Abstract: A method and system for accurately and objectively evaluating the numismatic quality of a test coin and/or for fingerprinting the test coin for purposes of identification is disclosed. Central to both the grading and fingerprinting aspects of the invention is the exact, numerical evaluation of any detracting marks on each side of the coin. In particular, each detracting mark on the coin is identified, located and measured. An assigned quantity representative of the detracting significance of each mark is then calculated by adjusting the measured surface area of the mark by a factor representative of the relative grading importance of the area on the coin where the mark is located. The assigned quantities and corresponding mark location identifiers are stored as a unique test coin fingerprint. The grading aspect further requires that the assigned quantities for each side be separately summed and correlated into a grade via comparison with a preexisting database of values representative of numismatic grades.