There are obvious differences between EAC vs. PCGS or NGC grading. Their standards are different. So seeing a coin graded AU-50 by PCGS or NGC but only XF-40 by EAC is normal. But that results in difficulties in placing a value on a coin. And I don't know of any pricing guides based on EAC grading standards. For NGC and PCGS there are Coin World pricing guides (retail pricing). Then there's the Greysheet (dealer-to-dealer pricing). And there are a number of other guides. Numismedia and Numista to name two. So how does one determine a fair comparison for a coin graded XF-40 by EAC vs. a coin graded AU-50 by one of the TPGs? Is there a conversion factor similar to conversions between the English and Metric measuring system? Experience certainly helps, but experience takes a long time to acquire.
One resource is the annual EAC auction where each coin offered has an EAC grade and those that are encapsulated are listed with the TPG grade. See expansion on this below. Also, Heritage often lists the EAC grade along with the TPG grade. But as a general statement, there are no pricing guides based on EAC grades. Just to clarify something, EAC (Early American Coppers Club) does not grade anything. The Club has published a grading guide but the Club itself grades nothing. I know that you know this @kanga but others reading this might not. In addition to my comments above, I would have to say that there is no mathematical relationship that one can apply to correlate the two grading systems. I suppose if you took an extremely large database and applied statistical analysis to it, then one could create a relationship with confidence markers. But I suspect such a thing would only be valid, if then, on an extremely large population and not for an individual coin. Too much variance. What I do is look at a graded coin and then grade it myself by the EAC system. That, as you say, takes experience and it is next to impossible to do without the EAC Grading Guide, pictured below. That said, and more to your question, what's the coin worth when it has a variance between the EAC grade and the TPG grade? The TPG market is far larger than the EAC market. That is, the price in the market is set by the TPG grade. So, the simplest answer is that the TPG grade is what sets the market price and I have seen that assertion validated time and again. As a buying strategy, what I do is assess the coin by EAC standards and decide if I think the difference between the EAC grade and TPG grade is acceptable and that the price in the TPG market - for that individual coin- is warranted. I definitely do not adopt the mindset that says "This coin with a TPG grade of AU-55 is only an EAC XF-40 so I won't pay more than an XF-40 price." That is invalid reasoning because the "XF-40 price" in that formulation is the TPG market price. If you analyze the EAC Auction results, you will see that statement validated, by and large.
PCGS will always draw a premium over NGC and a bigger premium over ANACS and IGC even though techiniacaly there grading standards are similar to take this one step further, when CAC gets rolling is the coin still going to demand a premium over the original PCGS slab as of right now the answer is yes, just bought a $5 Indian and the premium was $250 over that grade with a CAC sticker on it.
One resource is the annual EAC auction where each coin offered has an EAC grade and those that are encapsulated are listed with the TPG grade. See expansion on this below. Also, Heritage often lists the EAC grade along with the TPG grade. But as a general statement, there are no pricing guides based on EAC grades. Just to clarify something, EAC (Early American Coppers Club) does not grade anything. The Club has published a grading guide but the Club itself grades nothing. I know that you know this @kanga but others reading this might not. In addition to my comments above, I would have to say that there is no mathematical relationship that one can apply to correlate the two grading systems. I suppose if you took an extremely large database and applied statistical analysis to it, then one could create a relationship with confidence markers. But I suspect such a thing would only be valid, if then, on an extremely large population and not for an individual coin. Too much variance. What I do is look at a graded coin and then grade it myself by the EAC system. That, as you say, takes experience and it is next to impossible to do without the EAC Grading Guide, pictured below. That said, and more to your question, what's the coin worth when it has a variance between the EAC grade and the TPG grade? The TPG market is far larger than the EAC market. That is, the price in the market is set by the TPG grade. So, the simplest answer is that the TPG grade is what sets the market price and I have seen that assertion validated time and again. As a buying strategy, what I do is assess the coin by EAC standards and decide if I think the difference between the EAC grade and TPG grade is acceptable and that the price in the TPG market - for that individual coin- is warranted. I definitely do not adopt the mindset that says "This coin with a TPG grade of AU-55 is only an EAC XF-40 so I won't pay more than an XF-40 price." That is invalid reasoning because the "XF-40 price" in that formulation is the TPG market price. If you analyze the EAC Auction results, you will see that statement validated, by and large.
Thank goodness for that. The grading world is already confused enough without adding another axiom..........
I guessed EAC right. @green18 but I did say the same thing. I got real lucky on that EAC language. Your forgiven cuz I know what you collect
@Publius2, thanks VERY much for your response. I now think I can make reasonable bids on EAC items. And, if I pay attention to what I'm doing, refine those "reasonable bids" in the future. Turns out that I have that Grading Guide that you referenced in your post. (I continue to have problems remembering things.) What caused me to ask the question in the first place is that I'm a EAC member and have the catalog of "The 2023 EAC Convention Sale" and am trying to put together my bids. I was at the St. Louis convention a couple years back and did some bidding there. I was only mildly successful because of my lack of a reasonable understanding of the relationship between EAC and TPG grades. Thanks again. Now I think I can open my wallet a bit wider
EAC grading can come in two forms. The good form provides a valuable description of the coin. It takes into account the problems that one frequently finds on late 18th and early 19th century copper, provides a description of the problem(s) and a net grade from pricing purposes. It also useful for condition census purposes when one is looking for a list of the finest known examples. For some varieties, all or virtually all of the known examples have problems. Generally the EAC grade is one step below the commercial or slab grade. But don't think that the lower grade will give you a lower price. "If the alligators don't get you, the mosquitoes will." EAC prices can be quite high. The negative aspect to EAC grading is that it can be used against your "discovery coin" if you are looking to have it equally or more highly regarded than the pieces some establishment people have. Since it is more conservative, EAC grading can be cited as the reason for down grading your piece, rightly and sometimes wrongly.
For a start, I intend to only bid on the coins already in a PCGS or NGC slabs. I've already got about 8 coins I'm interested in -- 4 seriously. I've charted their values listed in both the Greysheet and Coin World using the slab grades. Now if I can figure out how to do my bidding in real time, I might pull this off correctly. I currently use my Android phone ONLY to make calls when away from home. And I'm fairly adept at butchering just making calls. At home I only use a landline. So I'll use the next month or so to try to learn how to use the bidding APPs on the Android. This old dog may still learn a new trick or two yet.
I don't know if anybody has mentioned "Copper Quotes by Robinson" yet. In these booklets Jack Robinson listed Prices for large cents and 1/2 cents in grades per EAC standards. It was issued/updated every 2-3 years, with the last one issued in 2011 - quite a while back. It was a very detailed price guide, not only listing prices at the various EAC grades, but also for various categories of coin for each grade: Choice, Average, Average minus, and "Scudzy", I still use to get an approximate idea of value for a coin at a given EAC grade.
