What Is Involved in Coin Valuation?

Coin (coin; specie; hard currency; hard cash; piece), which is ^[1] currency minted from metal. It has a history of thousands of years in China. The earliest metal coin was the Baode copper shell of the Shang Dynasty, which has been more than 3000 years ago.

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Due to the unique abrasion resistance of metal circulating coins, its circulation life is more than 20 years, coupled with its lower cost than banknotes, and easy to use, suitable for vending and ticketing services. Therefore, metal circulating coins have been active in currency Circulation field.

The pattern of RMB circulating coins is very fine, the quality of the coins is even, and the luster is bright and shiny. In particular, the casting of the national emblem and wheat ears is very clear, but the effect of minting fake coins is more blurred. Take 1 yuan of RMB in circulation as an example:

1) Pattern: The pattern of the flower, ear of rice, national emblem, Tiananmen, etc. of the real 1-yuan coin is clear, with a strong sense of unevenness, and

The following four factors largely determine or affect the value of a coin:

First, "things are scarce and expensive." The scarcity of a coin determines its value. Generally speaking, the scarcer a coin is, the more valuable it is. But it must be noted that the scarcity of coins is not necessarily related to the age of coins. For example, many ancient coins in China from the old days often sold for only a few dollars, while the United States in 1913

The People's Bank of China Jinan Branch issued a notice in January 2016: After the 1st and 5th coupons were coined, starting on January 1, Shandong Province carried out "1 yuan coupon coins" in 5 cities: Qingdao, Zaozhuang, Jining, Linyi, and Rizhao. "Chemical Engineering" pilot, stop putting 1-yuan notes into commercial banks and replace them with coins. At present, this work has been started in the pilot cities mentioned above.

Coins have four major advantages. First, the circulation life is much longer than paper money. A standard mechanism coin made with modern technical conditions can be circulated up to 30,000 times, with an average circulation time of 30 years, while an average banknote is circulated 300 times, which is only 1 / 100th of the coin's life. Coins and banknotes with the same denomination of 1 yuan have a combined cost ratio of about 1:15 for 20 years.

In addition, the introduction of 1 yuan coins is beneficial to the promotion and application of vending machines, parking lot toll collection machines, subway and bus ticket vending machines, and has greatly facilitated the lives of the people.

Secondly, it is beneficial to purify the cash circulation environment and reduce the spread of germs. Many diseases are transmitted through paper money, and the condition of coins is much better than paper money. Coins can be picked, washed, sterilized, and then put back into the market through a variety of measures. On the other hand, it helps eliminate criminals using small denomination banknotes to spread reactionary speech and purify the circulation environment.

Coins also help conserve natural resources. Protected the wood, cotton, fresh water and other resources needed to make paper money. And the metal can still be recovered and recast decades later, with little loss of its original value. ^[3]

Introduction

Coin appearance refers to the pros and cons of coin shape and the degree of perfection of the coin surface. With the improvement of the currency collection level of various countries and the in-depth exchanges in the international coin industry, the majority of coin lovers are more and more concerned about the appearance of coins. A good-looking coin is pleasing to the eye, while a worn and scarred coin is not at all aesthetically pleasing. Collectors do not always have strict criteria for judging coins, and enthusiasts often use vague descriptions such as "full-quality" and "top-quality", which are neither scientific nor uniform. Although there is no internationally accepted standard for grading coins, the international numismatic community has been trying to develop standards that are suitable for most countries, and has achieved good results. Generally, two evaluation methods have been formed, namely, the description of classification and Digital grading.

Descriptive grading

The description classification method is applied in countries and regions such as Europe and the United States, which is easy for the public to understand. It is generally divided into 7 levels:

1. Uncirculated / Unused / New Product (UNC). Even under a 30x magnifier, no signs of wear or flow can be observed, but there may be package marks.

2. Extremely Fine (XF or EF). 95% of the coin surface is clearly visible, and the entire coin surface is only slightly worn. If a local area of the coin surface is used as the grading standard, 90% of the details in this area are clearly visible.

3. Very fine (VF). 75% of the details of the coin surface are clearly visible, the entire coin surface is moderately worn, and the edges of the text and numbers may not be clear enough. If a local area of the coin surface is used as the grading standard, the details in that area are clearly visible.

4. Beauty (Fine, F). The 50% detail of the currency surface is clearly visible, the entire currency surface has been severely worn, and the edges of the text and numbers are not clear. If a local area of the coin surface is used as the grading standard, only 50% of the area is clear. Coin faces are often left unwashed, with dirt and tarnishing.

5. Very Good (VG). Only 25% of the coin surface is clear and the entire coin surface has been severely worn.

6. Good product (Good, G). The face of the coin has been severely worn, and only the outline of the pattern can be discerned, and the edge teeth are also worn. It has no collectible value except for ancient coins and rare coins.

7. Poor (PR). The coin surface is severely worn, only the general outline can be distinguished, and the side teeth are severely worn, and generally have no storage value.

When assessing the grade of a coin, the side with more severe abrasion shall prevail.

In addition, the "Proof" (PRF) is often marked on the product grade table, which is often called "polished" or "mirror". Because in general, according to their processing, coins can be divided into two categories: "refined" and "common" coins. "Refined" coins are mainly used for collections and gifts, and are not in circulation, reflecting the best level of coins that modern coinage methods can achieve. "General" coins are used for circulation, thus forming 7 different grades from "uncirculated" to "bad".

Some people think that "refining" refers to a specific coin-making process, rather than a grade of grade originally formed through "circulation" in a meaningful way. However, in the actual collection activities, "refining" is closely related to "universal system", so it is not unreasonable to treat "refining" as a "special" product. The "refining" process generally includes: coin blanks are polished and weighed after punching; the mold is fully sandblasted, and then the protrusions are polished to a mirror surface or chrome-plated; when stamping, the speed of the stamper must be reduced, sometimes Repeated embossing; pay attention not to damage and contaminate the surface of the coin during operation, often wear protective gloves to operate; do not bump in the transport packaging. Therefore, the appearance of the "refined" coins is complete; the outline of the image text is clear; there are no defects on the edges. The "refined" coins have a convex surface (concave sandblasted part of the mold) with a frosted surface, and a concave surface (convex polished part of the mold) with a mirror surface (Mirror-1ike Surface), which is often identified The most obvious sign of "refined" coins.

Many coins on the coin catalogue are classified according to the descriptive method. For example, the United States Claus Press's "World Coin Standard Catalogue" often classifies coins into 4 levels:

1. Crude coins are used: Youmei (VF), Meipin (F), Shangjia (VG), Jiapin (G).

2. The use of mechanism currency: Extremely beautiful (XF, EF), beautiful (VF), beautiful product (F), superior (VG).

3. Modern coins, especially collectible coins, are adopted: uncirculated (UNC), extremely beautiful (XF, EF), beautiful (VF), beautiful product (F).

Digital grading

In order to meet the needs of continuous pursuit of high grades in American coin transactions, the American Numismatic Association formulated the "Official ANA Grading Stan dards for United States Coins (OAGS)" in the 1970s. This standard was written by Ken Bresett and A. Kosoff, and has been revised and published many times. This grading method is being gradually promoted in the United States, but has not yet been generally accepted internationally. The characteristics of this standard are first divided into three grades: refined products, uncirculated products, and circulating products. Each product is suffixed with a certain number (3-70) to indicate its grade. After this standard was released, it was soon accepted by everyone because it was more clear and reasonable, and both the buyers and sellers in the market had urgent requirements for uniform standards. Books and magazines published in the United States have all adopted this standard, and other coin-speaking countries in the English-speaking countries have also generally cited it. Non-English-speaking countries have developed reference systems that are as close as possible.

1. Proof Coins. In principle, refined products are not graded, but a special manufacturing process. Since refined products are generally collected by people when they are published, they are uncirculated. The earliest refined products appeared around 1850, and the quantity was very small. It was not until the 1930s that the mints of various countries were generally manufactured.

Proof-70. Also known as Pefect Proof, it is the highest level of perfection of the coin surface without any scratches, packaging scratches and defects. The surface of the coin can be as shiny as new or natural.

Proof-67. Between Proof-70 and Proof-65.

Proof-65. That is, Choice Proof. Slight scratches or defects can be seen with a 4x magnifying glass, which is generally perfect.

Proof-63. Between Proof-65 and Proof-60.

Proof-60. Defects are visible to the naked eye.

Proof-55. That is Impaired Proof. Although the refined coins are not in circulation, they may cause some defects in transactions and cleaning.

2. Uncirculated Coins (Mint State Coins, MS). Refers to brand new coins that have not been put on the market after leaving the mint, so they are also called factory coins. Most of these coins are packaged in the factory. The packaged package is called the factory coin set, which is specially made for collectors, and the price is slightly higher.

MS-70. That is, Perfect Uncirculated, which is the best state in common coins. Some defects can be found with a 4x magnifying glass. Due to the difference in the gloss of the coin (not scratches or defects), it is divided into bright perfect uncirculated (MS-70, Brilliant) and natural perfect uncirculated (MS-70, toned). The face of the latter coin is natural, but not necessarily bright.

MS-67. Between M-70 and M-65.

MS-65. That is, Gem Uncirculated, which can be bright or natural, with a few packaging scratches and one or two edge defects.

MS-63. Also known as Choice Uncirculated, between MS-65 and MS-60.

MS-60. That is to say, Typical Uncirculated, there are certain scratch defects, and there are a few bumps on the edges, bright or natural.