You see, there are three elements to valuing any coin, the year it was minted, the location it was minted, and the condition of the coin (The Sheldon Grade); as you know the first two elements are relatively easy, as coins have the year and the mint mark on them, which you can readily see; therefore it’s the condition that becomes the variable. The problem is that few professional coin graders can be trusted; the good ones are costly and hard to engage within a reasonable time frame. To give you an idea, they want you to send the coin at your expense to them and wait 4 to 6 weeks before they will give you an idea of the condition at an expense usually between $40 and $200.