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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 3035379, member: 112&quot;]Not at all surprising to me, in fact I would expect no less in today&#039;s world. But would it surprise you to learn that was not always the case ? </p><p><br /></p><p>Ya see 15-20 years ago European grading and US grading were roughly on par. They used different terminology than we did but they used roughly the same number of grades that we used, and still do today, they just have different names for them than we do. They use adjectival names instead of numbers. But wear was still wear on both sides of the ocean and no coin with wear was considered to be mint state. And the standards for the circulated grades were pretty much the same too.</p><p><br /></p><p>The one major difference between European grading and US grading that really stood out back then, and to a lesser extent does so today, was in regard to harsh cleaning. The Europeans, in general mind you, had no problem with it while the US did. It was quite common for harsh cleaning to not even be mentioned by the Europeans, rather it was simply dismissed as being the norm. And as a result a great many coins sold in or by the European dealers as mint state, when sent in for grading to the US TPGs, came back as harshly cleaned. </p><p><br /></p><p>In today&#039;s world that happens less often. But not because the Europeans have changed, to the contrary their grading standards have remained basically the same, because the TPGs have changed. Today the TPGs are much more lax, much more forgiving, when it comes to harsh cleaning. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you go back to the earliest years of this forum you can find many discussions on this very subject of US and European grading. And they will reflect what I have said here.</p><p><br /></p><p>Back then, to get a good correlation between US and European grading, and what their grade names mean in our grade numbers is pretty simple. All you need to do is write out 2 lists side by side, one for them and one for us. You can start at the top or the bottom and it all works out the same. You&#039;ll end up with about the same number grades on each side and they translate straight across.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today however that&#039;s not really the case any longer as the TPGs have loosened their standards so much, while the Europeans have not. And what you&#039;re relating here, with this particular post, is a perfect example of that.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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