Condition is what you can see
Condition describes the physical state of a coin: wear, marks, surface and eye appeal. Grade is a formal label for condition; condition is the underlying reality. Even for a slabbed coin, learning to see the difference between a worn coin and a marked one will make you a sharper buyer.
Wear is loss of metal from handling and circulation, and it shows first on the highest points of the design. Marks are damage, such as scratches and bag marks from contact with other coins. A coin can be unworn yet heavily marked, or worn yet clean.
Learn the high points
Every design has points that rub first: the cheek and hair above the ear on a portrait, the eagle's breast and talons on many American coins, the highest part of a crown or shield. Tilt the coin under a single light and look at these areas first.
If they are flat and smooth the coin has circulated. If they still carry original frosty or satin lustre the coin is likely uncirculated, even if it has some marks.
Toning, tarnish and original surfaces
Silver and copper coins change colour over time. Even rainbow toning on a silver coin can be attractive and valuable to some collectors, while uneven brown or black tarnish is usually discounted. Collectors prize original surfaces: the skin the coin developed naturally since it was struck.
Be wary of toning that looks too vivid or too uniform. Artificial toning exists, and graders may refuse to certify it.
Please do not clean your coins
Cleaning a coin with polish, abrasives or even a vigorous wipe leaves fine hairlines and strips original surface. Most grading services will return such a coin with a net grade or a details label, and a cleaned coin typically sells at a heavy discount to an uncleaned one.
If a coin has dirt or residue, a conservator may be able to help, but for most collectors the right answer is to leave it alone.
Describing a coin honestly
When you list or record a coin, give the date, mint mark, denomination, your best estimate of grade, and any problems: scratches, cleaning, a rim bump, corrosion, holes, or repairs. A buyer who sees problems described will trust the rest of your description.
Use the condition field on Kollektra holdings to record those words. Sale records use the same field, so your notes line up with how the market describes similar coins.
From condition to price
The catalogue shows price by condition for any item where sellers recorded one. Treat the breakdown as a guide, since the words are the seller's own and vary between auction houses.
For a firm comparison use sales with a third-party grade, which are far more consistent than condition words.