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Message:: [QUOTE="JPeace$, post: 2092443, member: 42727"]At a 30K foot level, I agree with what you are saying.  There are people in the hobby who use the TPG's and the stickers from CAC etal, to reassure themselves. It certainly would be nice if there were no dealers out there selling cleaned coins as problem free.  It certainly would be nice if there were no dealers who sold doctored surfaces as problem free.  It certainly would be nice if dealers fairly graded your raw coins when offering to buy them rather than deducting a couple points and making a lowball offer.  But sadly, that's not the case. IMO, the reality is, some of the TPG's have provided a great service to the hobby.  You no longer need to be an expert or view the coin in hand to be comfortable with a coin purchase.  Now, that being said, I still think a collector needs to educate themselves on the hobby.  I don't want to absolve the collectors role at all. I'm just saying the TPG's help protect us from the unscrupulous people in the hobby. I disagree with your assessment on the NGC "*" designation.  All it indicates is that NGC thinks the coin has exceptional eye appeal.  When viewing auctions, I want to view their "*" coins.  I don't always agree with their assessment, but many of the coins that receive the special designation are very eye appealing.[/QUOTE]