Coin Grading Explained

[Serendipity]

I was recently baffled when I came across a 1904 Edward VII Sovereign gVF/VF and thought the grade was either a lazy typo or the coin grader was undecided whether the sovereign was good Very Fine (gVF) or Very Fine (VF). Was the grader trying to say the coin was somewhere between VF and gVF? I completely dismissed the lowest VF grade entirely and automatically assumed the sovereign was the highest gVF grade.

Anyone just similarly starting out buying coins will ask themselves - What do all these numismatic abbreviations VF, EF, UNC, or worse gVF/VF, aVF-VF, etc., stand for? The condition or state of wear of a coin, termed its "grade," is one of the main determining factors of a coin's value. Learning how to grade coins is essential for making sensible decisions whether buying, selling or investing. Grading coins accurately is a skill acquired in time and after looking at many similar/identical coins in all ranges of condition. The exact grade of a coin is more important now than ever before.

To get back to the confusingly graded 1904 Edward VII Sovereign gVF/VF. A split grade may be assigned when there are significant differences in the obverse (heads side) grade and reverse (tails side) grade of the same coin. Split grades are normally denoted with a dual grade in obverse/reverse format. The Edward VII sovereign with a split grade of gVF/VF would have an obverse grading good Very Fine (gVF) and a reverse grading Very Fine (VF). Typically, coins with a split grade are valued at the level of their lowest grade, whether obverse or reverse. A grade range may also be given to some coins distinguished by a hyphen connecting the lowest and highest grades, for example, aVF-VF, to denote that the coin is somewhere between almost Very Fine (aVF) and Very Fine (VF).