Why is there no AU59?

Plus grades stop at 68+ there’s no plus for 69 or 70. Plus grades are the top of the grade as in just missed the next grade up so really 66+ is like a 66.9 or better

 

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And 66++ is 66.99?

 

A plus is a half step. 66+ is 66.5. This becomes clear if you look at how they calculate registry GPAs. Has anyone ever seen a 69+?

Cal

 

No it’s not a half step. They’ve said before a plus is the top 10 percent of the grade aka .9 or better. 69s don’t have pluses, they stop at 68

 

When they calculate GPAs for the registry, a + adds 0.5 to the grade. A 63+ is used in the calculations as 63.5. They can say whatever they like about it being in the top X% of the grade, but when it comes to actually figuring registry standing, it's in the middle of the grade.

Cal

 

Registry score has nothing to do with how they’re graded. That’s nothing more than a scoring system for the set. You will absolutely not get a plus grade for something they grade a .5.

PCGS has graded 3.4 million coins in the last 12 months, 47k got a plus grade. In the last 30 days 2,300 out of 167k graded have gotten a plus.

 

True, but if you are a registry competitor, a plus gets you only middle of the grade credit.

Cal

 

Maybe those are the only coins that deserved a plus grade.

If they graded every coin in the past 12 months then your conclusion would make logical sense, but they graded a small portion of the total population of coins and given the random nature of submissions, your point proves nothing.

 

Yea that’s definitely true for registry points. That’s probably the most they could give there without people complaining the plus was worth to much

 

I’ll say it again, you can keep dividing grades and subdividing grades until the cows come home. You’ll never run out of numbers for the right side of the decimal point.

At some point people have to grasp the idea that at any given grade there will be a range of coins. Some will be better than others. They’re all going to fit in a range and a range by definition means a spectrum of outcomes.

 

The entire point of the point system was to quantify something that was very subjective.
Third party or professional grading attempts to do that but it still falls short.
I think that at some point in the future, perhaps some type of facial recognition software will be adapted for grading coins. Then perhaps we’ll have a truly objective grading system that could and would grade a coin as a MS64.5678 and have real, repeatable, meaning to the grade.

 

Computer grading will be relying on a set of image processing rules and algorithms in a program or read by a program. Someone will have to formulate those rules and algorithms. The folks that do that will bring in their notions of grading. There will still be subjectivity and biases reflected in those codified notions. Computer grading will bring in economy, speed and consistency, but the codified subjectivity that went into the programming will still be there.

Cal

 

This once was true, but it no longer is. No algorithm needs to be written; no one needs to program anything. There will be no subjectivity in the process. That is the essence of neural nets, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. You merely throw enough data at the problem and the machine writes its OWN algorithm to grade coins thereafter.

We need to get beyond this old style notion of computer programs; it's hopelessly out of date.

 

SkyNet grading service

 

more like Pie In The Sky Net Grading Service

 

All that is missing from already doing things this way is the DESIRE to throw enough computing power at the coin grading problem. As terraflops keep getting cheaper, it'll happen.

The true challenge is designing a standard lighting and coin "wiggling" setup.

By the way, lest any newb misunderstand, technical grading is FULLY adequate and fully USED for circulated grades - say XF45 and below. The controversy is PRIMARILY in the MS range, with some AU's.

 

Yes. This. Forever. The problem is when truly matters of preference get wound into a grade. It seems we are in an American "Golden Age" of toned silver coins (pun fully intended), while according to what I read, Asians pretty much hate toning in general. How then, does color get put into a grade?

A North American grade and an Asian grade? Yuck!

 

Never confuse competitive registry facts (which are a BLATANT marketing ploy) with the rest of the numismatic hobby. Don't EVER take facts from one and try to apply them to the other.

I've BEEN TO TPGS "free" breakfasts where the registry set phenomenon is "hard sold" over bacon and eggs.

But here's what's interesting - if @baseball21 is correct, and I have to reason to doubt he is about the "top 10%" thing, isn't that essentially an invitation to crack out and resubmit? Maybe it means they had to argue over the grade and the minority guy REALLY REALLY insisted he was right. Hmm.

The "+" grade - the "beanless bean".

 

but Kurt... there's free food...

 

Yes, and don't dare think for a nanosecond that that is NOT what ultimately carries the day. Hey, when I go to a summer ANA, I'm making a commitment of a solid week or more of "away from home" eatin', which can harm the budget. Gotta go for all the gusto you can!

Lunches are the toughest. Exhibit hall crap food with champagne prices.

ON THAT SUBJECT, the ANA show this summer is a SHORT walk from the Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philly. None of the above applies this year.