AG (about good)
AG stands for about good: a very heavily worn coin that falls just short of good, with the rims worn into the lettering. It is a single grade on the 70-point Sheldon scale, AG 3.
How to read it
PCGS calls AG 3 the grade of a coin that falls short of good, with only the main features present and peripheral lettering, date and stars sometimes partly worn away. The grading services put the line at slightly different places. NGC says most letters and digits are readable and the rims are worn into the fields; PCGS says most of the lettering is readable, with moderately heavy wear into the rims; the ANA's standards are harsher, with portions of the lettering, date and legends worn smooth, the date barely readable and the rims merging into the lettering. PCGS notes that AG 3 is frequently found on Barber coins where the obverse is fully good or better but the reverse is heavily worn. Above AG 3 is G 4; below it is FR 2.
Also searched as: about good, AG 3.
About good or almost good
An ANA article writes the grade as almost good (AG 3); the ANA's own standards, PCGS, NGC and CAC Grading say about good.
More coin grades
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Sources
- 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, About Good; AG-3
- NGC Coin Grading Scale, NGC Coin Grading Scale (ngccoin.com), Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), Numeric Grades: AG 3
- ANA Official Coin Grading Standards, Official Coin Grading Standards (money.org), American Numismatic Association, Circulated Coins: AG-3
- Understanding Coin Grading Basics, Understanding Coin Grading Basics (ANA blog, blog.money.org), American Numismatic Association, paragraph on PO-1 to AG-3
- CAC Grading Standards, CAC Grading Standards (cacgrading.com), CAC Grading, Numeric Grades: (AG) About Good (3)
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research