PL, MS 65, proof, ...

Guys, its me again wit yet another question

Can someone help me out a bit.
I have been reading and reading but i still dont realy get it.
When you see coins and in the subscription it says things like PL, MS 65, proof, ...
what do they meen?

I try to understand it, but the things i can find about it are to technical english for me.
Since English is not my native language its hard for me to understand it.

Who can explain those things to me in easy understandable terms or who knows sites where they explain it in easy language.

Thanks

 

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MS-65 = Mint State 65 on a scale of 60 to 70.
PL means Prooflike, hence a coin struck from business strike dies that were used for striking coins for normal circulation, but exhibited Proof
qualities. Proofs are coins struck for collectors from special dies and are handled very carefully.

 

so if i understand correctly:
MS: mints get quoted with a number between 60 and 70 where MS70 would be very good and MS60 is bad?
Proofs are only for collectors and normaly dont see the inside of a wallet?
PL still not sure what you meen

 

-Proofs are only associated with coins
-MS 60 is still VERY good but not AS good as a ms 65 or so
-MS 70 means it is perfect and there is NOTHING wrong with it such as dings or blemishes
-Proofs can be determined if the device (Main part) of the coin is normal and the backr ound is quite literally a mirrored finish.
-UNC means uncirculated which is not a proof and does not give off a mirror finish and UNC is a synonym for MS.

Hope this helps!

 

so you can have numbers lower than ms 60 to?
And an unc is basicly a coin straigt from the press, ment to be used for payments, bet they never have been used for it?
Or am i seeing it wrong?

 

For US coins, Prooflike (PL) means that the coin was struck for general circulation but that it has shiny surfaces and a particular look almost like a mirror. Here is a picture of an MS66PL Kennedy Half Dollar. Do you see how the metal looks really shiny?

 

So, coins are graded on a point system of 1-70. When a coin grades 60 or higher it is considered "mint state" which is abbreviated "MS." A coin that grades MS60 has no circulation wear...but it probably has a bunch of bag marks and other scuffs. The higher into the 60s the grade goes...the fewer marks the coin has. If the coin has any circulation wear, it cannot grade any higher than a 59. A flawless coin grades 70.

Now, proof coins are a bit different. A "proof" is a coin that is manufactured in a different way than a normal circulation coin. It is still graded on a scale of 1-70. If it has circulation, it might grade Proof-35 and if it's perfect it would grade Proof-70. Proofs are originally made to be collector pieces and thus are rarely found to have circulated. But, occasionally you can find one that has and thus has wear.

 

Grades from coins go to 1-70 so the better the appearance the higher grade the coin gets.

 

That's not exactly correct...the better the condition the higher the grade a coin gets, not appearance. For instance, a coin grading AU58 will almost always look much nicer than an MS60. Although the MS60 has no wear...it probably has a ton of bag marks while an AU58 has a very minor amount of wear but is often very clean otherwise.

 

Koen, you will find this photograde site useful. It will help you see what the numbers mean regarding the amount of wear on a coin. http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/ Just click on the pictures...

 

thanks for the info all.

So to see if i understand it a bit (dont mind the numbers with the M50 or something becouse i have no idea how to grade them yet but it is as an example)
This picture has an M50 and a Unc or PL am i correct? (exept for the 50 than perhaps)

 

The coin on the left is an MS piece; coins under MS are graded as AU or About Uncirculated 50,55,or 58.

 

yeah MS that is what i ment with the M (looks like i forot the S twice )
so MS is between 60 and 70 AU is between 59 and lower and then you have PL Proof and those other things

 

AU goes from 50 to 58. Grading is done by numbers but mint state pieces are the only ones graded with 11 numbers. Proofs are graded
separate from mint state pieces and most Proofs grade in between Proof 60 and Proof 70. Prooflike is assinged to uncirculated pieces that look
like Proof coins. Get the idea?

 

i think i do but i am not sure
enough studying for today anyway, else my brain is going to explode

But thanks allready for the help.
I learned alot today on this ste, so lets hope that when i get some coins to collect i will know how to grade them correctly.
When i do i will post my findings on the forum to, so you guys (the experts) can tell me (the noob) if i graded correctly

 

No problem. I was you once.

 

i couldt help myself and i continued my quest for knowledge

And it has worked.
I found a website wich explains it as followed (+ some extra details about the numbers):

Mint State (Unc) - Absolutely no trace of wear. from MS-60 to MS-70


Almost Uncirculated (AU) - Small trace of wear visible on the highest points. AU-50, AU-55 and AU-58


Extremely Fine (XF or EF) - Very light wear on only the highest points. XF-40 and XF-45


Very Fine (VF) - Light to medium wear. All major features are sharp. VF-20, VF-25, VF-30 and occasionally VF-35


Fine (F) - Moderate to heavy even wear. Entire design clear and bold.F-12


Very Good (VG) - Well worn. Design clear, but flat and lacking details.VG-8


Good (G) - Heavily worn. Design and legend visible but faint in spots.


Almost Good (AG) - Outlined design. Parts of date and legend worn smooth.


Fair (Fair) - You can identify the coin as to its type.


Basal State (Basal) - You can identify the lump of metal as being a coin.

 

oke, i think i got it now, so time for another noob question in the same range

I see people talking about lincols S and lincoln D and stuff like that.
I allready figured out that the S and the D and the other letters are the letters that are presed on the head side of the coin.
But what do they stand for?
Like under the head of the coin posted by brg5658 there is a letter D its those letters i am talking about

 

That letter is called the "Mint Mark". It denotes at which geographic location or mint the coin was made. In the US, the most common mints are those in San Francisco, California (S); Denver, Colorado (D), and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (P or no mint mark).

Other world coins also have similar markings. For example, many coins from Italy have the letter "R" denoting that the coin was made or minted in Rome, Italy.

I hope that helps.

 

is there a list somewhere to find with all these letters (US coins)?
Could come in handy i think (becouse i dont know al the states )