What are the gades of coins mean?

Question

What is the MS68, MS69, MS70, and the other grades.

Answer 1

MS (Mint State) Grades are coins that are minted with no trace of wear. These are minted with special polished dies that give a nice finish when minted. They are sorted into different grades by criteria such as lustre, appearance after striking, surface condition, blemishes, etc.  The higher the number, the better condition they are.

The low end of coin conditions starts at AG-3 (About Good), and goes up in condition: G-4 (Good), VG-8 (Very Good), F-12 (Fine), VF-20 (Very Fine), XF-40 (Extra Fine), AU-50 (Almost Uncirculated), AU-55 (Choice), AU58 (Very Choice) to the Mint States. A good source to check the grade of your coins is to pick up a ANA (American Numismatic Association) Grading Standards book (ISBN 079481993-1) from a bookstore or coin shop. Hope this is of help.

Answer 2

A grade of a coin means basically how much wear it has as well as marks. The latest grading system lists coins on a numbered scale of 1-70. They decided to use some of the terminology used in times past before the numbers showed up. Poor is a 1 and it goes up from there. The MS numbers mean mint state and go from 60-70 with 70 being a perfect coin that has no blemishes or contact marks and is a super strike with eye appeal. Each series of coins is graded differently so a book would help you, for a grading book has photos. A basic idea of grading each series is in the Red Book a Guide to U.S. coins. One thing to remember is grading is some ones opinion and is not an exact science.