Which 1915 S $5 Matches Which Slab?

You had me worried there for a while. You liked a comment that states coin 1 is MS 62 and that both coins are AU. Thought you, as the dealer, had little faith in an accurate MS grade.

 

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Absolutely Matt, and if I had them and sent them in I would be tickled to get them back like that. My point is that we play guess the grade games here quite a bit and even then not everyone comes to the same consensus. I guess it probably boiled down to which one each person preferred...beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the ask/bid is on the greysheet.

 

Haha! The like was actually in appreciation of Doug's old fashioned stance.

 

Agreed. I can guess miles away on just a photo and a raw coin. What I don't understand is how you get AU, when MS-62 CAC and MS-63 CAC are already staring you in the face, at the very beginning of the guess the grade game?

If I am at the early stages of my adventure with imported US slabs from the most reputable sources (which I am), do I disregard the opinions of PCGS, NGC and CAC for what a Numismatist or an Expert says? It seems to be a direct contradiction of solid evidence as to the grade. We're not undermining the subjective opinions of forum members regarding a raw coin. The AU opinion undermines a top TPG with a reinforcement from CAC, no?

 

The TPG's are putting a coin in a slab and writing on a piece of paper and sticking it in there. Only the market losing faith in them will change anything. If someone working at PCGS wanted to buy the 62 and put a 63 piece of paper in there, he/she may have just realized a 14K profit. 14K for changing a number on a piece of paper, almost like the difference between a one and hundred dollar note...

 

Happy returning customers, isn't that in the interest of getting more business and hence more profit?

I think AU is wrong, as far as these two coins are concerned. That's a minimum 3 and 4 grade point mistake you're implying.

It is a pretty soft metal.

 

OK...I guess they just don't look completely smooth to me. But, I have to admit...I don't have the best computer monitor. I thought they looked a little rough.

Matt, I'm curious. In hand do you agree that coin 1 is MS63 and coin 2 is MS62? I really thought coin 2 was the better example.

 

I think it's a little more complicated than that. The coins are looked at by 3 separate graders...one personal alone doesn't have that ability. The market dictates how the TPGs grade...not the other way around.

 

I think his point is...those causes of "friction" are wear and if a coin has wear the best it can grade is AU.

 

Do the three separate graders put their initials on the slab somewhere so you can tell who reviewed it?

 

I'm sure PCGS has some kind of internal paperwork that shows who graded certain coins. I doubt such a thing is made public.

 

Obviously not.

 

Also, are you saying that people prefer potentially higher than accurate grades on their coins??? You are stretching here.

 

I'm not stretching at all. The TPGs grade to what the market wants. The market has changed since the TPGs came into being in the mid 1980s and with that so has how they grade. I personally want coins graded accurately...the market as a whole as seems to be wanting more lenient standards.

 

So, where do you get your coins graded, the basement of a local Numismatist or Expert? If you have any MS slabs that you're selling more accurately and honestly, let us know.

 

I thought both pieces had a chance at 63... Coin #1 has slightly more luster on the reverse... I think that's what bumped it.

 

I personally prefer PCGS...that said, I always grade the coin myself and I only what I think is fair. It's no secret that the TPGs have loosened their standards. There's no "honesty" about it...the market has dictated the change in standards.

OK, that makes sense.

 

I thought the smiley face would show my sarcasm. You taking pulls off the laughing gas or what?

 

I knew you were...I just wanted to make sure that what I said was clear for everybody else. As for the gas...I got today off. I'm nowhere near that stuff.