How reliable do you guys think the repeat ability would be in assigning the "+" designation to a coin if broken out of a slab and re-submitted 10 times? I like the + designation but I don't know if it could be reliably assigned to a given coin. How much confidence do the TPGs really put into it? Say you have 100 MS-64s. X number get a +. What prevents them from just going to a 65? Could other graders randomly pick out the ones to be given a + out of the batch of raw coins? I own a couple and just was wondering how they came to be.
Depends what kind of plus you're talking about. If there isn't much value change with a 65 repeatability will be lower but with big value jumps most people would probably be surprised how many times crack outs come back the same. Even though pluses are technically supposed to be just missed the next grade in my opinion they are more this coin is the next grade except for this one little thing holding it back if that makes sense.
Probably no less reliable than either the half grade above or below. The Plus grade goes to the "liner" coins that graders struggle with pushing one way or the other, usually because of the spread in value between the grades. If the spread is insignificant, I doubt graders even think much about the plus grade.
Heck, if he submitted 100 64's I doubt more than 40 of them would come back above 63, much less retain the "+." But two or three would probably come back 66.
I've usually seen it where the reverse is a full step nicer than the obverse and for some reason (usually a big price jump or where the grade is already being helped by eye appeal) they don't want to give it the bump. It's entirely subjective. If they don't assign it, it doesn't really change anything; you would just have a premium coin for the grade. I wouldn't bet on it being reliably repeatable.
I think the jump in value to the next grade on some makes sense why they're careful but I wonder if the graders have that extensive of knowledge of the market values as they're grading?
The Plus is not reliable at all! If you resubmitted an MS-X+ 10 times, I would predict it would come back at least once as grade X-1, maybe once X+1, probably 3 or 4 times as just plain X, and maybe 3 or 4 times as X+. If it is a really PQ coin, that may trend higher; if it is a dog, that may trend lower. There is zero reliability with the plus. Could you (or anyone else) explain why you like the "+" designation? This isn't an attack on you - I legitimately want to know why some people like it, and what advantage you see in it. They don't give it a 65 because it may not be a 65. Theoretically, a plus is a strong 64, but not quite a 65. Practically, there is too much variance.
Price-wise, it's like having a CAC sticker on the coin without having to submit it to CAC (and unlike a sticker, it doesn't go away if you need to get it reholdered). Having said that, I wouldn't pay any premium for a + on the slab (but I would pay a premium for the quality of the coin if it was high for the grade, so it's all the same). I would always prefer getting a coin back as an MSX+ rather than an MSX. Why not?
Yeah I mean the + grade doesn't seem extremely rare but is not very common either. It is similar to a CAC and I find it interesting when the graders see the coin as having something extra about it that warranted more than a straight up grade. I don't know how they can't command a premium.
