What makes a rare coin “investment grade”?
There are many coins, rare and not, that can be used as investments (not collecting). So for non-collecting, investment purposes, here is what to look for: 1. Coins used as investments should be graded and certified by either of two professional grading services: The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), or the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). As you study more about rare coins, you will hear of these two organization more often. 2. The grade (condition of the coins) that either of these two services give the coins should be Mint State (MS) or Proof (PF) 63 to 67 grade. Because of their extreme rarity, coins graded 68 to 70 should generally be avoided because they are difficult to price. 3. Your investment grade coins should be U.S. coins, 1934 or earlier. 4. The population of your coins should be low for the series whenever possible. The “population” consists of the number of coins in the series that have been graded by the NGC or PCGS. This information can be found in the m
