I didn't say that the grading services get it right all of the time. I could do it with 99%+ accuracy. The problem is that I could only process about 10 coins an hour. Chris
So far, the spread between the OIP of the Gold Mercury Dime plus the PCGS grading fee compared to what PCGS SP70's are going for on eBay, tells me that at least for the Gold Merc, the value is darned little. Possibly the most overbought coin in Mint history, and that includes the Kennedy gold half. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting some joker looking to sell his extra gold Mercs.
Actually, the "evidence" you are citing are examples of mistakes. In my experience (basic coin grading classes) any person with good light, technique, and magnification (including a professional grader) can tell the difference between a 69 and 70 once they are taught what to look for.
We had a motto when I was in the election administration game - "The acceptable error rate is zero; anything higher gets you fired."
I wish "milk spots" were considered the same as a bag mark. I also wish the large whitish stains got the coin "detailed: Stained." And for my third wish... Too bad there are no magic Genies in the real world.
Surely you are being modest. I'll bet you could do a steady 250 - 300 an hour with 90% accuracy, so about 27 of your MS-70's would be 69's. That would be a neat study. Long ago, one NGC grader was banished to the mail room for a week as punishment for missing too many grades on a monster box of Silver Eagles.
90% accuracy isn't good enough for me. Besides, I don't get paid to it. So, I'll just continue to take my good old accurate time. Chris
Unfortunately, "they" don't have the choice you have. No one here knows the speed or accuracy of the TPGS SE graders. I just posted some estimates for the sake of discussion that may not be correct. I should imagine if more than one grader examines the group, than the accuracy, speed and number completed should go up from my figures.
Point taken! OTOH, I maintain that it is not that hard for a collector to be able to distinguish the difference between a 69 and a 70 in hand, but if they don't want to learn, then they shouldn't complain about the grade that is assigned by the TPGS. The first thing they need to learn is that it is practically impossible to accurately tell the difference from a photo. Chris
In 50 years, nobody will care what the label was or is since there's a sure guarantee to be millions of them in addition to some that haven't been dreamt up yet. Chasing Labels has got to be the absolute dumbest thing that anybody could ever do in coin collecting.
Okay Mike, your birth year ultra-cameo proofs - how many have anything on the label that matters other than the grade? Jes' sayin'. FWIW, I try to eschew both Pokémon and "junk labels". I not only don't mind not following trends, I kind of make avoiding them a quest. (And yes, that sentence contained a triple negative.) I have no problem with someone making an anthology, by collecting an example of as many dumb labels as possible, but that's not numismatics. We need a Museum of Epic Stupidity, too.
Dumb is simply any thing on a label other than type, date, cond. or a major historical collection or hoard and i,d code...first day, early release, first strike, etc. are not relevant to a coin,s actual value. On the other hand, some will pay extra for 57 cadi fins because they look good and money is no object.
Demonstrably not true...as long as collectors pay more for the "special" labels as the do now, they add value to the coin. Perhaps each TPGS should add a one-of-a-kind "FIRST LABELED EXAMPLE" for each new coin product and make some "big money."
Now if they did that, I would really have something! At ANA 2014, while all the yahoos were lining up to buy the gold Kennedy, in the hallway off the bourse on Opening Day, I swung immediately up to the Mint booth, bought my two clad sets, and literally ran to NGC. My sets were THE first clad sets submitted, by a good 10 minutes, for the ANA show label. The gold line hadn't moved yet. Alas, there was no such label. 5 NGC staffers has to gather around and read the instruction sheet to see how to handle them. BTW, SP67 and SP68 ANA show clad 2014 Kennedys now have enough transactions that NGC now shows prices on them.