1972 Gem Canadian Dollar

Here is a simple explanation:
MS stands for Mint State. A coin in the condition it came from the mint is mint state. The less scratches/nicks/damage, the higher the grade of MS goes. The highest is MS70 which is a perfect coin.

Before the numeric system of gradin coins was implemented, people used to just call a coin good, very goos, fine, verfine, extra fine, and uncirculated. Things like "almost uncirculated" and "about fine" could also be used. When an Uncirculated coin was really exceptional in appearance people would use descriptive words like "gem unc.," and "Bright Unc., " (or B.U.). It was all in the eyes of the beholder.

Nowadays you will still see the same words such as Fine, but followed by a number to tell which level of Fine the coin is graded as.

While mine post is not as eloquent - this is what Wikipedia should have, more or less, said.

And, BTW, even the current system of grading coins is subjecive - its still not a science.

Oh - one more thing... once a "professional" grading service (third party grading company or TPG) grades a coin, if the grade they put on it is MS65 or above, that's when prices can really start to go up that people will pay for the coin. Well...technically they are paying for the opinion of the TPG and what the label says, b/c the same coin broken out and resubmitted is never guaranteed the same grade aagin ...even if the coin has not changed in any way.

Again, I checked that link above (from Tlutz) and it doesn't have 2/3 of the coins I wanted to compate, including most from this post alone.

Off to End Game folks. Thanks for all the data.... Still processing.

Just because it ends at PL-64 doesn't mean that there isn't lower then PL-64, it just means the book deems them to be face value at that point. Book values are highly generous, especially the younger the coin, even at 10 years as Alan suggests I doubt you could even get rid of 5 of them at $4 each. Even at $2 each you wouldn't sell fast and even when you did with ebay fees and shipping at cost you would be making maybe 50-60 cents a coin for alot of work. People tend to underestimate the work that goes into selling as well.
Treat the book values as a guide so you don't get ripped off, they are there to show you what is valuable and what is not, comparing 1922-1936 nickels you can easily tell that 1925, 1926 are worth money and should get more special attention then the other dates because they are more common and require better condition to be collectible. Don't take it as now I know exactly how much they are worth because 1. you can't sell to a book and 2. you don't know how to grade.

I guess that was kind of my point. Knowing something is "PL" is still completely useless, without knowing the actual grade, as PL has such a huge range. 64 to 66 has a ~59 dollar variance. So knowing "PL" how does that actually help anyone? You or me? Who is qualified (except the dude that wants to buy my coins for cheap, and charges me $75/hr) to assign that grade? I hope you know there is no" tone" as I wonder these things "aloud".

The more I know, the more disillusioned I become :(

I still appreciate everyone for contributing their time.

As others have mentioned, you need to ignore the "catalog" price, try looking at the actual prices sold (see link below), but also look at the sales volume, most of them will be low single digits, meaning they don't move very often.

http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins...&Send=Search

Last time I sold nickle dollars, I sold a bulk lot of 10 for for $20, and it took a few months to sell. Basically I cleared about $0.60 per coin for an un-circulated coin. Most coins from 1968+ are only worth face value, with a few notable exceptions (1973 LB quarter, 1974 $1 yoke, etc...). These coins will eventually sell above face value, but it will take time if you are trying to charge too much of premium. Another example, I have listed a bunch of individual uncirculated loonies for sale at $3 each, after 1 year, I have sold 4. I'm in no hurry, but that is the kind of market you are up against on ebay.

In most cases it is not worth the effort to sell, too much supply, not enough demand. You may want to try listing as a bulk lot, sometimes that will give you your best chance at a sale, but probably not worth too much. Selling individually is a long drawn out process.

Older stuff (pre-1950's and silver can yield you some good value).

PL coins are all just as the name suggests .. .they are bright and shiny and have never been out of a drawer or in someone's pocket. Every single one of them will be at least 62 up to 65 and there are thousands of them available... collectors much much prefer coins meant for circulation and above 62/63, NOT PL's. You'll be lucky to get much of a premium over face, regardless what the "books" say they are worth. You have a daunting task, but the first thing you need is knowledge to weed out the common stuff and concentrate on coins that have a proven track record and that folks want due to scarcity and demand. Even if a coin has only 1,000 minted (rather than 10's of millions), if there are only 100-200 collectors, the coins are virtually worthless and probably worth less than issue price.

best of luck