Features

In the July 16, 2025, issue of the Metropolitan Coin Club of Atlanta’s Newsletter, the From the Desk of the Editor column, titled Understanding AU-58 and the Nuances of Coin Grading, introduced three seminal articles by Bill Fivaz exploring the significance of AU-graded coins. These articles—AU-58: The Grade of the Future?, Almost Unlimited Bargains in AU, and It’s Confession and Revelation Time!—are being reprinted in full on our website and will appear in the club’s next three consecutive newsletters, presented in the order of their original publication. Following the insightful discussions in AU-58: The Grade of the Future? and Almost Unlimited Bargains in AU, we conclude this series with It’s Confession and Revelation Time!. In this final article, Fivaz takes an introspective approach, reflecting on the evolution of grading systems and introducing the concept of “low-end,” “mid-grade,” and “high-end” coins within the same grade. He emphasizes the importance of nuanced grading and encourages collectors to prioritize high-end AU-58 coins for their superior quality and visual appeal. Dive into this thought-provoking piece to explore Fivaz’s compelling framework and its implications for collectors.

Confession: Years ago, when the 11-point Mint State grading scale was adopted, I was not alone in shaking my head and telling anyone who would listen that it was impossible to grade uncirculated coins in one point increments. How in the world could someone, even the seasoned third-party grading experts, be astute enough to tell an MS-63 from an MS-64 or an MS-64 from an MS-65, etc. with any degree of consistency? It just can’t be done!

Computer-grading of coins was touted for a while, but faded into the sunset as quickly as it arrived. It was probably possible to measure two of the four basic components of grading by computer, the severity and location of contact marks on each side, as well as the strength of the strike, but what about the two more important factors – luster and eye appeal? These are both elements that only the human eye can evaluate, and no computer was up to that challenge.

Revelation: After a bit of reflection on the 11-point grading concept, and trying to keep an open mind, I came to the realization that armed with sufficient expertise and viewing a lot of coins, yes, incremental point Mint State grading is possible.

To illustrate my opinion, let’s look at the following scenario:

Let’s say that you go down to your local bank, the Wombat Federal Savings and Loan, and ask the head teller to sell you that $1,000 bag of uncirculated 1886-P Morgan Dollars that they’ve had stored in the back corner of their vault for over 75 years. He does, and you haul it home and spread out the 1,000 coins on your dining room table (be prepared to eat out for the next few nights!). I would bet a double struck, off center Peruvian bottle cap that you would be able to arrange those coins into at least 11 piles, with the first pile being the worst looking pieces, the next pile being a little bit nicer, and so on.

Then, referring to the first chart, I suggest that you would have, at a minimum, 8 piles of coins which would represent the grades of MS-60 to MS-67 (we must realistically expect that there would be no MS-68, 69 or 70 coins in the bag.

The “guesstimates” I have assigned each grade you might find in the bag are just that, and others may disagree, but it’s a figure that hopefully will get the point across.

There Is Quality In Every Grade

The three columns under each grade represent the Low End (L), the Mid Grade (M) and the High End (H) of that particular grade. Based on this individual grade expansion, you can see that the original 8 piles could, theoretically, expand to as many as 24 piles (8 x 3). You may only have 1 or 2 piles of coins that you feel fall into the MS-66 or 67 category, one a tad better than the other, but the point is, as stated above, there is quality in every grade, and this is reinforced by the second chart below:

This chart zeros in on MS-65 as the subject grade. The 25 coins you might find in the bag of this particular grade are sub-divided into the three categories I mentioned above. Low End, Mid and High End examples.

I should point out that this sub-division is applicable to every grade, even on circulated grades, and the goal of the collector should be to try to purchase specimens in the third column, those that are at the upper end of the grade.

By virtue of the above, you can see that it is theoretically possible to have between 18 and 24 piles of different quality uncirculated dollars in an original bag. The key, of course, is grading with consistency. Even professional graders are not completely absolved from mistakes, a fact that they will freely admit, but because they (1) have the years of expertise and (2) look at multi-thousands of coins, their accuracy percentage is pretty darn high and they are certainly capable of grading Mint State coins incrementally.

© 2020 American Numismatic Association. Reprinted with permission of the author.

Originally presented at the Intermediate Grading of U.S. Coins Seminar, 2020 World’s Fair of Money, Atlanta, Georgia.

In the July 16, 2025, issue of the Metropolitan Coin Club of Atlanta’s Newsletter, the From the Desk of the Editor column, titled Understanding AU-58 and the Nuances of Coin Grading, introduced three seminal articles by Bill Fivaz exploring the significance of AU-graded coins. As announced, these articles—AU-58: The Grade of the Future?, Almost Unlimited Bargains in AU, and It’s Confession and Revelation Time!—are being reprinted in full on our website and will appear in the club’s next three consecutive newsletters, presented in the order of their original publication. Following the foundational piece, AU-58: The Grade of the Future?, we are pleased to continue this series with Almost Unlimited Bargains in AU. In this article, Fivaz delves deeper into the value of high-end AU coins, offering a market-aware perspective on their collectibility and urging collectors to embrace these coins as strategic acquisitions rather than compromises. Dive into this piece to explore Fivaz’s compelling arguments and stay tuned for the final article in this series.

“Naw, I don’t wanna look at any circulated coins; show me what you’ve got in uncirculated!”

At the risk of sounding vain, this article could be one of the most important you’ve read in some time. I hope it will get you thinking along a slightly different line in your collecting. Whether you act on it is entirely up to you, but I wouldn’t tarry too long—it might just pass you by.

Years ago, collectors weren’t overly concerned if a “nice-looking” coin had a bit of rub here or there or wasn’t truly uncirculated. If it had nice, original luster and “looked new,” it was generally purchased as such and added to the collection. The price differences back then (30–50 years ago) weren’t nearly as dramatic as they are today, with thousands of dollars often separating AU, MS-60, MS-63, and especially MS-64 and MS-65 grades for many coins.

Everyone knows that the current frantic, almost compulsive quest for quality has caused gem material to virtually disappear from the marketplace. The coins that remain are, by and large, pieces with some sort of problem: a noticeable abrasion here, a contact mark on the cheek there, or lackluster sheen. In other words, a bushel of these little round things with the “uglies” would, if they could speak, probably emit a friendly “Bow-wow,” wag their tails, and fetch your slippers.

Let’s analyze: What makes an MS-60 coin an MS-60? Simply put, it’s not very attractive for one reason or another. Many MS-60 coins (legitimate 60s, with no wear whatsoever) are so chewed up they look like they took a 500-mile ride in the back of a gravel truck. Others exhibit dull or dirty luster, edge bumps, or have been cleaned to the point where silver coins resemble the front bumper of a ’57 Chevy, and copper coins could double as a backdrop for Judy Garland singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Although technically mint state, these “woofers” rarely sell for anywhere near the MS-60 price to knowledgeable collectors or dealers and often don’t even garner an AU quote.

Aha! This should tell us something (if we’re listening!). There is quality in every grade! There are quality Very Fine specimens, just as there are quality uncirculated coins. There are quality Very Good pieces, just as there are quality AU examples. In the vast majority of cases, a nice, high-end (quality) AU coin is far superior in “collectability” to the average MS-60 coin. There are exceptions, but compare a lustrous, properly graded AU-55 or AU-58 Morgan or Peace Dollar to an MS-60 example. Which would you be more likely to add to your collection to keep it as uniform as possible? Probably the AU coin. And after checking the price difference between AU and MS-60 listings, definitely the AU! There’s no mystique in having “all mint state” coins in your collection if many of them (the MS-60s) detract from the others in the set.

An accurately graded AU-55 or AU-58 coin is still very attractive and generally free of the “problems” that make an MS-60 an MS-60. The only thing it should have is good, honest wear—and just a bit of it.

The challenge, of course, is locating accurately graded, high-end AU coins. The tendency, even among some grading services, is to push these “almost there” examples into the mint state category (“because that’s the price they’ll bring in the market”). But when you do find accurately graded AU-55s and AU-58s, consider adding them to your collection—or even your stock. I’m telling you straight out: it will take some reorganization of your mindset. We’ve been so conditioned to the “MS-65 or nothing” syndrome that it can be difficult to bring yourself to buy that AU coin. But down the line (and it’s just about upon us now), when AU and EF coins are all most collectors can afford, the nice ones will increase in price and disappear from the scene. In my opinion, upper-end AU coins—especially AU-58s and some AU-55s—should command a higher price than MS-60s. This trend has already started.

As stated earlier, there is quality in every grade. A glance at the chart above, taken from the September 2013 Grey Sheet, highlights some interesting price spreads for AU, MS-60, and MS-65 grades for a few randomly selected coins. The AU prices listed are for AU-50 coins, those at the lower end of the AU scale. If you can capture some solid AU-58 or AU-55 specimens (the quality AU coins) at these prices, grab them. I think you’ll be delighted you did in the years ahead.

“Naw, I don’t wanna look at your uncirculated coins; show me what you’ve got in AU!”

© 2013 Bill Fivaz. Reprinted with permission of the author.
Originally published in the September–October 2013 issue of the Metropolitan Coin Club of Atlanta newsletter.