Coin Grading Standards Lowered?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Walt Knoch, Oct 10, 2017.

Page 2 of 2
  1. Walt Knoch

    Walt Knoch It sure is


    Well thx Lehigh 96. I didn't mean to cause a stir here. Wait till my microscope comes in a few days,... I have some very peculiar finds to show and ask about to the group. 1 coin a Lincoln cent has app. 1/10th of a second coin that looks clamshelled (open) on the obverse stuck on it. Fell outta a roll. Thx again.
     
    Walt Knoch, Oct 10, 2017
    #21 + Quote Reply
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    Stir is good.
     
    Michael K, Oct 10, 2017
    #22 + Quote Reply
    Insider likes this.
  4. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    It sounds like you are likely confusing terrible strikes with wear. 83 is a really hard year to find a well made coin
     
    baseball21, Oct 10, 2017
    #23 + Quote Reply
    Dough likes this.
  5. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    I wasn't suggesting that you needed to change. I was just curious!

    Chris:)
     
    cpm9ball, Oct 10, 2017
    #24 + Quote Reply
  6. Beefer518

    Beefer518 Well-Known Member

    A scanner focuses on the platen's (the glass) top surface, because scanners are designed and optimized for scanning flat pieces of paper. A coin in a holder is not even close to the field of optimal focus when scanned, so you end up with an out of focus image. The focus is 'acceptable', but as you can see, is not good enough to capture finer details.

    Also, because it's a moving light, a scanner will mess with things even more.

    A 'serious' seller would invest in a somewhat decent camera so they could provide accurate representations of the coins they are selling.

    Sellers like this I would only be comfortable buying slabbed coins from, as even though the finer details may be obscured, I know I can trust the TPG to have seen those details (or lack thereof) and graded the coin as correctly as they could.
     
    Beefer518, Oct 10, 2017
    #25 + Quote Reply
  7. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    There's some massive sellers that use scanners. I much prefer pictures, but I do wish they would at least note the images are scanned. A lot of times people think the scan is a real picture and get critical when really it's because they scanned it
     
    baseball21, Oct 10, 2017
    #26 + Quote Reply
  8. Beefer518

    Beefer518 Well-Known Member

    I probably should have said "if sellers understood the difference between what a scan produces vs a photograph..."
     
    Beefer518, Oct 10, 2017
    #27 + Quote Reply
  9. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    Some of the sellers I am thinking of definitely understand that difference. It's likely more of a cost/speed issue for them as it's easier to just have an assembly line like process with scans and they are highly successful.
     
    baseball21, Oct 10, 2017
    #28 + Quote Reply
  10. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Walt the first ANA grading standards book was published in 1977 so I assume that is the book you are referring to. I have a copy myself. However, in 1986 the ANA created a completely new grading system (and new grading standards), one that is completely different from that published in their 1977 book.

    The book the ANA published in 1986 was their 3rd edition of their grading standards. The current edition is their 7th, published in 2013.
    https://www.amazon.com/Official-Standards-American-Numismatic-Association/dp/0794838243

    The grading standards used in the 2013 book are pretty much identical to those used in the 1986 book. But the standards in the '86 book are as different from those in the '77 book as night is from day. As I said above, not only are the standards different, it's an entirely different grading system. Bottom line you can't use the '77 book, haven't been able to for 30 years.

    You asked about the PCGS grading standards, this is their book, published in 2004 -

    https://www.amazon.com/Official-Guide-Grading-Counterfeit-Detection/dp/0375720502/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507724686&sr=1-1&keywords=pcgs coin grading

    But you can't use that book either because PCGS has changed their grading standards several times since 2004. They don't use that book themselves. And no they have not published a new book.

    I will say this, all of the TPGs grossly over-grade coins in today's world. And not a one of them publishes their current grading standards.
     
    GDJMSP, Oct 11, 2017
    #29 + Quote Reply
  11. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    PCGS has a several part grading video series on youtube that goes through grading and what they look for. It's not as detailed as a guide but gives a good general idea
     
    baseball21, Oct 11, 2017
    #30 + Quote Reply
  12. SilverWilliesCoinsdotcom

    SilverWilliesCoinsdotcom Well-Known Member

    Worse THAN bad photos...
     
    SilverWilliesCoinsdotcom, Oct 11, 2017
    #31 + Quote Reply
Page 2 of 2
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page