As the world of Canadian paper money stumbles forward and embraces the concept of third-party "professional" grading (T.P.G.), it would be nice to know what grading system the companies evaluating our notes are using. The Paper Money Guaranty (P.M.G.) is an American TPG firm that has been around for years, but it is surprisingly recalcitrant in not revealing its grading standards. That sounds ironic, doesn't it?? A company which seeks to become a leader in standardized grading does not discuss the grading system it uses? Then what do the grades on its holders mean? The grades are just meaningless numbers without some kind of context.
Examination of the P.M.G. website (pmgnotes.com) reveals some content related to grading, but no actual grading system is given. All we are provided with are a few cryptic statements. "The grading scale utilized by P.M.G. is the one universally accepted within the numismatic community", they say. In all my years of collecting, I've never seen a time when there was one universally accepted scale. Probably because one never existed. O.K., then humour me, I say; tell me at least what the numbers mean. The grades are given in numbers that refer to "the Sheldon numerical scale from one to 70, an industry standard". The website shows a table with how the different numbers correspond to verbal grades like "very fine" and "about uncirculated", but again, there is no actual explanation of what the grading company is looking for at each grade level. Maybe they don't have to explain what the grades mean because either you should know the universally accepted system by heart or P.M.G. will establish the standard by becoming the dominant force in the grading industry. If you ask me, that's like a grocery store saying they are the universally accepted standard for weights and measures, so they should be allowed to define what a kilogram is and thus they can calibrate their own scales.
In the interest of serving the collecting community rather than a few businessmen in suits, I'm going to buck the trend and present a small collection of images of P.M.G.-graded notes that I found in my rounds of surfing the Internet. These images should serve to establish at least a visual grading scale of P.M.G.-graded notes and provide the interested collector with an idea of what they should expect when American-style grading practices are applied to Canadian paper money. Enjoy!
Please note that the images presented herein have not been altered to change their appearances except to crop or re-size to fit within this presentation. The actual notes were obtained from different sources and exhibit different levels of exposure, saturation, contrast, and other optical properties and are thus unique depictions created by their various authors. I have not changed any of these optical properties or have in any other way deliberately altered the images to give false representations of their subjects. These are actual notes graded by P.M.G.!!
| The lowest grades of notes are Good and Very Good. These grades are oxymorons and that's why P.M.G. seldomly resorts to using them. Any note that is more-or-less complete (i.e. without pieces missing) is bound to be Fine or better, and that is where our examination will begin below. | ?? |
| A note that has lost much of its crispness by being folded and creased numerous times during a prolonged episode of active circulation is said to be in Fine (F-12) condition. Such a note will have its original design subdued by fading and/or soiling, plus it may have stains. Design loss along folds will also be evident. Small defects like pinholes and edge tears will be common for notes in this grade, so you don't have to mention them. Bigger defects will be obvious so you don't have to mention those either. It is very important to stress at this point in time that edges don't matter. The grade of the note is based on the printed portion only. That's the part of the note that the designer wants you to see; everything around the printed portion is wasted paper. The only reason the U.S. printers leave unprinted space between notes on a sheet is so there's a margin of error when cutting sheets into notes. So when you look at the image to the right, you will understand where P.M.G. is coming from when they don't use edge defects as an excuse to grade Canadian notes any differently than U.S. notes.
Click to enlarge the images at right. Images 1 and 2 are the face and back of a Barclay's Bank 1935 $10 note. |
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| The step up from Fine to Very Fine is a big one, and many notes fall into the abyss that is Fine-15 or "choice Fine". We know from Canadian standards that Very Fine notes must be fairly crisp and colourful without design loss and minimal drop in intensity. So a note that looks better than the average Fine but that fails to meet the strict criteria of Very Fine will end up here, like the notes shown to the right. Images 3 and 4 are the face and back of a 1914 Dominion of Canada $2. note. The corners are nice and sharp for the grade. Images 5 and 6 are the face and back of a 1933 Royal Bank of Canada $5. note. Image 7 is the face of a 1927 Royal Bank of Canada $50. note. Image 8 is the face and back of a 1907 Canadian Bank of Commerce $5. note. |
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| Notes that are lightly to moderately circulated generally don't end up any lower than VF-20 (Very Fine). We know that notes can be folded and creased quite a bit without losing any design, so at this level, there cannot be any design missing anywhere, and there should be some crispness remaining. Any and all problems (like stains and tears) should be described separately, but only if they affect the printed portions (remember what I said about edges not counting?). Click to enlarge the images at right. Images 9 and 10 show the face and back of a 1900 Dominion of Canada $4 note. Images 11 and 11A show the face and back of a 1935 Royal Bank of Canada $10 note. Image 12 shows the face and back of a 1912 Dominion of Canada $5 note. |
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| Here is what is supposed to be an above average example of Very Fine, in this case VF-25. Click to enlarge the images at right. Images 13 and 14 show the face and back of an 1878 Dominion of Canada $1 note. The front is clean and presentable. The back shows evidence of many creases and folds that have perhaps been pressed out. You should never hold back a note's grade just because some soiling and stains make the flattened creases stand out that much more. Technical grading is based on what's there, not what you see. |
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| Here is another example of VF-25 on a completely different note. Click to enlarge the images at right. Images 15 and 16 show the face and back of a 1921 Union Bank of Canada $10 note. The edges are uneven but that's OK because they can always be removed later. The very centre of the note on both sides shows what might be a repaired central pinhole. Unlike defects, repairs don't have to be mentioned if they don't look obvious. |
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| Here is an even better example of VF that is partway toward being EF, and thus designated VF-30 (or "choice Very Fine"). Click to enlarge the images at right. Images 17 and 18 show the face and back of a 1917 Dominion of Canada $1 note. Like the 1878 $1 note in Images 13 and 14 above, the "busier" design on the face masks the appearance of creases and folds. Stains are just something that are added to a note and don't affect technical grade. All grading companies including P.M.G. evaluate technical grade, not appearance. |
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| We're up into the premium grades now, starting with EF-40. Click to enlarge the images at right. Images 19 and 20 show the face and back of an 1898 Dominion of Canada $1 note. A note of this calibre should have one major fold or several smaller folds. Of course, that discriminates against notes that were so large that they simply had to be folded into 3 or 4. Paper separation and loss along these folds should likewise not be taken into consideration if the defects do not enter the design (remember the rule???). |
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| Remember decades ago when there was no grade between EF and Unc? Before anyone thought of expanding Unc to a series of 11 different possible grades, About Uncirculated or AU-50 was invented. It helped to define those notes that were very close to being uncirculated but which had just hints of handling. Click to enlarge the image at right. Image 21 shows the face of a 1954 Bank of Canada $1,000 "Devil's Face" note. That this note barely circulated is clearly evident. Maybe it circulated for a half a day around a hog farm, but that's immaterial because, as we discussed before, nothing you can add to a note can affect the technical grade. |
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| If you thought the previous note is as close as you can get to being uncirculated, then you have not seen About Uncirculated-53. Click to enlarge the image at right. Images 22 and 23 show the face and back of a Federal Reserve $5,000 note from 1934. Maybe you're thinking the note's strong embossing and good colour are all that makes this better than a run-of-the-mill AU-50. Frankly, I don't know how a professional grader can tell that a note this nice circulated at all! |
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| Differences in uncirculated grades are hard to spot in images, so let's jump straight into what should be near-perfect notes designated by the grade MS-64 (or "Choice Uncirculated"). Click to enlarge the image at right. Image 24 shows the face of a 1923 Dominion of Canada $1 note. The EPQ designation has been awarded to this note despite some minor design loss on and around the bronze seal at right, some trifling marks at left, and a trimmed upper margin. Who knows, maybe whatever was on this note and was either rubbed or pulled off would have made the paper quality less than exceptional. |
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| A note that is in top uncirculated grade is said to be Gem Uncirculated. All Gem notes are perfect, but P.M.G. realizes that some perfect notes are more perfect than others, and hence we have a series of Gem Uncirculated grades, starting with MS-65 (or "Gem Uncirculated"). Click to enlarge the images at right. Images 25 and 26 show the face and back of a scarce 1954 Bank of Canada $1 asterisk note. While you can ignore defects to a note's white border on lower grades because the border is just the unprinted superfluous part of the note, borders become increasingly important when trying to differentiate perfect notes. This $1 note has a lot of problems along its bottom edge, possibly from shifting and bumping around inside P.M.G.'s spacious plastic holder, and anything that happens to the note after it is graded doesn't matter. |
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| You may be wondering if it is possible for a note to exhibit superior perfectness and still have counting creases. The answer is an emphatic YES. P.M.G. calls such a note MS-67 (or "Superb Gem Uncirculated"). Click to enlarge the images at right. Images 27 and 28 show the face and back of a scarce 1954 Bank of Canada $5 asterisk note. Unlike the note above, it has even, unblemished borders, but on the back you can still see handling marks near the top, plus a couple of dirty, rounded corners. Clearly, though, people shopping for MS-67 notes look only at the printed portion of the note. The border serves only as a frame, and to qualify for this grade, the frame merely needs to be even on all sides. |
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| This note is something different. It is a 1923 Dominion of Canada $2 note with a blue seal of Group 2. The signatures on the actual note appear to be Campbell-Sellar, making it DC-22i, but the experts at P.M.G. realize that this is actually DC-22h, signed by McCavour-Saunders. This is very consistent appraisal given that the note has nearly no top of left border and yet meets the requirements of the EPQ designation. Click to enlarge Image 29 at right. |
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| IT'S TIME TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF P.M.G. GRADING! | |
| Compare your grading skills to the P.M.G. experts with this fun quiz! Here is your first note to grade. It is a 1937 Bank of Canada $2 note. Image 30 shows the face and back of this note prior to being submitted to P.M.G. You will notice the counting crease at the right centre. The corners are very sharp and the borders are even! If you follow Canadian grading practices, the one demerit point makes this note MS-63. Image 31 shows the note after receiving professional grading. I have put green spots over the grade on the holder, but if you click on the small image to open the larger one, you will see the actual grade. So how did you do? Click to enlarge Images 30 and 31 at right. |
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| On to your next challenge. The ungraded note is shown in Image 32. It is a 1954 Bank of Canada $5 "Devil's Face" note. The person who scanned this note really cranked up the brightness and contrast, but I can still make out a counting crease at right, and the edges look a little bit dirty as well as the rounded corners. I think I can see an even larger crease or fold running horizontally to the left of the Queen. If it was to be sold raw here in Canada, this note might be MS-60 at best. Image 33 shows the note in its P.M.G. holder, and like last time, I blocked out the grade, but if you enlarge the image, you'll find the answer. This is fun, isn't it??? Click to enlarge Images 32 and 33 at right. |
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| I saved the best one for last. The ungraded note is shown in Image 34. This note has some obvious problems to put it mildly! It is a 1935 Bank of Canada French $2 note printed with unstable blue ink by the British American Bank Note Company. Image 35 shows the note in its P.M.G. holder, and you have to guess the grade as well as the comment given. Everything you thought you knew about grading will be blown away! Don't click on image until you've bolted your seat to the ground and have put on your protective headgear. Click to enlarge Images 34 and 35 at right. Did you learn anything today?????? |
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