Sp, PF, PL Differences - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 6,429
enigmapaul New Member Canada 39 Posts	Posted 02/04/2018 3:15 pm Can someone please shed light on the differences? Do we have proof-like in Canada or is that Specimen? Report this Post to the Staff

JimmyD Bedrock of the Community Canada 21614 Posts	Posted 02/04/2018 3:28 pm It appears you have a Charlton Catalogue. If you look in the front on the last Roman Numeral page, it will explain the difference in finishes on Canadian Coins. Report this Post to the Staff
kuh_85 Pillar of the Community Canada 2366 Posts	Posted 02/04/2018 4:14 pm We have Circulation, Proof Like (1951-1967 with some debate about the first couple of years; first complete PL set was issued in 1953), Numismatic BU/MS Non Circulating which is basically Proof Like for the post-silver age 1968-2010 (This finish was completely eliminated as of 2011 when the last sets were converted to containing just circulation coins), Specimen (goes back as far as 1908 with various styles changing over the years), Proof (first struck in 1981. Anything prior to that is Specimen of Proof Like), Reverse Proof, Matte Proof and Bullion. Differences are along the lines of # of times the coin is struck, whether the die is etched (with acid in the old days, lasers in the new) and how it is etched (reliefs, fields etc). Note that many sellers who aren't that familiar with the terms tend to use them interchangeably. For example you see a lot of ebay listings identifying the coin/set as SPECIMEN PROOF. It can be one or the other but not both at the same time! Edited by kuh_85 02/04/2018 4:21 pm Report this Post to the Staff
kuh_85 Pillar of the Community Canada 2366 Posts	Posted 02/04/2018 4:19 pm p.s. 1908 is when the RCM opened and our coinage was produced domestically for the first time. Prior to that our coinage came from The Royal Mint in the UK and was sometimes sub-contracted out to the Heaton mint with those coins being identified by the H mint mark. For Newfoundland coinage (pre-Confederation), the C mint mark indicates the coins were produced in Canada at the RCM. In modern day coins you have a few years where the W mint mark was used to indicate the Winnipeg branch of the mint (subsequently Winnipeg became the sole producer of circulation coins while Ottawa retained NCLT so the use of the W was dropped). And the P mint mark indicates Plated steel coins (again subsequently dropped after the transition was completed). Report this Post to the Staff
enigmapaul New Member Canada 39 Posts	Posted 02/04/2018 4:54 pm Thanks kuh_85. That's clears up a lot. Can you elaborate on "Numismatic BU/MS Non Circulating" What are the acronyms and the significance of this finish? Also how do the gradings work with the various finishes? MS is reserved for circulation coins? Report this Post to the Staff
kuh_85 Pillar of the Community Canada 2366 Posts	Posted 02/04/2018 5:17 pm MS = Mint State. Used for circulation coins of grade 60+ MS NC = Mint State Non Circulating. Used by Charlton for PL style coins from 1968-2010. Numismatic BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) = Same as MS NC. Used by ICCS in the comment field of the certificate. UNCxx = Same as MS NC. Used by CCCS. PLxx = Same as MS NC for 1968+. Used by ICCS before they switched to NBU in the 80's so you'll still see some coins from the 70s with this designation. Also used by PCGS and NGC for even longer which only serves to contribute to the confusion! For Proof coins you'll see the grade as PF67 or PR67. For Specimen you'll see SP67. However if these grades are from PCGS, NGC etc they may not be used as you would expect. IE you might see a 1979 silver dollar graded as PF65 instead of SP65 (1979 silver dollars were only issued as Specimen) or you might see a 1985 BU dollar graded as SP65 or MS65. I've even seen the odd PCGS/NGC coin that seems to use Proof Like/PL in the comment in its more American meaning of "really really nice circulation coin" rather than specifying the actual PL finish. The main difference between Circulation and NBU is that NBU coins are struck using a slower moving, higher pressure press that is much more likely to produce a higher grade coin which is why they are valued less than circulation coins of the same numerical grade. The main difference between PL and NBU is that the NBU press uses higher pressures as nickel is harder than silver. Report this Post to the Staff
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