What is the Sheldon Scale?

The Sheldon Scale is a 70-point numeric grading system for US coins, running from PO-1 (Poor) through MS-70 (Perfect Mint State). Developed by Dr. William Sheldon in 1949, it is the standard used by PCGS, NGC, ANACS, and ICG.

What do MS and PR grades mean?

MS (Mint State) grades apply to uncirculated business-strike coins; PR (Proof) grades apply to specially-struck proof coins. Both use the same 60 through 70 number range, with higher numbers indicating fewer surface imperfections.

What is the difference between XF-40 and AU-50?

An XF-40 (Extremely Fine) coin shows light wear on all high points; an AU-50 (About Uncirculated) coin shows only trace friction on the highest points and retains roughly half of its original mint luster.

Do you grade coins for consignors before auction?

US Collectibles NE performs in-house grading review at intake. For scarce or high-value coins, we recommend third-party certification through PCGS or NGC before auction; the certification cost is deducted from the sale proceeds at settlement.

What makes a coin a counterfeit candidate?

Key dates (such as 1893-S Morgan, 1916-D Mercury, 1909-S VDB Lincoln) with low mintages and high collector demand are common counterfeit targets. Our intake process checks the coin's date, mintmark, and weight against known-counterfeit diagnostics before listing.

Reference

Sheldon Scale Grading Guide

The 70-point Sheldon Scale is the standard for grading US coins. Below is the full scale with general descriptions, plus per-coin-type wear references for the most-traded series. All content is sourced from public-domain or publicly published grading standards (US Mint, NGC, ANA).

Loading grading reference…