Bottom
Circa or approximate date
Cancel
Cut cancelled either by a sharp instrument or hammer cancel
Circulated
Clean
Centered
Bright
Choice
Circle Date Stamp
Counterfeit
Cut-out-cancel where some portion has been removed
Criswell Number or designation
Crisp Uncirculated
Double Circle Date Stamp
Discontinued Post Office
Edge chip(s)
Edge tear(s)
Fine
Hexagonal Date Stamp
Hole-out-cancelled
Hand stamp
Haxby Number
Ink cancelled
Internal tear
Killer
Left end
Lower left end
Lower right end
Light
Obverse
Octagonal Date Stamp
Otherwise
Punch cancelled
Poor
Proprietary Proof by American Bank Note Company
Proof
Remainder
Repair
Reverse
Right end
Special Proof by American Bank Note Company
Slight
Stamp
Stampless
Stain
Uniform
Upper left
Upper right
Upper left end
Upper right end
Uncirculated
Unlisted
Very Fine
With
Extremely Fine
Updated 03-19-08
Vern Potter Currency
& Collectibles
The grading definitions presented below are periodically reviewed and compared with those used by the leading Third Party Grading firms for compliance. The paper characteristics used by some firms are not included, per se, but are considered when establishing the verbal description of each note.
Gem CU (Gem Crisp Uncirculated)
A note that exhibits original crispness and color, no creases, folds, wear, discoloration, mishandling or counting marks and is well centered with uniform margins.
Ch CU (Choice Crisp Uncirculated)
It must be reasonably well centered with good margins, little or no discoloration and only the slightest indication of counting smudges and/or wrinkling (waviness). There can be no creases, folds, wear, or mishandling marks.
CU (Crisp Uncirculated)
A completely uncirculated note that may be located off center with a close margin, show counting smudges, wrinkles, or corner folds that do not extend into the design of the note.
This note must not have seen circulation. The design may be located off center with close margins, show increased evidence of counting smudges, have numerous wrinkles (but no folds through the design) from mishandling, a pin hole and/or corner folds that touch the design of the note.
AU (About or Almost Uncirculated)
This is the first grade that allows some amount of circulation. The note will still be crisp and have the feel of a "new" note but it may have a couple of folds through the design and/or several corner folds in addition to the mishandling marks, counting smudges and wrinkles noted above for an uncirculated note.
XF (Extra or Extremely Fine)
A note that has seen a reasonable amount of circulation while retaining a good portion of it's original crispness and color. It may have four folds through the design as well as corner folds, pin holes, counting smudges and wrinkles (both from circulation and the printing process) and a small amount of soiling.
VF (Very Fine)
This note will have seen a significant amount of circulation but still retains some amount of the original paper crispness. It may have numerous folds through the design as well as a moderate amount of soiling and smudging. The edges may be a bit rough but with no splits into the design.
F (Fine)
A well circulated note with little or no crispness remaining. It may show a considerable amount of soiling and/or aging along with a multitude of folds, pin holes, wrinkles and the occasional ink erosion. The edges may be quite rough or irregular with small tears.
VG (Very Good)
A note that will exhibit a considerable amount of circulation and wear. It may be quite soiled and/or stained with holes larger than pin holes, ink erosion, and edge chipping or separations.
G (Good)
The majority of the note will be there (corners or small portions of the note may be missing) with no crispness remaining in the paper and show considerable soiling or staining. Edge tears are quite common as are hole of increased size from use or erosion.
P (Poor)
A note that may have a good portion missing, be badly discolored or stained, major ink erosion or exhibit one or more significant tears.
Not all specimens necessarily comply completely with the discrete grades described above. To better describe a note in these cases, a grade may be designated with a "+" to indicate that it is really better than the basic grade presented, but is not good enough to qualify for a full grade higher. An example of this would be a VF+ grade indicating that it is nicer than a VF but lacks the qualities of a full XF note. Similarly, a note may bear a split grade such as VF/XF indicating again that the note is better than a VF but falls short of a full XF. In some instances, a VF/XF designation may also indicate a VF obverse and an XF reverse or visa versa. A note may also conform to the standards of a given grade but possess a defect not allowed by that grade. Under these circumstances, the technical grade may be presented with an added qualifying description of the defect.
Finally, many of the notes presented on this Site were hand cut at the time of issue and therefore do not exhibit the precision of the cuts found in today's Federal currency. These notes were produced by cutting one or more notes at a time from a sheet of notes using a knife, razor or scissors thereby producing the irregular margins often seen, and in many instances notes exhibiting no margins at all. Continental, Colonial, Obsolete, Confederate and Fractional notes more often than not display cuts that extend into the design of the note with no attention paid to how the note might look when it went into circulation. The description of each note presented on this Site offers our observation of how these cutting techniques may have affected its appearance.
The grading of all collectible materials is, at best, subjective. The currency grading definitions presented below conform to those of the industry and represent a composite derived from several authorities in the field. The notes offered on this Site utilize these standards while striving to remain on the conservative side of each grade presented.
The use of abbreviations in the descriptions of items is a common practice. To assist, the following table defines the contractions we use to describe the materials offered. There will be omissions and errors, so please let us know about them.
btm
ca
cncl
C/C
circ
cln
ctrd
brt
Ch
CDS
cft
COC
Cr
CU-
DCDS
DPO
E/C
E/T
F
HDS
HOC
H/S
Hx-
I/C
I/T
K
LE
LLE
LRE
lt
obv
ODS
o/w
P/C
P
P-Proof
prf
rem
rep
rev
RE
S-Proof
slt
stmp
stmpls
stn
unif
UL
UR
ULE
URE
Unc
Unl
VF
w/
XF
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