Part Six - The Coin Dealer Newsletter Leads the Way to Numerical Grading (1973)

As mentioned earlier, the rapid value increases necessitated the need for increasing precision in grading. It made little sense to differentiate a theoretical MS63 from an MS64 if the values for MS60 and MS65 were within 10% of each other. One could debate whether the widening value spread and premiums attached to quality examples drove the expansion of grades or whether the adaption of new grades fueled the premiums for high-quality coins. Perhaps it was some of both, but whatever the reason, the rare coin market was transformed dramatically.

By the late 1970s, most of the major retailers were using the basic Sheldon nomenclature (MS60 and MS65) with a few starting to add intermediate grades. One of the earliest mass marketing of numerically graded coins in holders took place with Paramount's offering of approximately 350,000 silver dollars from the LeVere Redfield hoard in the late 1970s.

As prices for rare coins escalated rapidly, the Coin Dealer Newsletter (Greysheet) began a steady expansion of listings for various grades of Uncirculated Coins.

The following chronology illustrates the progress made over a 15-year period from 1971 to 1986.