Product Description

THE GUIDE THAT EXPLAINS, ILUSTRATES, AND SETS THE STANDARD FOR GRADING UNITED STATES COINS

The world's largest and most prestigious coin grading organization has created an amazing, one-of-a-kind guide that reveals its grading and authentication secrets. From the introduction:

"By furnishing a simple yet detailed guide to grading coins, PCGS has made it easy to understand the number that appears on a grading holder. Reading this book will make you an expert."
– Jay W. Johnson, Former Director, United States Mint

This book illustrates and explains with precise descriptions and digital images how you can determine the exact condition of a coin. Here is a coin grading volume so complete that—like its author, PCGS—it indeed sets the standard for grading coins. Inside this illustrated guide you will find:

• The standards for grading all United States coins, including precise definitions of Mint State and circulated grades

• An all-new section on how to grade America's 50-State quarters

• The fundamentals of counterfeit detection

• The secrets of handling and storing your collection

• State-of-the-art techniques used to recognize 'doctored' coins

• Over 600 detailed illustrations

This detailed guide is the only book on the market that encompases so many facets of coin grading and counterfeit detection.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39019 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-09
• Released on: 2004-03-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From the Publisher
What an undertaking this book was -- 48 pages of gorgeous color, spectacular black-and-white images throughout, the grading standards of the Professional Coin Grading Service published in a book for the first time -- this is truly the book no serious coin collector can do without! I worked with the top names in coin grading on this one, and I basically had to just sit back and marvel at their expertise. This was a challenge to produce, but an incredible achievement.
-- Randy Ladenheim-Gil, Editor, House of Collectibles

Customer Reviews

4.7 Stars for this must have book.
Please note: This book was released only last month so I'm not sure how relevant the reviews below are. I bought this at ANA's unveiling and must say that I believe that if you are going to buy one and only one book on US coins, this is the one that you must buy. It is great because it is chockablock full of utterly usable and vital information on all of the things that you are interested in when it comes to grading coins and indeed in determining whether you are dealing with true coin of the realm or a counterfeit. What makes this particular edition particularly cogent is its section on the State Quarters with photos to help with grading states MS-60 and above. This book also has an excellent section on Commemoratives which is a big help. Not all of the photographic plates are in color which is a shame because the black and whites are of absolutely no use when used to demonstrate the difference between an MS-67, and MS-66 and an MS-65: the photos are just not intense enough for one to really be able to see the flaws the editors are attempting to point out. There are color pictures which are a great help in making this comparison but they are reserved, predictably, for high end gold coins. My major beef with this and indeed all coin books to date is that the lowly, unloved Jefferson Nickel gets short shrift. Yep, barely two pages of commentary and no really great photographic grading aids. This is an especially jarring ommission in light of the newly released so-called Peace Nickel which, ironically, was launched at the same time as this book. Anyway, but for the grainy black and whites and the unforgivable nickel ommission, this book rates Five Stars. Buy it in any event.

Must-have book for coin enthusiasts and collectors.
There is more knowledge packed in this book than any 10 coin books combined. I now know the standards involved in Mint State grading, although the average collector like myself should understand that you probably won't be able to sit down after reading this book and tell the difference between an MS-64 and an MS-65 if you couldn't before. Still, I am much more comfortable now in all stages of grading, and much more confident when buying and selling coins. The counterfeit detection part is probably not relevant to the average collector, but it is interesting information that adds to your knowledge of the hobby and the enjoyment of collecting.

Absolutely a ton of information
I have worked in the coin industry for a number of years and have dealt with most of the big dealers. I thought I knew a lot about coins going in and I still can't believe everything that I learned. Everyone who even thinks about buying a coin HAS to read this book. The clear language explainations and numerous pictures make this book very easy to understand. I can't say enough about it.