Ever since the invention of the Sheldon Scale in 1949, our hobby's first numerical coin grading system, the complex and confusing art of coin grading started to become more logical and clear. Originally, this grading method was only intended for valuing our country's first cents minted from 1793-1814, but instead was gradually applied to all US coins. Even though popular, and improved into the modern ANA grading system we have today, it isn't flawless. It still can be quite frustrating, no less argumentative at times when we have our own opinion of what each grade should look like. This is where the book, Photograde has been an invaluable help for straightening out this touchy side of the hobby, even before numerical grading was fully used. From the first time I bought this book from Amazon.com, I have regarded it as one of my wisest purchases of numismatic books. Its many black and white photos gives the reader a visual aid for grading a particular US coin along with helpful descriptions. Sadly though, it does not include photos for the uncirculated grades as they are very difficult to photograph accurately. Nevertheless, in addition to grading, it also has many excellent chapters about the minting process, cleaning coins, storage, authenticating, etc. They make for very interesting reading. I get a kick out of how they list several ways of retoning (or recoloring) coins that have desirable surfaces. One way they mention is to fry coins made from nickel in a frying pan mixed with a little cooking grease! Bye George! there is even a little humor stirred in! This is indeed a book that beginners and veteran coin collectors will use till the binding falls apart!