William Sheldon, using numbers from one to seventy. The circulated grades were assigned numbers from 1 to 59, while the numbers from 60 to 70 were used for the Mint state grades. The basis of his number selection was the relationship of prices of early American copper coins with their grades. For example, in the late 1940’s, the price of a typical Mint state coin (MS-60) was about five times the price of a typical Fine (F-12) example of the same date and variety. It is important to note that both the adjectival and the numerical grading systems use the same grade definitions.
Sheldon’s numerical system The standard for grading in most areas of North America. Not all of the numbers in the range are used, and the following are the more commonly seen numerical grades and their adjectival equivalents:
| Circulated Grades | Unccirculated Grades |
| aG-3 About Good G-4 Good VG-8 Very Good VG-10 Very Good Plus F-12 Fine F-15 Fine Plus VF-20 Very Fine VF-30 Very Fine Plus EF-40 Extremely Fine EF-45 Choice Extremely Fine AU-50 About Uncirculated AU-55 Choice About Uncirculated AU-58 Very Choice About Uncirculated |
MS-60 Typical Mint state MS-61 Typical Mint state MS-62 Select Mint state MS-63 Choice Mint state MS-64 Very Choice Mint State MS-65 Gem Mint state |
