I just wanted to ask for opinions. The question is basic but may be hard for you to decide do your best. What grading system do you use when buying and selling coins..? by grading system I mean-- ANA guide, Photograde, PCGS, ANA's grading school methods...ect., ect., ect. catman
I use the ANA guide and Photograde for grading circulated coins. I don't put a lot of stock in the 11 point grading system for uncirculated coins, so I usually try to determine if it's a low-end, mid-grade, or high-end unc. That works for me, but of course, wouldn't work for everyone.
Jody's method works for me as well. I have about five or six different grading guides and I go by the ANA guide and the PCGS guide more than the others.
I'm still learning and think ANA standards are the model to follow. For some reason Photograde just doesn't do it for me. Maybe I've got some sort of visual hangup but Photograde seems very inferior compared to other visual resources whether they be ebay, teletrade, or otherwise. Perhaps it's the black and white thing.
I find an example of a coin in the best condition possible, then i work out the rest of the grades from that based upon what i can see and prior knowledge learned from grading British coins for the past decade and a half. No specific grading guides for UK coins. Plus i just use G, VG, F, VF, EF, UNC and BU.
Mostly ANA standards, but where my Indian cents are concerned, I also take the Fly-In standards (usually more conservative) into account.
Grading Shambles Hello Everyone, I have asked this same question on several different forums and a few clubs and have received the same type of responses I have gotten here. Is it any wonder that no one can agree on a grade if everyone is using a different grading system..? The battle over the grade of a coin stems from the grading system each person involved is using. IMHO, The dealer & collector should FIRST decide what grading system to use BEFORE they start to negotiate the price or grade of the coin. catman
Personally, I just think the collector needs to consider the coin, and determine how they would value it based on the grade they assign to it. It doesn't matter if a dealer says a coin is XF-40; if a collector thinks it's VF-35, they will pass if the dealer wants full XF money for it and possibly buy it anyway if the dealer offers it for less than full XF money.
I found the newest PCGS Grading reprint an amazing book. I know I'll be turning to this one over and over again. I use it in combination with the ANA Photograde book (I have an old version that needs upgrading though....sorta like a lot of coins I have!).
Well I use Photograde, but the one thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't go to MS and PF grades...as my one set is of PF halves I would like to be able to grade PF coins as well. That is why I'm buying other granding guides--I'll read them all, use them all for some coins, and see what one fits me best. I think you got it! Before I knew how to grade I just took the dealers opinion but now that I'm learning a little bit I'm more looking at the coin to see what I think it is--if I think it's lower then the grade on the flip but want the coin I'll pay the price. Now when looking at slabs I'm more prone to belive the grade on the slabs. Just my thoughts. Speedy
Proof Grades I will probably get attacked for this one. My opinion of proof grades doesn't conform to other peoples. Proof is a minting process not a grade. By the very definition a proof coin is suppose to be perfect. Anything less is a damaged or circulated proof. They should ALL be MS-70. Who ever started grading these, IMO, is really pulling someones leg. catman
Those statements are contradictory. The first one is the definition of the term. On the other hand, a grade is an assesment of the condition of the item at the time of grading. Any manufacturing process can result in artifacts with a wide range of quality. The resulting artifacts can then be subjected to an extensive variety of post-process conditions, abuses and environments. Therefore, a coin produced by the proof process can easily appear at some point to have the visual characteristics of anything from a P0 to an MS70 DCam. That's why high grade proof coins are graded "PF" instead of "MS", and any proof can earn any number on the Sheldon scale, including a hypothetical PF/P0 after sufficient abuse , such as giving a gold proof a lengthy dip in aqua regia. Nothing personal catman - I'm attacking your conclusion, not you.
Hi Roy, I don't take a person's opinion as a personal attack. You made some issues that can be discussed. I'm glad you posted it. What a boring world it would be if everybody agreed with me..! My signature says it all...
