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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 2599676, member: 112&quot;]Good Lord ! Where to start with this ??</p><p><br /></p><p>First of all I think most of you will agree that when it comes to grading coins that I am more strict than just about anybody here on this forum. And it is certainly no secret that I strictly adhere to ANA grading standards. And it is in that light that I say the following.</p><p><br /></p><p>Is there such a thing a coin truly deserving of the 70 grade ? Yes, categorically yes !</p><p><br /></p><p>Have actual examples of 70 coins existed longer than I have been alive ? Yes. And as mentioned, they merely weren&#039;t recognized as such because the grade itself didn&#039;t exist yet. But that doesn&#039;t mean the coins didn&#039;t.</p><p><br /></p><p>Did the 70 grade exist <u>before</u> the TPGs came along in 1986 ? Again, categorically yes ! </p><p><br /></p><p>And it is well documented. <i>(Now some may argue the point of the date regarding the existence of the TPGs because ANACS existed long before 1986. But for purposes of this discussion the TPGs as we know them did not exist before the advent of PCGS in 1986.)</i> In point of fact there was a time, before the TPGs even existed, that the 70 grade was even more common than it is today. </p><p><br /></p><p>When was that ? 1977 is when it began, and it was with the publishing of the first edition of the ANA grading standards. In that book there were only 3 MS grades - MS/PF60, MS/PF65, and MS/PF70. That&#039;s it, there were no others. So <u>every coin</u> that was deemed nicer than MS/PF65 was by default MS/PF70 according to ANA standards. And it was not until 1986 with the writing of the 3rd edition of the ANA standards that all the other MS/PF grades we know today were added.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, where I think people get hung up regarding the 70 grade and thus questioning its very existence, and I&#039;ve said this many times in the past, is because when describing the 70 grade the word &quot;perfect&quot; is used. In my opinion that&#039;s the entire problem in a nutshell. And it is because many people have different connotations, different definitions, of the word &quot;perfect&quot;. </p><p><br /></p><p>If that one single word were not used in the written and verbal descriptions of the grade 70 - I don&#039;t think anybody would have a problem agreeing that a coin can be correctly graded and worthy of the 70 grade. And that is because the 70 grade, just like all other grades, has its own written and well established criteria that must be met. And if those criteria are met then the coin is correctly and truly worthy of the 70 grade - just as any coin is worthy of its lesser grade when the criteria are met.</p><p><br /></p><p>That said, do all of the TPGs have their own unique set of standards that define the 70 grade ? Yes. And because of that the 70 grade of one may not be equal to the 70 grade of another for one&#039;s standards may be stricter than that of another.</p><p><br /></p><p>But even in the ANA grading standards, which none of the TPGs use by the way because they are even more strict by far than the standards the TPGs do use, the 70 grade does exist. And there are plenty of coins out there that are worthy of the 70 grade as defined by the ANA standards.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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