OH boy!!!! Grading books. I can't even imgine the thosands of hours I spent studying (and loving every minute) these guides. I even purchased a book of an ANA grading course and was going to take the test as a professional grader...back many years ago. I still have that book somewhere.
Villa 66 referenced the Brown and Dunn grading guide. I believe this may have been one of the first for U.S. type coins (excpet for "Penny Whimsy" by Sheldon (yes...the Sheldon of the 1-70 grading scale of many MANY years ago).
For comparison, I have included 3 more contemporary grading guides and their guidelines for the Barber quarter as started by Villa 66 and the Brown and Dunn grading guide. (Please note that in the 3rd guide, it states that grading standards are the same for the Barber quarter and the Barber half dollar so the standards for the half dollar are included herein.
The first guide is "The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards" 6th edition. I checked a few earlier editions and there are no changes in the grading standards for the "Barber Quarter". The ANA guide is by far my favorite and also had wide acceptance.
The second guide is "Grading Coins by Photographs, An Action Guide For the Collector and Investor" copyright 2008. I like this one too, but every coin type has so many variables that to provide 1 "typical" photo for each grade in my opinion is not sufficient for collectors to accurately grade their coins.
The third guide is "Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection" put out by PCGS, copyright 2004. This is the second edition and if I recall correctly, was rather a flop. The first edition was far superior but to be honest, I have both but like neither very much.
Anyway, the point of all this is to elaborate on Villa66's points about grading. They vary widely, but also do have some common areas. Somewhere in this mix of grading guides I got sucked into the slabbing game. The guides were so varied in opinions, every dealer had different opinions...I felt "safe" buying certified coins. If it scans well, I will post my ANA certified Barber quarter in this thread so people can see an upper grade example. It's no rarity and not a "gem", but was the best that I could afford at the time. I don't remember when I purchased the piece...many years ago...but if I can find out, I'll add it to the post with the pictures. If there are no photos posted...it's because the coin wouldn't scan in the slab. Alan Massachusetts
My follow up to this post...
My apologies that I couldn't get better scans. Another disadvantage of thise *&&^%^%# slabs!



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