New TPG on the block!

I am not crazy about another TPG company. we will see how they do.

 

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Much in the same way as TPG's, I have absolutely no use for this service. However, I have to hand it to the founders, as a business and the popularity of modern stuff, I think they'll do well. Can't blame them for making money where money is being thrown at them. I'd do the same.

 

Well, this is a FPG, not a TPG.

And, this is a joke, right?

 

No, no affiliation, just a heads up for anyone who might be interested. They will have to do some good business though and have a mission statement, which I have not yet seen, to make it in the big leagues. Especially so if they want to be on EBay's list of acceptable TPG's.

 

My friend, you keep calling them a "TPG"...they are not. NGC & PCGS are TPGs.

 

This is my special sticker

 

Check to make sure your back door is locked.

Did you leave the garage light on?

Make a note to yourself Christmas is next Thursday. It be terrible if you forgot.

 

I'm sorry, I thought all of them were Third Party Graders. Certainly my apologies if I erred. ANAC's & ICG also? I do apologize for reading this article out of context though. You are all right about the "sticker" assignment, I was wrong.

 

TPGs are companies who authenticate, grade, and slab coins.

QA and CAC don't do those things -- they just put a sticker on an already graded coin if they agree with what is on the label.

Their business models thrive on the perception that they add some "value" to the coin in the slab via their additional sticker opinion. It is a subjective opinion on agreement with a subjective opinion of grade.

 

Here, let me break it down for you:

When you personally grade a coin, you are the First Party. You graded it. You are the First Party Grader.

When you are evaluating a coin for a transaction, the other person is a Second Party. The dealer who has a coin you want, or the buyer who you want to buy the coin. They are the Second Party Grader.

Because both the first and the second party have a vested interest in the grade of the coin, they are biased. This should be obvious.

Thus, a Third Party was invented - someone who doesn't own the coin, and won't be buying the coin. They are unbiased, have no interested in the coin, and can give an objective opinion of the grade of the coin. These the the Third Party Graders. In recent times, most of the third party graders put the coins in slabs with their labels, to protect the coin and clearly indicate their opinion.

In recent times, certain people decided that the third party wasn't doing a good job. They invented the Fourth Party. These Fourth Party graders evaluate the grade of the Third Party, and determine if they think the grade is good. If it meets their satisfaction, they put a sticker on it. If its not, they don't.

The merits of fourth party grading have been discussed at length, and a quick search should pull up dozens of lengthy threads about them. TPGs are outfits like NGC, PCGS, ANACS, ICG, SEGS, etc. Fourth Party Graders are companies like CAC, PQ, WINGS, and whatever else redundant stickering service you might find.

 

Fourth Party "Graders" don't grade the coin at all. They either agree with the assigned grade by the TPG or they don't. Thus, I personally don't like the term "Fourth Party Graders" -- it is misleading and not strictly speaking correct.

They are simply an additional opinion, that is noted by either applying a sticker or not applying a sticker. Lots of people also refer to these companies (like CAC, WINGS, PQ, QA) as "second opinion" services.

 

I'm so excited. This just makes my year. I'm feeling giddy and tingly all over. What news! I'm one step closer to getting the kind of slab I want in my collection. I don't even care if there is a coin inside. Share in my dream...

 

All you need now is this

 

LOL

 

I'm starting a sticker service that will validate the previous stickers for a small fee.

Seriously, the only services worth a salt are CAC and Eagle Eye (who was the original). This is simply because I respect john albanese and rick snow.

 

I am glad someone else takes my view on those stupid stickers. thank you for making me laugh tonight. I needed it.

 

we should make a poll on TPG's favorites
my favorite TPG's in order:
#1 PCGS
#2 NGC
#3 ANACS
#4 PCI

 

Neoteny , also called juvenilization, is one of the two ways by which paedomorphism can arise. Paedomorphism or paedomorphosis is the retention by adults of traits previously seen only in the young, and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology and coin collecting.

In the situation debated, this describes the love of letting other people make your decisions, like mummy and daddy used to do.

A mature coin collector will learn, as a beginner, to make distinctions based on reasonable criteria, and to have a certain amount of faith in those decisions. In the process they will receive guidance and support from more experienced (adult) collectors.

They will take risks based on their opinions, and receive rewards if their decisions prove to be good ones. This is typical adult behavior. By positive reinforcement the juvenile perfects the skills needed for survival.

It has become common in some parts of North America for infectious neotony to have taken root among collectors, whereby they never, like the axolotl, achieve the adult stage. Their self confidence remains semi-larval.

Ultimately this process results in the retention, in the adults of a species, of juvenile mental characteristics well into maturity and pedogenesis (paedogenesis), the reproduction in a neotenized state. Paraphrasing this, it means they take the situation they find as normal despite the obvious prevalent and it seems increasing abnormality of this behaviour, and they chose to ignore, or even have no concept of its financial and mental harm.

Recognition of this state depends on those who do not suffer from it helping the neotonised to become aware of their quasi-infantile state and to demonstrate by logic and example that it is possible to develop beyond this dependence on others to perform adult functions.

Those who have a vested interest in maintaining the population in dependent subjugation will contest the situation as described, others will have their conceptual grasp enhanced by examination of their own behavior and of others.

Hold up a mirror to yourself and ask "Am I an axolotl?"