A GRADE BY ANY OTHER NAME by CaptBrian1

[CSJournals-migration]

Question everything?

 

This is a journal to continue a thread after the previous journal by hightidetech posted 3/19/15 titled, Digital Imaging for a new generation of numismatists....

 

I replyed:

 

A grade by any other name:

I use that old saying regarding a rose as a reality check for our graded coins. One can alway hire a lawyer and plead a case and convince a jury of peers that a rose is a peach blossom or some other flower, but in reality it is still a rose.

 

If the accepted graders say a coin is a perfect coin, giving it a PF or MS 70, then why can't we let it go at that?

 

Over the years, technology has gone by us daily. As soon as I buy a computer, it is obsolete. When a highway is planned, before it is finished, it is not big enough or the turns are not banked enough and so on and so forth.

 

I'm not sure how many coins have been graded by NGC and PCGS, not to mention the '2nd graders' and now the labelers, but they must number in the millions. I would not say a trillion yet.

 

So, now we have maybe an astronomical number of coins already in slabs and NO ONE can grade a coin through a quarter inch of plastic.

 

The is only two alternatives left. Cut out ALL graded coins, bring them all to 'raw' status, and begin to regrade them again with an electron microscope, (which would show more flaws than a hung jury in the south in the 50's.) and therefore NO coin could be ever again called a 'perfecet coin'.

 

I have two coins shows coming up this week, therefore I don't have time to make a complete thought, but you get my drift.

 

Let's let is alone, lest we open a Pandora's box and ruin a great hobby.

 

AND ADD: This technilogical world is a tidy place. The digital age allows many things. Especially TV shows which drag out our realities into some sort of matrix controlled world of a new reality. This smacks of MYTHBUSTERS t-shirt, I reject your reality and insert my own.

 

What I mean is, these 2nd party graders, the labelers, and folks who want more verification than offered by NGC and PCGS are muddying the water so that our wonderful hobby will be ruined if us collectors, traders and numismatists allow the incursions into our world by these profit motivated monsters of the midway.

 

So, my suggestion is for your coiners to tell all friends and dealers your opinion. Try to let the majority rule and then reality will seep in. If the lablers and third party graders are wanted, they will survive. If the majority does not want them, then us collectors will eventually win out and they will fade away. I don't know anyone who has paid more for a CAC, or PQ or MAC. Personnally, I don't mind a Big Mac, but I don't want one smeared on my $100,000 coin.

 

Capt. Brian,

The Lost Navigator

 

See more journals by CaptBrian1

[jackson64]

I think you and tech were making the same point......

 

He was not condoning all the extra stickers, PQ or stars and plusses--he actually was saying that what was most important was "the eye of the beholder"-- and hence, the importance of clear and accurate photos.

 

His premise was ( if I may crudely paraphrase) screw the green footballs--let's have the clearest and most accurate images that we can get and let the buyer/purchaser decide according to what he likes if the coin is premium to his eyes and tastes.

[CaptBrian]

Agreed!

[MarkFeld]

The major grading companies do not require that a coin be "perfect" in order to grade it 70. Read their published standards.

 

If you don't know anyone who has paid extra for a CAC coin, you don't talk to most auction and show participants. CAC coins routinely trade at a premium. The amount or percentage will vary, based on the type, grade and look of the coin. But a large number of them bring a premium - it's a fact, whether you like it or acknowledge it.

[CaptBrian]

What about PQ coins, MAC coins and I think there is one more. And what about those to come. Do we need a high five from all of them to get the best price?

[CaptBrian]

Methinks thou dost protestest too much.

 

I am not fighting any hierarchy, just trying to be a collector without being told my PF70 is not the best.

 

The dealers sure call them the best when they are selling one, one of a coin, grab your pencil etc.

 

For me, I think these labels are NONSENSE.

 

I am entitled to my opinion, and resent deeply of being accused of talking in the dark. I have talked to many collectors and buyers from all arenas and the large percentage don't pay more for a green light from a labeler.

 

Maybe I just sell my collection and go elsewhere. Too much foolishness.

 

Capt. Brian