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About Uncirculated

A circulated coin that has the general appearance of an uncirculated coin except that small amounts of wear can be found. The coin may also possess some of the original mint luster. About Uncirculated covers the grades AU50-AU58 on the ANA grading scale.

See also - - ANA Grading Scale, Circulated, Uncirculated, Mint Luster

Altered Date

A date on a coin that has been altered after the coin has been struck. It is unscrupulously done in order to fake a much more rarer and valuable coin. A fairly common example is an altered 1858 Flying Eagle cent made to look like it's a much rarer 1856 Flying Eagle cent. An 1858 example may be worth $20 while a comparable 1856 example would be worth over $6,000.

See also - - Whizzed

ANA Grading Scale

This is the American Numismatic Association's (ANA) official grading scale as defined in the Official ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins. It is a 1 to 70 grading scale that was adapted from one created by Dr. William H. Sheldon in his attempt to devise a pricing scale in his 1949 book Early American Cents. The pricing aspect didn't work out but the grading scale caught on and is the main scale in use today. Circulated coins fall into a grading range of 1 to 58, while uncirculated (mint state) coins fall into the range of 60 to 70 with 70 being a perfect coin just as it was minted.

See also - - Circulated, Uncirculated

Annealing Process

This is a process metal is placed in an annealing furnace that first heats and then slowly cools the metal. This process tempers the blanks, thereby toughening and making the metal less brittle. This process is used with blanks before they become planchets and also with dies prior to being hubbed. Without the annealing process, the metal would be brittle and prone to cracking.