Bellisario Rare Coin Gallery A-1 Grading Standards

As one of the first graders as PCGS in 1986 I was thrilled to be part of what now is a standard in our hobby - Third Party Grading. However over the years I have adjusted my selection of coins and base my purchases on more than the numerical grade. I have honed my skills by acquiring, examining, and selling thousands of coins. Over the years I have applied my grading eye to each coin I purchase. At BRCG we have quantified this complex examination process into what we call "A-1" grading.

As an adjust to third party grading we rate each coin based upon eye-appeal, strike and overall brilliance. We could in theory develop many designations but have settled on four. (a,b,c,d).

coins for the grade have exceptional eye appeal and are high end strikes for the date. A difficult coin to locate.
coins will to the untrained eye display similar characteristics as an "a" coin but usually lack either strike, brilliance or an over all eye-appeal. Toned coins are usually a little muted.
coins are as you would expect an average coin for the grade. Most sight-unseen coins fall into this category.
coins are below average in strike, and tend to be darkly toned or if brilliant over dipped.

In addition to grading qualifiers we have added a chromatic scale for toning and brilliance delineating from 1 to 4.

"1" is a brilliant coin with blast white surfaces. A toned coin will have hues and brilliance of a great painting with dazzling colors, a Rembrandt or if you prefer a Monet.

"2" is a brilliant coin with just the slightest mellowing. A toned coin will be vibrant and have attractive toning; it may have some muting of color.

"3" is a brilliant coin that may have some uneven mellowing with a variety of whites to warm yellow. A toned coin will display medium toning, may still be attractive, but lacks consistent dazzling tones.

"4" is a brilliant coin that is dull in appearance, probably over dipped. As a toned coin it will display heavy to medium toning with dull brownish colors.

Most third party grading have three color designations for copper coins. (red, red brown and brown) Any copper specialist will tell you that copper coins are more complex with vary colors and hues. Also the variation in red-brown can be very wide and while the picture will give a clearer image of the coin you are about to buy we feel that a grading eye view can be described. Therefore we have broken the red-brown grading designation into two additional categories. (red brown brown and red red brown) These two additions simply illustrate nature's progression of color that lies between red and brown.

Red Red Brown^© = this coin is virtually red. It may have a brown patch on the coin or a spattering of brown throughout. It may display a vibrant red hue with a slight dusting of brown from a full red designation.

Red Brown = (third party designation) this coin should display a predominantly red appearance. The obverse may be virtually red with a brown reverse or it may have an even scattering of red on the entire coin, usually 25% or greater.

Red Brown Brown^© = A coin that is predominately brown. It may have tinges of red but not more than 10 to 20% of the coin.