Just thinking today about how much people rely on TPG grading or the opinion of others to accurately determine the value of their coin(s). I understand those that are new to the hobby and haven't had a chance to really study the nuances of grading. There are many series that pose difficulty when it comes to pinning down the exact grade so that at least an estimate of value can be determined. Learning to grade raw coins along with identifying cleaning, alteration or counterfeits is absolutely necessary if you want to get the most out of this hobby and not get taken to the cleaners. These are a few books that have helped me along my ~55 year path of collecting. I highly recommend them to those that are new to the hobby. Slabbing coins can be very expensive especially if you're sending in modern or common coins. Figure the cost per coin for the tier of service offered by your choice of services. Don't forget to include shipping, insurance (sending and return), packaging, etc. Some aren't worth it while others may command only a slight premium depending on the assigned grade. Worst case scenario is a coin returned in a body bag, not graded due to cleaning, alteration or not genuine. Books are much cheaper than making costly mistakes by sending in problem coins for grading. My point is that educating yourself by learning to grade raw coins on your own will save a lot of time, effort and money by making your adventure in the hobby of kings a more enjoyable experience.
I fear that may be an art that is getting lost on newer collectors. I was collecting loooong before there was ever a TPG and I can get pretty close. I do struggle with several series like Buffalos and Washington quarters. But you are 100% correct. If you are bitten by the coin bug, the ability to grade is a necessity.
I've actually been adding to the series knowledge with Whitman series specific volumes I've found at used book stores. Amazing what turns up there and mostly on the cheap.
You are missing a book written by a forum member here. I personally think it's one of the best additions to that stack. I won't say any more to prevent accusations of advertising... but check my signature below for more.
Good post. I am still learning, and I stay in my lane of what I know and collect. That part has helped me immensely, although now I am suspicious of every coin photo I see now.
I started to learn to grade coins in the early 1960s with Brown and Dunn books. They had only line drawings, but it got me started on the circulated grades. Around 1970, I obtained the Photograde book. It had its faults, but I learned a great deal from it. The ANA guide was sort of the capstone for me. Since then it’s been a matter of looking at tens of thousands of coins. That’s the way one seals the knowledge you get from the books.
Whether someone depends on the TPG for a grade is all about the coin type. If you're talking things like 1800's US in up to mid-grade, then oftentimes no. This can go for Draped Bust, Capped Bust, Seated Liberty, Barber, Indian Heads, and Morgans to name a few. Most pieces in Mint State are what people want slabbed; otherwise, if it's a raw MS you are likely to get around MS60 CDNs. This is partially from selling a few raw Morgans all in 62-63 to an LCS; I got around the bid for a 60 in case the grading turns out not to be so high. Now for modern coins in sky-high grades, barely anyone will believe you if it's not slabbed. Say you have a 1998-D nickel that you know is at least a MS-66 with full steps - Greysheet is $360 for that grade and designation (I am 100% serious here), but outside of the slab you'd be lucky to get a few bucks. Not sure if this helped but I hope it did.
I learned to grade with the help of a coin dealer I worked for in the mid to late 70's. When the ANA guide came out I felt a bit more confident as the illustrations helped fill in some blanks for me. I whole-heartedly agree that the more coins you can look at the better you get. I was lucky to have a good teacher with lots of coins to go with the books.
I got started as a child with the very most basic descriptions in the Red Book. Eventually I got Photograde, and then ANA. I now own the PCGS (for research) and I bought Brown and Dunn for history. Many of them show pictures or descriptions of each grade, and you match your coin to a picture. Honestly... I found them all inadequate. The best of them had 20 pages of info on how to grade or what terms mean. None of them had the depth that you really need to fully understand a coin. How do you evaluate the surfaces, the strike, the luster, the wear, the contact marks, and everything else... if you don't understand what that means? How can you judge the condition of the coin if you can't explain why it behaves the way it does? And that's why I wrote my book. Why does your coin look the way it does? How do you tell a weak strike from wear? How do you know if its early die state or late die state? The answers are in my book.
