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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2447040, member: 19463&quot;]That is a good question but I wonder just how important a library would be for a grading/authentication operation.&nbsp; A large dealer (CNG class) needs a library to write up extensive descriptions with catalog references but The NGC model provides very little ID information and people with the experience of Mssrs. Vagi and Murphy should be able to do most ID&#039;s off the top of their heads.&nbsp; You don&#039;t need a book beyond a one volume old Sear to ID Roman Imperials to emperor and date range.&nbsp; Also, I suspect that most coins received for grading are the usual suspects.&nbsp; Perhaps they get a hundred Severus Alexander denarii in EF for every Pescennius Niger in any grade.&nbsp; When appealing to the new market of inexperienced collectors to whom all ancients are new, the added value of a slab is probably less on coins of some types than others.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I am not even close to the level of these gentlemen but I do find that my use of some books in my library has fallen off compared to others.&nbsp; Unless the coin is in poor condition, references for Imperials is mostly for the purpose of providing a catalog number while I am considerably less comfortable naming that Parthian king.&nbsp; I have many books in my library that I really should sell simply because they no longer provide regular practical support.&nbsp; The expertise that would allow someone to function as an authenticator is not gained from 95% of the books I know but from handling countless thousands of coins every year for 25 years.&nbsp; I doubt that my fingers in the last 50 years have contacted as many coins as Barry&#039;s have in any one of his 25 years.&nbsp; This is a level of training that could not be duplicated with the largest of numismatic libraries.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I would, however, wonder how anyone (collector, dealer, NGC grader) could keep up with the latest in the forgers&#039; arts.&nbsp; There are no books.&nbsp; Internet sites exist but staying current is hard enough when you really need to be ahead of the game. I&#039;m sure there are people sending in known fakes in the hope of slipping one through.&nbsp; A fake in a slab is defined as genuine since some dealers even refuse to guarantee authenticity of coins sold in slabs.&nbsp; Even though they do not guarantee authenticity, they are putting their good name on the line with every encapsulation.&nbsp; In the end, that good name is their only product.&nbsp; If you wanted a &#039;blind-pig&#039; opinion, you could ask us here on CT.&nbsp; </p><p><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/even_a_blind_pig_can_find_an_acorn_once_in_a_while" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/even_a_blind_pig_can_find_an_acorn_once_in_a_while" rel="nofollow">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/even_a_blind_pig_can_find_an_acorn_once_in_a_while</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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