Grading Of Coins

Now I think I will get some people thinking, how do you grade a coin?
When can you tell a coin is Good, verry good, fine, Verry Fine and so on?
I think it depends on the age, and the type of coin that you get, my personal opinion is that some coins, even in almost minted condition can be called just fine, because of the rough way they are made, take for example the Lebanon 1 piastre KM 11 and 12, on the other hand, a coin struck by an official mint can be as proof as it can be made, then it’s easy.

But, how do you grade a coin which is found with a metal detector?, of with diving?
Here in Europe often we see findings that have been in the ground for ages, some times in a condition that you can recognise it easy, but sometimes totally green from corrosion, and only to identify after it’s “cleaned” with sometimes rough way’s of cleaning like soda or acid.

I myself have several coins who came from sea diving expeditions, most of them from the former Netherlands indies, now a copper coin which was in the sea for some hundred years is corroded, and next to that many times not longer the weight that it should have,
the edges got thinner, and the printing/letters are faded, so we call it here between good, and fine, but…… How would YOU call it?

Maybee some stuff to think abouth issen’t it?
By ther way, excuse my “broken” English, I try it the best I can.

Greetings to all fellow collectors,

Carl Tromp