Learning to Grade: Looking at a ton of coins of EBAY

So I miss all the GTG threads that we have had in the past. I have resorted to staring at Morgan Dollars on EBAY. I am not guessing the grade but seeing if "I Agree" with the grade. Anyways, there is still an element of fun and I am learning. I am surprised at all the CAC Stickers that I don't agree with. They seem to have lost their standards a little. Anyone else agree?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

FleaBay is the worst place in the world to hone your grading skills. It would be one thing if all of the photos were taken by one individual, but they're not!

Chris

 

I would use Heritage, Stacks or GreatCollections archives for this practice. Their pictures aren't perfect (as grading with pictures in general is flawed) but I think you can consistently get within a point or so (especially with Morgans) with all their images whereas random images on ebay you can make a perfectly educated guess based on what you see and end up 4 points or more off because pictures are hiding things.

 

This. If you want to look at tons of pictures, start on Heritage. You can even search by grade if you want. One word of caution, however. Don't overmagnify the images to the point where even an 81-S in 68 looks like crap. A 6" diameter image should give you a good view of the coin.

 

How about just using Photograde.
https://www.pcgs.com/Photograde/

 

Photos can only get you so far and can actually “teach” you things you’ll struggle to unlearn later. Photo grading overemphasizes hits (easy to see) and sometimes places too little emphasis on luster (difficult to evaluate from a static image). Also, you’ll miss plenty of hairlines and other surface issues that are easy to see in-hand, but difficult in a photo. Since you don’t see them, you’ll either disagree with the grade or formulate incorrect assumptions to explain what you’re seeing.

As for CAC, they aren’t perfect but they KNOW how to grade coins and they put real money on the line every day doing what they do. Of all the grading services, I’d say they’re the most consistent over time.

 

I checked out Heritage and looked at coins for awhile. Thanks @IBetASilverDollar for the advice. I just got a 1881S Morgan in a 65. It has beautiful Luster that I can't capture in a photo! @orifdoc Thanks for bringing up all that can be missed with pictures. Knowing that is important.

 

Grading and grading from pictures are two different skill sets. The biggest challenge with pictures is learning how to interpret what you see. Too often people look at a picture and just assume that’s everything and accurate when that usually isn’t the case.

The point about picture size made above is a very important one. We’ve probably all seen where someone says somethings over graded because of marks they see in a picture where the coins the size of a dinner plate. Digital photos can make marks look worse too. Then throw in that some people use scans not pictures and there’s just always a lot of variables.

It’s still good to look at them to get an idea I agree it’s better from sources with a consistent photograph style or better yet a seller a auction house you’ve purchased from before so you can see how their pictures and in hand compare.

 

My only other option is to go to my LCS and through their graded coins. They are cool and let me do it without having to buy anything. This year I went to the World's Fair of Money and Heritage was there. I looked at tons of their coins and that as the best Numismatic Teaching session I have ever had.

 

This is one of the things I tell people to do when they go to their first big show and are learning grading. As a bonus, lot viewing often starts an hour or two before the bourse opens, so getting there early will get you more time looking at coins. If you want to improve on the experience, take someone with you that can explain what you're looking at. Just be aware of how crowded the room is so that you aren't spending a lot of time looking when people are waiting.

 

Here's my shameless plug: Consider joining the American Numismatic Association and taking their correspondence courses. One is on learning to grade, and their new, updated book FINALLY has color photographs.

 

Yeah shows and live auctions are great practice. Get there nice and early and you have 3 hours to scan through hundreds of coins of all different grades and series. Great practice and a new series may catch your eye at the same time.

 

Not quite true. I looked at this myself and the course is about learning to grade US coins only. That doesn't interest me. I would like something which is more world-oriented.

 

While not a bad tool, a single representative example of each grade and type is simply insufficient if one's goal is to "learn to grade".

 

A tip that my grandfather gave me when I was a little kid is to grade all of your pocket change. I still do this nearly forty years later and I’d like to think that I have become a pretty skilled grader. In practice, I use it to agree or disagree with what a coin is graded by the dealer, or any TPG. With that, I can decide if it’s a coin that I want to go after or not.

 

If you’re looking through pictures to improve your grading skills, consider looking at pictures of detail grade coins also to become better at spotting issues (particularly cleaning).

 

I have been joining in on the GTG posts here and have learned some things from them.

 

Same here and it has helped a lot. Who has some new Morgan's to post?

 

Take the gtg threads with a grain of salt.

 

???