Learn How to Become a Numismatic

Numismatics is the study of money, medallions, banknotes, token coins, and stock certificates. Numismatists are generally interested in use of money, its origin, appearance, variety and production. They aim to explore the role of the different kind of currency in our history using mint. Mint refers to the place or facility where the coins are being manufactured. If you have no back ground in grading coins, you have no business in coin collecting and numismatics without employing help from the experts. Whether you are selling, buying or collecting coins, it doesn’t hurt to acquire basic knowledge or information.

Numismatics is the study of money, medallions, banknotes, token coins, and stock certificates. It is believed to have been established in the time of Julius Caesar who wrote the first book about it. It is a very interesting topic because every medal or coin signifies different era, culture, economy and politics.

Numismatists or the people who study the history and over all appearance of the above mentioned forms of currency are different from coin collectors. Unlike numismatists, coin collectors are only interested in collecting coins and the prestige that goes along with it although; a numismatist can also be a coin collector and vise versa.

Over the years, coin collection has been very popular. The most common designs are famous people and animals and attempt to depict the era when the specific coin was released.

Numismatists are generally interested in use of money, its origin, appearance, variety and production. They aim to explore the role of the different kind of currency in our history using mint. Mint refers to the place or facility where the coins are being manufactured. They also grade or authenticate coins to determine its market value. In line with this, Coin grading system facilities were established.

At this time there are 3 major third party facilities that authenticate coins and/or paper money. These are the PCGS or Professional Coin grading system located in Newport Beach, CA, NGC or Numismatic Guaranty Corporation in Sarasota, Florida and Paper Money Grading (PMG).

PCGS is a third party institution that was established in 1986, which grade and authenticate coins mostly for commercial purposes. They are independent body providing expert opinion in rating a coin. NGC is also a third party institution offering services solely to Numismatists. It was established in 1987. On the other hand, PMG is solely for authentication of paper money and a smaller department of PCGS.

When coin collecting was not as popular as now, there were only 3 categories to which a coin may fall.

1. Good – which means that the coin has all the details intact?
2. Fine – which means that the coin has all the details intact and still has a bit of luster visible and
3. Uncirculated – which means that the coin was never put up in the market thus maintaining its original appearance.

However, today coin grading has evolved and is becoming more definite. They use combination of letters and numbers that corresponds to the quality of a coin. As of this time, the coin grading system of United States of America is the easiest and recommended for beginners. Example of USA grading system: MS-60 to MS-70 that means that the coin is blemish-free and has good color and strike. In short it’s perfect!

Knowing how to grade a coin properly is not only a gift, it’s an art. It requires knowledge, exposure and obviously skills. For coin collectors, ability to grade a coin is a must because the value of a coin largely depends on it.

Here are some components Numismatists use in coin grading. We will also discuss this further in an upcoming chapter.

1. Luster – it is a determining factor if a specific coin has been circulated or not. To have a higher grade, a coin must be technically intact and free from any form of imperfection or blemish.
2. Surface preservation. Abrasion on the surface of the coin and its location is a huge factor in grading a coin. Though, it does not necessarily mean that abrasion can lower the grade of a coin. For example, if a good-looking coin has a severe abrasion on the back but unnoticeable, it will not count against the coin, but the issue may not be the same if the abrasion is located in front or focal point.
3. Strike. It refers to the coin designing process wherein the coin is being stamped onto a planchet. In overall grading, strike does not weigh much.
4. Coloration. For some coin collectors, preservation of original color of the coin has a huge impact on its value especially if it is a copper or silver coin.
5. Eye appeal. Some coin may not be perfect but others may find it attractive, however, it still requires expert opinion to conclude that a certain coin is excellent in all aspect mentioned.

If you have no back ground in grading coins, you have no business in coin collecting and numismatics without employing help from the experts. Coins have been playing vital role, not only in the lives of people who love collecting and studying them but also in the society for they represent different era in the history of mankind. Whether you are selling, buying or collecting coins, it doesn’t hurt to acquire basic knowledge or information.

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