A few people have asked me about how to properly grade an Indian Head Cent. These are tricky because there is a bit of a gap between what can be considered Good, Very Good, or Fine. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. Two key items you NEED to have if you are going to try to estimate the grade of thisor anycoin: (1) The Red Book and (2) a MINIMUM of a 10x magnifyer. I prefer 16x because you can literally see every little hairline. BUT, 10x magnifyers are good enough for reading the lettering on most any coin.
One main key that decides the grade of an Indian Head cent is how much of the word "LIBERTY" on the indian's headband you can read WITHOUT a magnifyer. If you don't have a Red Book, I have taken the liberty of typing out the grading specifications suggested by it.
INDAIN HEAD CENTS
G-4 GOOD - No LIBERTY visible.
VG-8 VERY GOOD - At least some letters of LIBERTY readable on the headband.
F-12 FINE - LIBERTY mostly visible.
VF-20 VERY FINE - Slight but even wear on LIBERTY.
EF - 40 EXTREMELY FINE - LIBERTY sharp. All other details sharp. Only slight wear on ribbon end.
AU-50 ABOUT UNCIRCULATED - Very slight trace of wear above the ear and the lowest curl of hair.
MS-60 UNCIRCULATED - No trace of wear. Light blemishes.
MS-63 CHOICE UNCIRCULATED - Some distracting contact marks or blemishes in prime focal areas. Impaired luster possible.
I hope you find this helpful in determining the value and grade of your Indian Head cents. (^_^)
Have a great day!
Carrie
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