Seriously PCGS

Ok well here we go with my latest. And I submitted some of those coins to ngc. And had some interesting results in actually fairly happy with pcgs. Tho I think they low balled a couple in particular the 37 reeded edge which was au all day long and the 1797 large cent that pcgs called counterfeit finally got in a clean slab. Took 3 tries but that's a real winner

 

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The 76-s trade was a crackout from a details ngc hoping they'd give it a pass. Was hoping for 65s on the 2 79-s Morgan's and a 64 on the other wanted a po 1 on the half cent I still think the reeded edge is au 53 and the 76-cc 55. And the trime was shooting for 65 it's a stunner with rainbow toning

 

On the ngc the 37 half dime is pure bs. Should have gone pcgs. I figured the walkers at 64-5 and the peace dollars higher. The barber at 62 was a bonus. I was at au 55 again a killer toner the 1797 more than pays for all of it now as its now a $1200 coin I paid far less for

 

Yeah I did. And I got the right one this time

 

I'd be happy overall. But PCGS is notoriously hard on times and capped bust halves, particularly the reeded edge ones. I've sent a couple UNC ones in that came back AU58. And some solid AU55'S that came back au50. And almost every time I send a BU 3 cent in, they give it MS62 or MS64. I can never get 63's or 65's on those buggers! Even with toning!

 

I can see how trimes are hard to grade. Mine I thought could go 65-66 it's flawless toned and a good date. They seem to love xf 45 for bust halves. I've gotten a ton at that grade. The one they called au 50 I thought 53 maybe 55

 

You mean that beautiful '37 reeded edge half only got a XF , they blew it big time as the lowest it should have gone was 55 and I'd of thought a 58 .

 

Different half this one. Pics suck but..

 

Is not cleaned either as original as can be with residual luster around the devices

 

I thought this was better then a 50 too

 

And that is probably why the lower grade 58 should have most of it luster left.

 

These may be exceptions but it just makes me glad I don't spend big money on coins. It all appears to be a game and the few (TPGs and lucky submitters) win while countless others do not. I follow the advice to go with your gut feeling, what you like, and what you think others would like if you had to sell. I appreciate that TPGs have made buying and selling safer and more convenient, but the subjectivity is still there, to a large degree sometimes as pointed out in these examples. Thanks for the educational post. It makes me want to be even more cautious out there

 

I think over all the tpgs have leveled the grading field and for the most part their grades are spot on . It can be a game when you start the cracking out coins to be resubmitted . But as long as you collect in your budget and really look for the best coins , buying what you like it's still a great hobby .

 

For sure. They seems to rarely if ever go AU without a good bit of luster left.

They're surprisingly consistent within their own standards overall, it's just their standards may differ from our own personal ones just as our personal standards differ from the next guys. It's not like math where there is a set in stone right answer even-though we sometimes act like there is, with eye appeal as part of a grade there will always be a subjective human element to it.

 

Agree on the luster. I thought the reeded edge was a 50-53 and the other bust which has tons of luster 53-55. Some of the other xf 45 on both submissions were spot on. And one I thought was a 40. I think they've both gotten super conservative lately. The only surprise grade was the 92 barber. Which I graded au 55

 

One thing that surprises me. It was not too long ago that NGC and possibly other TPGS would not grade a coin above MS-64 with dark toning that masked the surface.

What is no surprise (as plenty of examples here) is that there is often a whisker of difference between a graded AU coin with obvious rub and a graded MS coin with obvious rub! The same holds true for an acceptable amount of unoriginality and unacceptable impairment.

Nevertheless, it appears TPGS grading can be a crap shoot for many customers; however, the more you play the better you get at the game. So IMO with all things considered the TPGS's are a good thing.

 

I would agree that the TPGs are pretty consistent. But that one example from a counterfeit and otherwise problem coin to a clean grade, the dime with a cleaned reverse to a ms65, etc, are pretty remarkable examples of inconsistency. I would expect us to make these mistakes but the TPGs have experts on board. Maybe they should slow down the pace a bit

 

Agree. As far as the large cent. It was a 50/50 call on environmental damage. I've seen a lot worse in straight slabs So it was worth the effort. But a counterfeit?? That was a bit much