Grading
Think Fine Art...
The condition of a coin or amount of wear that a coin has received. Common grade terms used in the UK are Fine, Very Fine, Extremely Fine and Uncirculated.
These grades can be split into divisions, Nearly and About are sub-grades and Good is an over grade e.g. “About Very Fine” is just below “Very Fine” and “Good Very Fine” is just above “Very Fine”.
Uncirculated (UNC)
Uncirculated coins are in new condition as issued by the Mint, retaining their brilliance but possibly displaying some imperfections from the production or storage processes.
About UNC
Nearly UNC
Good EF
Extremely Fine (EF)
Extremely fine coins show only minimal marks or faint evidence of circulation, apparent only on close examination.
About EF
Nearly EF
Good VF
Very Fine (VF)
Very fine coins have limited evidence of wear on their raised surfaces but have experienced only minimal circulation.
About VF
Nearly VF
Good Fine
Fine (F)
Fine coins have entered circulation and display considerable wear to the raised surfaces of the design.
About Fine
Nearly Fine