I don't submit many coins but I was sure I had a shot at a PR70 with this one. Low mintage, 2,500, and I had COA #126. I guess a coins has to be submitted by a major player to get the 70 designation. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with the 69, it's just that there is about a $300-$400 difference in the two. I still more than made up the purchase cost with this grade. I can't check the census numbers since the NGC site has been down for the last couple of days. 2014 Silver Proof Britannia PR69 Ultra Cameo
I know that, but it sometimes it feels that way. I know the grader are fair and unbiased. Luck of the draw
Truer than you know. Sometimes I swear they flip a coin. Heads, your coin gets a 70, tails, it gets a 69.
Sorry, I wasn't suggesting that bigwigs only receive 70's... But, I may be leaning towards that the "major players" as sonlarson put it, are more likely to receive better grades... just speculation.
Often times one sees that because people will request a minimum of 70. If the coin does not get the 70, then it is not holdered or entered into the report. This 2014 is a more expensive coin, so the 69 graded ones still make sense to be holdered but upon initial release it’s possible that dealers only had the 70s slabbed.
Hmm, I seen some coins shown me (NOT mine) that were off quite a bit - both NGC and PCGS. I don not for a moment believe grading is independent of the submitter; this also does not mean necessarily other small-time submitters might not get the nod in a grade. I once sent one of my coins back because of the ridiculous grade - to P - and they upped it from a 58 to a 63! BTW, that was a 1905 Halfcrown.
