Coin grading photo gallery
The UK adjectival grading scale runs ten steps from Poor (P) through Uncirculated (UNC). Each step is defined by how much wear the coin shows, with detail on the highest points being the most useful tell. DetectID’s engine reports predicted grade on the UK adjectival scale; the US Sheldon scale (1–70 numeric) is an alternative system used mainly for slabbed milled coins.
Poor
Heavily worn or corroded. Design barely identifiable. Often pitted or encrusted to the point that the coin type itself is hard to determine.
- Type identifiable only by silhouette or weight
- Legend illegible — not a single full letter
- Major design features (bust, cross, eagle) are flat outlines at best
- Often pitted, gnarled or with active corrosion
Fair
Heavily worn but the main design elements are identifiable. Legend mostly illegible. Useful for type attribution but not for grade-sensitive valuation.
- Type identifiable (you can tell groat vs penny vs farthing)
- Bust or main motif visible in outline
- 1–2 letters of the legend may survive
- Date / mintmark almost certainly lost
About Good
Heavily worn. Major design visible but no detail. Legend partially visible — perhaps a third of letters identifiable. Type and rough date attributable.
- Bust outline + crown / cross outline visible
- About a third of the legend identifiable
- Mint name in the reverse legend often readable in part
- No fine detail — hair, beard, jewels all flat
Good
Worn but the design is clear. The legend is readable around the rim. Major heraldic devices identifiable. Grade-sensitive valuation difficult but not impossible.
- Full legend readable, perhaps with one or two unclear letters
- Mint and moneyer name identifiable
- Bust details (hair, crown) recognisable as forms rather than just outlines
- Highest points (cheek, crown peak) worn smooth
Very Good
Considerable wear but the design is well-defined. Legend fully readable. A solid mid-range grade for circulated finds.
- Full obverse and reverse legends sharp
- Bust forms recognisable; hair grouped not individuated
- Drapery / dress visible but undetailed
- Mintmark legible if present
Fine
Moderate wear. Hair, crown and legend are all clear. Highest points smooth from wear. The benchmark grade for most circulated hammered finds.
- Hair shows as banded groups (not individual strands)
- Crown peaks distinct, jewels in crown identifiable
- Legend crisp from start to end
- Drapery folds visible; finest details smooth from wear
Very Fine
Light to moderate wear. Hair detail visible, crown points sharp, legend crisp. A premium grade for detector finds — better than most ground-recovered hammered silver.
- Individual hair strands or wave detail visible
- Beard / lace / ruff textured rather than flat
- Crown jewels distinct, separately detailed
- Slight wear on highest points only
- Legend lettering crisp and even
Extremely Fine
Slight wear on highest points only. Most original design detail intact. Rare on ground-recovered hammered; more achievable on milled coppers and post-1816 silver.
- All design detail crisp and intact
- Wear restricted to the highest points (cheek, crown peak, top of laurel)
- Some original mint lustre may survive in protected areas
- Legend letters sharp at every point
About Uncirculated
Trace wear on highest points; otherwise mint state. Original mint lustre largely intact. Premium milled coinage grade.
- Mint lustre over most of the surface
- Trace wear on the very highest point only — visible under angle, not normal light
- All detail crisp
- No bag marks or handling abrasion in the main field
Uncirculated
No wear. Full lustre. Just struck — never carried in a pocket or counted into a till. The benchmark for newly-issued coins; effectively absent from ground recoveries.
- Full mint lustre — undiminished cartwheel effect under angled light
- No wear of any kind
- Minor bag marks acceptable (from mint sacks); no circulation marks
- Strike detail at the absolute maximum the dies could produce
How DetectID grades from a photo
On Basic and Premium plans every identification result includes a predicted UK adjectival grade. The full grading walkthrough — what the engine looks at, where it errs cautiously, and how the grade affects valuation — is in the guides library.
Read the grading walkthrough →Image credits: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). If you have a clearer reference example you’d like featured, email admin@detectid.co.uk.