Details grade

How to read it

NGC gives a details grade to coins that are genuine but whose surface problems preclude a numeric grade. Its label starts with the adjectival grade range the coin's detail matches, then the word DETAILS, then the main problem: NGC's example is VF DETAILS - REV GRAFFITI, a coin with the detail of a very fine coin and graffiti on the reverse. PCGS marks these coins Genuine with a details grade; a Liberty Seated half marked "Genuine – VF Details", PCGS says, is a genuine coin with sharpness equal to VF 20 to VF 35. Coins with no wear are marked UNC Details. PCGS prints a numbered problem code on the label, among them 92 for cleaned, 95 for scratches, 97 for environmental damage and 98 for damage. NGC considers a coin with a numeric grade superior to one with a details grade in the same range, and PCGS says a details coin's value is not equivalent: in most cases it is substantially below what price guides show for the grade.

Also searched as: cleaned, details, genuine.

What leads to a details grade

NGC groups the problems in six categories: environmental effects from improper storage, such as corrosion; cleaning, such as brushing, polishing or whizzing; altered color from chemicals or heat; mechanical damage, from bends and scratches to mounting and graffiti; repairs, such as plugged holes or tooling; and some mint-made irregularities, such as a clipped planchet. An ANA article lists coins that have been cleaned, scratched, mishandled or damaged by their environment.

Before details grades

Details grades are the grading services' later answer to problem coins. PCGS says that from its start in 1986 its coins were meant to trade sight unseen, which ruled out net grading (marking a coin's wear grade down for a flaw); so for about its first twenty years it returned every coin with a problem ungraded, in a so-called body bag. It later began to holder some problem coins as Genuine with details grades. Counterfeit, altered and questionable coins still get no grade at NGC, and CAC Grading does not holder a coin it cannot authenticate or one with PVC on its surface.