Is there anywhere that you can take a coin grading test just to see how close you are to grading, like it shows you a graded coin and you answer then it shows you what it was actually graded by professionals. Just thought it would be a good way to see where people stand, like out of 100 or 200 to get a percentile right or something? Thanks for your time and Thoughts, Donn
Could be easily done among friends......just click and save pictures from Ebay, Heritage etc and make your own test !
Actually, most of the coin forums have a subforum where grading comments can be given. I have often gone through the archives of them to get better on series other than the ones I collect actively. Usually the photo is shown in first post, write your grade down and then go through the postings to see if you are in the same range. Seldom will everyone be EXACTLY the same as even expert opinion can differ. There are a couple going on here currently. When you feel confident, join in! Welcome to CT! Jim
You can take classes at home from the ANA and at the end you have to pass a test. Then you can say your a certified ANA grader.
Problem is, especially with the MS grades, you need the coin in hand. That pretty much limits you to the ANA classes in the summer. And that's expensive. Next best choice is going to shows and looking at all the graded coins you can find, and maybe asking the occasional question. A bit tougher, but at least it's free.
You might be interested to know that there was a doctoral dissertation done on the subject that says otherwise. It can be read - Grading By Pictures
Here is a patent consigned to PCGS in 1993 on machine/computer grading. It gets rather deep in the computer analytic portion, Fourier Transforms, etc. But reads like the patent for a current photo correction program. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5220614.html Thanks for the thesis url. Jim
