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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;QUEENKOIN, post: 6697, member: 656&quot;]In my post I mentioned 3 companys......</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ll say again, PCGs, NGC, and ANACs......</p><p><br /></p><p>develope your grading eye new collectors, PCGs does have a book out that can be helpful. Go to coin stores, go to shows, join a coin club. Study as many graded coins as you possibly can in the series that you choose to collect. And at that I would recommend beggining with PCGs and NGC...... Learn what these two, THE TOP TWO, look for in each grade, cause I&#039;ll tell you, when you advance in grading skills each service has a &#039;certian look&#039; that they look for in a coin before they holder it with a Ultra Gem status.....</p><p><br /></p><p>When you advance in skill and build confidence in the series that you choose, then consider finding &#039;gems&#039; in some of the other companys holders, they are out there, but you must sharpen that grading eye.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is very diffulcult if not impossible to grade from a scan/image, however, I still encourage you to look at images because they can give you a general feel for a coin. Larry Whitlows website usually has some very accurate and blown up images of their inventory which can be very very useful.</p><p><br /></p><p>When buying a coin on ebay, donot shy away from asking the seller questions about its strike, bagmarks, or for more images... If a seller doesn&#039;t share any info it could be, could be a major red flag and a bad sign.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As you develope that grading eye and understand what your grading company of choice likes to see in its holders, you can then find many raw GEMs at great prices and have the graded if you desire....</p><p><br /></p><p>I have both raw and certified, I had assembled one of the top Franklin Half sets in the country, I went thru several bumps and bruises along the way, I now enjoy bringing many freshly graded ultra Gems to the market and supplying some of the top PCGs Regsitry sets with Franklins, Washingtons, Roosevelts and coming soon Winged Libertys.. I&#039;ve got some stunners, and at a recent coin show in Vegas, the HepKitty was able to find many knockout Ultra Gems raw.....</p><p><br /></p><p>My definition of a Ultra Gem is:</p><p>Franklins ms66fbl and above...</p><p>Washingtons ms67</p><p>Roosies ms67fb</p><p>Winged Libertys ms67fb </p><p><br /></p><p>Let me tell you newbies, it is a killer feeling when you found a raw GEM, submit it for grading and make the big score! I love it!</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a coin that I got kind of cheap, I had it going PR67Cam.....</p><p>PCGs agreed with me: (lint is on the holder)</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.hepcatradio.com/53c.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is a great score and a Coin that if it had a hair more mirror depth would have been a Major score, a 53 Frankie in a pr67 Cameo is very tough. These coins are usually hairlined and milkspotted to death....</p><p><br /></p><p>Proof coins are a whole different ball game and can be tough to grade.</p><p>NGC focuses on Frost for their lofty Ultra Cam status while PCGs focuses more on mirror depth for their Deep Cameos.... Now I don&#039;t know that either of these companys would admit to that, but this is what one learns when they study their holders and discover what exactly it is that each company is looking for in a given grade. NGC is more forgiving with hairline (tiny fine scratches) whith PCGs they can be grade killers...</p><p><br /></p><p>Sharpen that eye, Gainn knowledge, and enjoy the hobby...</p><p><br /></p><p>The biggest hobby killer is buying overgrading coins and losing your shirt if you have to sell and/or finding nobody wants your coins....</p><p><br /></p><p>Collecting is all about collecting, and not neccesarly making money or a profit, but with that said, you can enjoy the hobby and put yourself in a good position should the time come to sell, and that day is probably coming, as we are temporary stewards of the coins we posses, preserving them for future generations...</p><p><br /></p><p>Happy Collecting,</p><p>Lucille[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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