PCGS Addresses Eye Appeal with New Guidelines and Brochure

Since the formal "science" of coin grading first began to be widely discussed in the 1980s, one of the most vague and least understood aspects was that of "eye appeal." Eye appeal (whose components include toning (or color) and luster, is one of the non-technical components of a coin's grade. It is the most subjective area, and because of that, is one of the most difficult to quantify or objectively analyze since what may be rather attractive to some, may be considerably less so to others. While not part of the "technical" grade, eye appeal is more an "arm's length" judgment on the overall visual impact the coin has on the typical viewer.

In the realm of Mint State and Proof coins, the factors comprising a coin's grade are the surface preservation (marks and abrasions), strike and luster (or in the case of Proofs, reflectivity). For circulated coins, the technical factors are similar, except that wear replaces strike since loss of detail is the net effect of both. (Of course, a high-grade circulated coin can suffer from a weak strike, and grading coins such as a branch-mint Buffalo nickel from the 1920s presents special challenges.)

Until now, the effect of eye appeal on a coin's grade was simply described as being "taken into consideration" by the grader. PCGS has now defined seven levels of eye appeal, and illustrates them both in a brochure and in a new section on their website.

In a nutshell, PCGS breaks eye appeal down into seven categories, which are, from best to worst: Amazing, Positive, Above Average, Neutral, Below Average, Negative and Ugly. Photographs are shown with each, and the net effect on the final grade is described for each level. Amazing eye appeal can add up to a full point to the final grade, while a coin described as "Ugly" can lose up to two full points.

High-grade coins (MS/PR65 and above) also have minimum eye appeal standards that must be met. For example, to achieve a grade of MS/PR68, a coin must have eye appeal at least at the "Positive" level, while an MS/PR67 must have at least an "Above Average" eye appeal rating.

Shown below are three example coins, with eye appeal ratings of Positive, Neutral and Ugly, respectively.

PCGS hopes that by illustrating and describing in detail the effect of eye appeal on grading, that this least-understood aspect of the process may be de-mystified and made more clear to collectors and dealers alike.