how well preserved it is. MS-65 describes a coin with attractive luster, a good strike for the type, and only minor marks. Collectors call it Gem Uncirculated, though that adjective is unofficial.
What is the difference between AU and MS?
Wear. By definition an uncirculated (Mint State) coin shows no trace of wear. About Uncirculated coins, graded 50 to 58, show traces of wear at the highest points of the design, even though they may retain most of their mint luster. AU-58 can look more attractive than MS-60, because a lightly rubbed coin with beautiful luster may outshine an unworn one covered in bag marks.
Do two graders always agree?
No. Grading is interpretive, not an exact science. As the numismatist Q. David Bowers puts it, what one expert calls MS-65 another can legitimately call MS-64 and a third MS-66. Resubmitting the same coin, even to the same service, can produce a different number.
More on grading
The Coin Register is an independent educational resource. It is not affiliated with the United States Mint, the American Numismatic Association, any grading service, any dealer, or any site previously published on this domain. Nothing here is an appraisal, a price quote, or investment advice. Coin values change constantly; check a current price guide and a reputable dealer before you buy or sell.