UK	POOR	G	VG	F	VF	EF	UNC
U.S.	PR	G	VG	F	VF	XF	UNC
FRANCE	BC	TBC	B	TB	TTB	SUP	FDC
GERMANY	-	GE	SGE	S	SS	VZ	STG
ITALY	-	M	B	MB	BB	SPL	FDC
NETHERLANDS	-	G	ZG	FR	ZF	PR	FDC
SPAIN	MC	RC	BC	BC+	MBC	EBC	SC

The above are roughly equivalent but interpretation of grading standards may vary from country to country.

In general the grades I use describe coins in the following way:

POOR PR So worn as to be almost unrecognisable

FAIR FR Very worn, with flat areas, but maybe half of the design and legend are legible.

GOOD G All legends and design worn but legible, with at least half of every letter in legends showing unless specifically described otherwise.

VERY GOOD VG All legends and design complete but much detail worn from design, for example a lot of hair will be worn from a portrait, or the band of a crown will be incomplete.

FINE F The detail of the highest point of the coin will be complete but worn, in general half of the detail of the design e.g. hair will be present and the coin presents a generally pleasing appearance.

VERY FINE VF Most detail will be complete but there will be overall light wear and the general appearance will be of a coin that has seen moderate use.

EXTREMELY FINE EF There will be only very slight wear on the very highest points of the coin,all legends will be sharp at the edges of the letters; to the naked eye the coin will appear uncirculated or very near, and may have some lustre as described.

UNCIRCULATED UNC Means what it says. there will be no wear on any point of the coin, the rim of the coin will be sharp and free of edge knocks, unless specifically described, and the "frosting" from the striking process will be complete. The coin may have bag marks from contact with other coins at the mint, these will be described if visible to the naked eye.

BRILL. UNCIRCULATED BU Uncirculated as above with full mint lustre, original not produced by dipping .

As not all coins fall directly into one of these categories, after all a coin can't just suddenly jump from VF to F by being in your pocket overnight, I use prefixes to indicate intermediate states. A coin that is Good Fine (GF) will be strictly Fine but will appear slightly better to the naked eye, (similarly GVF); a coin that is graded GEF will be what a lot of dealers would call AU or About uncirculated - I don't believe in this grade as a coin is either uncirculated or it isn't. If a coin is only just short of an EF grade, for example, I would grade it NEF (Near EF) or if it is heart-rendingly close to EF but doesn't quite make it, AEF (About EF). (Similarly NF,NVF,AF,AVF). Or, depending on the mood I'm in, the + symbol sometimes appears, for example GVF+, the meaning of this should be obvious.

For more details on how I grade world coins, ask for my leaflet on the subject which gives details on grading British Empire and many other coins based on existing standards such as the US red book and Charlton catalogue of Canadian coins.