"I haven't looked at currency grades in a long time. When did they start using a "mint state" scale? This paper no more saw the inside of a mint than my casino chips did."

Don; This is exactly the danger of a hobby accepting grading firms to do 3rd party slabbing.... for any collectible!

Here is the traditional grading system in use by NON-SLABBED currency by most reputable paper money dealers.

VG (Very Good)
F (Fine)
VF (Very Fine)
XF (Extra Fine)
AU (Almost Uncirculated)
CU (Crisp Uncirculated)
CH CU (Choice Crisp Uncirculated)
GEM (Gem Uncirculated)

There you have 8 simple grades for paper money .... which is a hell of a lot more fragile than casino chips and coins are. Why do we need 1-70 grades or 1-100 grades for our durable casino chips?

Answer; For the same reason that paper money slabbers have now introduced numeral MS grading systems to currency. So they can add more grading numbers. More numbers ... equal more grades ... equals more spread in pricing.

The chip hobby only needs seven or less grades in my humble opinion. Having said that, I know that some members of slab-free will not accept any grades for slabbed chips.