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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Treashunt, post: 177513, member: 6763&quot;]On the question of TPG&#039;ers:</p><p>&nbsp; They have definately been a boon to beginning collectors and advanced collectors alike.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I know of one instance, in particular, where the purchaser of two coins, a 1913 S and 1896 S Barber quarters in nice, fine grades. He found out that they were both bogus. As a result, he saved a small fortune and was easily able to return them to the dealer where he had purchased them.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TPG&#039;ers, when they are good at their job, are a boon to the hobby by protecting both the novice and the advanced collector by staying up on the abilities of fakers who are able to produce better and better fakes. As a result, collectors, myself included, feel more comfortable purchasing a more expensive piece knowing that it has been determined to be an authentic coin. Would I have ever purchased a 1916 Standing Liberty quarter otherwise? No, I think not. Now I have one in a PCGS holder, graded as a VG-10, and I love to visit with it.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The&nbsp; biggest negative is that there is no standardization to the grading system nor is there a standardization to the qualifications that the TPG&#039;ers must have before they plop a label or a grade on the slab and push it out there for the public to see.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; If there were some regulation then we may be able to get rid of the alphabet soup of graders who are popping up every other day. </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; So, simply, yes, TPG&#039;ers are good and they can be bad. Even the best (PCGS and NGC) are ruining the hobby by playing to the various topical slabs of the day &quot; First Strike,&quot;&nbsp; Flag Quarter slabs&quot;, et cetera.</p><p>&nbsp;Thanks.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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