How Do You Determine The Condition Of A Coin?

Coin collecting is an interesting hobby. Even though it's not for me, it's interesting to learn about how things work, especially the interpersonal and logistical aspects. It seems that the rest of the world can learn some valuable things from the coin collecting community.

I understand that there are 69 different grades for the condition of a coin. While the difference between one grade and the next one above and below it don't affect the value very much for most of the grades, it's different at the high end of the scale (mid-60s and higher).

How do you determine the condition of a coin? At the upper end of the scale (where minor differences make a HUGE difference in value), grading the coin is most difficult. It seems to me that you need a microscope to verify a claim of MS69.

How do you go about buying or selling a coin in those upper grades? Dealing with flawed and worn-out coins is relatively easy and straightforward for both the buyer and seller. There's no need to argue about the exact condition number, because that does not make a significant difference in value.

But for the upper grades, extra close scrutiny is necessary, and I can see the limitations of a coin show for this. The difference between MS68 and MS69 is so tiny that it's difficult to discern, but an MS69 coin can be worth at least 10 times as much as a similar MS68 coin. The coin dealers are busy dealing with attendees interested in buying and selling coins. The time pressure and the distraction from attendees running around can get in the way.

Is this where visiting the dealers at their physical stores during their normal business hours comes in? Given my experiences selling gold coins to local dealers in their own physical stores, I've realized that it's a much better environment for close scrutiny. It's so much quieter, and the dealer and customer can take all the time they need to discuss and examine everything.

I'm guessing that owning coins in those upper condition grades is for experienced coin collectors and not newbies, who are definitely not positioned to distinguish between MS68 and MS69 and have not yet had a chance to establish rapport with anyone. I figure that the experienced people have built rapport with dealers and fellow collectors during the course of their coin collecting adventures. Just as the best deals at coin shows happen among the dealers before the public is allowed to enter, an individual collector who has built rapport with a particular dealer can get better deals than someone who hasn't.