what does this symbol mean?

Coin grades

The grades and abbreviations on graded coins, from poor to perfect mint state, and the designations added to them.

A coin grade is a number from 1 to 70 on the Sheldon scale, with letters in front for the grade’s range. Dr William Sheldon devised the scale to price large cents by their condition, on the theory, PCGS says, that a 70 would be worth 70 times as much as a 1. PCGS dates it to 1948, the ANA to 1949 and NGC to the late 1940s.

Grades 11 symbols

Designations 7 symbols

The grades

The letters name ranges, as CAC lists them: MS (mint state) 60 to 70, AU (about uncirculated) 50 to 58, XF (extremely fine) 40 to 45, VF (very fine) 20 to 35, F (fine) 12 to 15, VG (very good) 8 to 10, G (good) 4 to 6, AG (about good) 3, and FR and PO (fair and poor) 2 and 1. Every number from 60 to 70 is used. Below 60 some are skipped: there are grades of 50 and 53, NGC notes, but none of 51 or 52.

Where the services differ

Collectors took up Sheldon’s scale but couldn’t agree on the standard, PCGS says, and the services still describe its top differently. The ANA calls MS-70 “the perfect coin”; NGC defines a 70 as having no post-production imperfections at 5x magnification; CAC says there is no such thing as a perfect coin. The ANA and PCGS write EF for extremely fine where NGC and CAC write XF, and a proof is PR at PCGS and CAC but PF at NGC.

Proofs and designations

Proof is a manufacturing process and not a grade, the ANA says. A proof’s grade carries PR or PF in place of MS, even below 60. After the number, a service may add a designation. RD, RB and BN give how much of a copper coin’s original red is left, and the thresholds differ: red is 95% or more at PCGS, at least 85% at NGC. CAM and DCAM describe the frost on a proof’s design, and PL and DMPL mirror-like fields on a circulation coin. Three are for single series: FB on dimes, FS on Jefferson nickels and FBL on Franklin half dollars.

Details grades

A genuine coin with a surface problem such as cleaning may get a details grade in place of a number: the grade range and the word DETAILS, with the problem after it, as in NGC’s example, VF DETAILS - REV GRAFFITI.

Sources

  1. The PCGS Story: The Importance of Coin Grading, pcgs.com/thepcgsstory (Internet Archive copy of 26 January 2025), Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), archived by the Internet Archive, history of grading; founding
  2. Understanding Coin Grading Basics, Understanding Coin Grading Basics (ANA blog, blog.money.org), American Numismatic Association, opening paragraphs
  3. NGC Coin Grading Scale, NGC Coin Grading Scale (ngccoin.com), Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), introduction; Numeric Grades; MS/PF 70 to PO 1; Plus & Star; Strike Type (MS); Numeric Grades; What is a 70?; MS/PF 60
  4. Learn Grading: Hierarchy of Grades, Designations and Strike Characters, NGC, Learn Grading series, Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), What number grades are assigned to coins?; strike characters; strike characters for US series
  5. CAC Grading Standards, CAC Grading Standards (cacgrading.com), CAC Grading, The Sheldon Scale; (MS) to (PO); Plus (+); Strike Types: Mint State (MS); MS/PF 70
  6. ANA Official Coin Grading Standards, Official Coin Grading Standards (money.org), American Numismatic Association, Uncirculated Coins: MS-70; MS-60; Circulated Coins: EF-45, EF-40
  7. PCGS Lingo: full listing, PCGS Lingo, full listing (pcgs.com/lingo/ALL; Internet Archive copy of 5 February 2025), Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), archived by the Internet Archive, Extremely Fine; EF-40; EF-45; XF-40; XF-45; Proof; PR; Red; Red-Brown; Brown; RD; RB; BN; Full Bands; FB; Full Steps; FS
  8. ANA: Hints for Completing the Scout Coin Collecting Badge, Explore the World of Money: hints for completing the Boy Scout badge requirements (money.org), American Numismatic Association, requirement 3, grading terms; mints
  9. Learn Grading: What Are the SP and PL Prefixes?, NGC, Learn Grading series (10 September 2019), Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), MS and PF prefixes; Specimen
  10. Learn Grading: What are BN, RB and RD?, NGC, Learn Grading series (18 July 2018), Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), article text and table
  11. Learn Grading: Proof, Proof Cameo and Proof Ultra Cameo, NGC, Learn Grading series (May 2018), Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), article text
  12. Learn Grading: Prooflike (PL) and Deep Prooflike (DPL), NGC, Learn Grading series (12 June 2018), Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), article text
  13. Learn Grading: What is an NGC Details Grade?, NGC, Learn Grading series (9 July 2019), Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), article text

Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research