Gold Coins Directory

Posts Tagged ‘Nuances’

Numismatics involves studying banknotes, token coins, stock certificates, medallion and money. It is believed that numismatics was established during the reign of Julius Caesar who also wrote the first book on this subject. This topic is a very interesting one as every coin or medal represents a particular culture, era, politics and economy.

Numismatists are the people who study the over all appearance and history of the currency mentioned above. They should not be confused with coin collectors. Coin collectors, unlike numismatists, only interest themselves in the collection of coins and the related prestige. A numismatist, however, can also be a collector or coins.

Through the years, the popularity of coin collecting has increased immensely. Animals and famous people who depict a certain era are the most popular.

Generally, numismatists are interested in the origins, appearance, production and variety of money. Their aim is to explore the different types of currency and their role in history with the help of mint information. The facility of place where a particular coin was manufactured is called its mint. Numismatists are also involved in the grading or authentication of coins in order to discern their market value. in order to facilitate this, many coin grading systems were established.

At present, there are three third party facilities involved in the authentication of paper money and coins. They are: the NGC or the Numismatic Guaranty corporation, Sarasota, Florida; PMG or Paper Money Grading; and the PCGS or Professional Coins Grading System, Newport Beach, CA.

PCGS was established in the year 1986 and is a third party organization that authenticates and grades coins for commercial purposes. This independent body provides expert opinion on coin rating. NGC, another third party institution established in the year 1987, offers services to numismatists in particular. The PMG, unlike the above mentioned bodies, only authenticates paper money and is a department of the PCGS.

There are a few components used by numismatists in grading coins:

1. Luster- this determines if a particular coin has been in circulation. If a coin is of higher grade, it should be free from all blemishes and imperfections and be technically intact.
2. Surface Preservation. The location and type of abrasion on a coin’s surface is an important factor that determines the coin’s grade. This does not mean that an abrasion lowers the coin’s grade. For instance, if a coin is good looking but has an unnoticeable abrasion at the back, it will not affect the value of the coin. But there is a difference in case the abrasion is located at the focal point or in the front.
3. Strike. Strike is the process of designing a coin where the coin is stamped on a planchet. The strike does not weigh much in the grading.
4. Coloration. A few coin collectors feel that the color of a coin impacts its value to a large extent especially when the coin is made of silver or copper.
5. Aesthetic appeal. There are a few coins that are anything but perfect but a collector might find such a coin valuable or attractive. However, even such coins need to examined before their true value is determined.

If you have absolutely no experience in the grading of coins, it is best you seek the help of experts. Coins are important, not only to people who love the study and collection of coins but also to society as they are representatives of different historic eras. One should always have the basic knowledge required to collect coins.