Grading & Terms Guide

Coin and stamp listings use standard industry shorthand to describe condition, strike quality, and how a piece has been catalogued. This page explains the most common terms and abbreviations you’ll see in product descriptions and specification tables across this catalogue.

Coin grading scale

Coin condition is described on an internationally recognised numeric scale (the Sheldon scale, 1–70), grouped into these broad bands from most worn to least worn:

• Poor / Fair (PO-1, FR-2) — heavily worn; design barely identifiable.
• About Good / Good (AG-3, G-4–G-6) — major devices visible, most detail worn flat.
• Very Good (VG-8–VG-10) — design clear, but fine detail has worn away.
• Fine (F-12–F-15) — moderate, even wear; major details full, minor details worn.
• Very Fine (VF-20–VF-35) — light wear limited to the highest points; most detail remains sharp.
• Extremely Fine / Extra Fine (EF or XF-40–XF-45) — only the very highest points show slight wear under close inspection.
• About Uncirculated (AU-50–AU-58) — a trace of wear on the highest points; most original mint lustre remains.
• Mint State / Uncirculated (MS-60–MS-70) — no wear from circulation. Coins in this range are graded further on strike quality and surface preservation — MS-70 describes a coin that is flawless even under magnification, which is rare.

Third-party grading services

Many coins are independently examined and sealed (“slabbed”) by a third-party grading service, which assigns a numeric grade from the scale above. The two most widely recognised services are NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Company) and PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service). A description such as “NGC MS64” means the coin was graded Mint State 64 by NGC — the service name identifies who assigned the grade, and the code that follows it is the grade itself.

Stamp condition & mounting terms

• MNH — Mint Never Hinged: unused, with full original gum that has never been mounted with a hinge.
• MH — Mint Hinged (also seen as MM, Mint Mounted): unused, but a stamp hinge was used at some point to mount it, which typically leaves a mark in the gum.
• Used: the stamp has been postally used and cancelled.
• CTO — Cancelled To Order: cancelled by the issuing postal authority for the collector market rather than through genuine postal use — common practice for some countries’ issues.
• FDC — First Day Cover: an envelope bearing a stamp cancelled on its official first day of issue.

Catalogue reference numbers

Stamps are commonly cross-referenced against one or more standard reference catalogues, each with its own numbering system for the same stamp. You may see any of these prefixes in a listing:

• Scott — the standard reference catalogue in the United States.
• Yvert et Tellier (Y&T / Yvert) — the standard French-language reference catalogue, widely used across continental Europe.
• Michel — the standard German-language reference catalogue.
• Stanley Gibbons (SG) — the standard reference catalogue in the United Kingdom.

These are independent publishers’ own numbering systems, not grades or part numbers — the same stamp will simply carry a different reference number under each catalogue.