AU-55 Sheldon

What system is there in Australia? As far as I know there isn't one and the ANDA guidelines which might be the closest thing are far from cutting the mustard. People grade very inconsistently in Australia and whilst we on this forum seem to all grade fairly similarly many people do not.

The ANDA standard has so many holes it's not funny. I have coins from the author of the standard that he's graded as GEM but are either cleaned or scratched. But he'll argue quite lucidly why they are GEM's under the ANDA standard. To me they are not.

Clearly one of the primary issues here is standards. Australia as a sovereign nation has a set of standards that companies or producers are required to adhere to in order to sell their products or do business here.

Many consumers hold a particular perception regarding the quality or durability of goods imported from other countries, which often derives from production or quality control standards (and in the negative sense, China is regularly regarded as not being up to those expected).

Unlike others, coin standards and grading is not one that has seen a requirement for legislative determination beyond what constitutes legal tender, although informal standards have been in place for many years through ANDA, and are reflected by market and consumer expectations.

So now we come to north American for-profit companies promoting a slabbing industry and their products are being imported here. Unfortunately, due to the lower and different set of standards in use to those here, their products are widely perceived to be inferior and as a result suffer from an image problem.

Those familiar with the grading standards used by TPGs and those used in Australia are in most circumstances likely to automatically downgrade a slabbed coin by 1 grade and work from there (obviously there are nuances and exceptions).

Anyway, here is a photo of some "Quality Products"...

Krikey an MS67 dog chain graded by PJCS

it is a nice idea but without someone administering the standard as is the case with TPG companies and the sheldon system it will simply be interpreted and applied differently and achieve nothing.

Thanks Mate
I have been a collector for 15-20 years on and off.
I only started to organise my hoard of coins a few years ago.
Now that I have some sort of order in the different Aussie collections I am branching out into US and Canadian coins.
That's where I first came across the Sheldon system.
I now can understand how the US and Canadian coins should look at certain grades But I just can't seem to get my head around to applying those grades to Aussie coins when I have used the old system for so long.
Stubborn,pigheaded or just plain old school, I can't help it it's just the way I am

I think the main problem with all this is the same as most other systems and that is they make them to complicated and need to get back to "kiss" as I am a layman and love layman terms They are trying to make some things universal and other not so it's all a bit wishy washy to me

But thanks heaps Sap as your explanation was fantastic and a great help

And another thing I've just thought about and that is what is a "proof coin" as acording to the book's, Rennik's say

"A specially made coin distinguished by sharpness of detail and usually with a brilliant mirror like surface. Proof refers to the method of manufacture and not the condition".

And Mac's say

"Describes a type of coin, not a condition or grade. Such coins are specially struck collector oieces not intended for circulation. Highly polished dies and blanks are used in their manufacture so that they have a mirror - like finish when struck. They are individually handled during production. Many proof coins have a frosted relief, the design having been treated with acid or sand blasted so that it has a matt finish to make it stand out against the highly polished field surrounding it. Some proof coins have an all over matt finish although this is not usual with Australian coins".

I've seen somewhere that some have been found in circulation. So my question is, is a proof still a proof after circulaion..to me it's not proof anymore but it is a proof coin geebus this is goona be fun So we have a proof proof down to a VG proof..worth a thought

It's all very strange and a little hard to get a hold of when you have PROOF, FDC, GEM, CHU, UNC, aUNC, EF, VF, F, VG and SPEC (specimen) as well in the mix then these get broken down again My head hurts

Yeah my head hurts