"Average Circulated"

Reach in your pocket and take a peek at the coins. That should be average circulated. I never considered it to be a gradem just a guide line. If someone is looking for average circulated coins, I think they are just looking for hole fillers from average coins you would find from circulation. When you start getting into key and semi key dates the whole idea of A/C does not apply and the coins should be graded accordingly.

For me, there's a big spread for what I consider to be "average circulated". It really needs to be defined by how a coin of that particular type was circulated. A Barber dime, for example, was very heavily circulated. For me, something that was "average circulated" is anywhere from AG-VG. Mercury dimes, however, weren't as heavily circulated, so an "average circulated" is probably VFish. Roosevelt dimes are probably anywhere from XF-AU for anything "average circulated".

It's all relative for me. I really don't like the term, as it covers such a broad spectrum of grades. I just look at the coin, and take whatever the seller says with a grain of salt whey buying a coin (the major exceptions being if it's a dealer I know very well).

Agree - hunterga20 nailed it. On ebay, always read carefully and see what you are GUARANTEED. Anything else is bunk. Think about it: if they're leaving themselves wiggle room, there's a reason. If they say a coin lot is guaranteed to come with X, and MAY have Y, you will only get X. And if they use a vague term like "average circulated," that means they can send you any terrible coin they want, and you can't complain about it.