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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;V. Kurt Bellman, post: 2339607, member: 71723&quot;]Speaking for me only, I endorse fully what [USER=112]@GDJMSP[/USER] has written above. Pictures are good AS A STARTING POINT, but only that. I don&#039;t use any book that has the words &quot;Photograde&quot; in it. I simply do not believe any photography based book can do anything but deceive the viewer into thinking that photos can teach grading. It is simply too simplistic. We grant 16 year olds drivers licenses to take to the interstate in the family Camry, but not a Dallara-Chevy on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Even in the QDB article, he unwittingly falls into a trap - over-obsessing on ONE ASPECT of grading a key date Indian cent, the word &quot;LIBERTY&quot;. Is that all there is to grading an Indian?? Gawd, I hope not! It is merely the first element and only that.</p><p><br /></p><p>ANA Official Guides - ALL OF THEM EXCEPT THE LATEST ONE ARE COMPLETELY USELESS! This should go without saying. You need to BURN all but the latest edition. IF the 6th edition were still valid, why would there be a 7th? Think about it. Then you need to READ (as in &quot;cover to cover&quot;) the sections of the 7th edition OTHER THAN the pages where the grades are described and the pictures are there. Why? Because THAT is where the guide explains the LIMITATIONS of the rest of the VERY SAME guide. In other words, you need to &quot;put down the technical grading concept, and slowly back away.&quot; LEARN what market grading is and why it has taken over. You don&#039;t get to debate it - technical grading is all but dead, except as a step to teach newbs.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are myriad elements that go into any coin&#039;s grade, and yes, they vary over time. Why? Because what collectors want and value changes over time. You need to stop obsessing over any single element of a coin&#039;s condition and get &quot;holistic&quot; about it. Then &quot;gradeflation&quot; will stop bothering you so much. As long as tastes change, so will grading.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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