Concerning the recent discussions about Third Party Graders

they get it wrong all the time and all of them if its indian coins

 

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I agree completely. you are ruining your image GD we are agreeing most of the time

 

I agree with you on these points, especially with the issue of "standards". But, I would have to say that the statement:

is a bit skew. To define something as "accurate" means that you have a defined standard that you are using. Unfortunately, most that can truly grade, grade upon their own standard, usually borrowing from different standards, and most definitely inserting their own bias into said "standard". Thus, there really is no such thing as an "accurately" graded coin since nothing will truly meet exactly with your own standards.

And this is where it will take the years of studying. By studying any coin, you must know the standard that was used to grade the coin. Then you must follow the technicalities of that standard to determine what detractions were considered in the grade, as well as trying to determine why other detractions may had been ignored by the original grader.

Here is where the biggest problem arises: subjectivity. Because of subjectivity, the coin will have different eye appeal from person to person, minor tertiary detractions in one person's eyes may be major secondary detractions to another, luster or the lack thereof may hold different weight between graders, etc, etc. Grading is so subjective, that there is no "wrong" or "right" and, therefore, this makes it all that much more harder to learn through example, unless you hold the same bias as the original grader.

All in all, you bring out a lot of good information and insight.

I just have a thing with your solution:

I believe this goes a bit into GD's comment about people seeing PCGS as doing "no wrong", as well as my assertion that grading is too subjective to truly make a statement that a grade is "right" or "wrong" especially with TPGs, although such grades may in actuality be disagreeable.

Any grade from any person is disagreeable because of the differing standards and biases involved. To "stick" with a particular TPG or dealer, will no doubt, instill their self-same biases to some extent into your own grading. Is that what we really want though? For our own subjectiveness to be clouded by an apparent objectiveness that seems to change without reason? This could become very frustrating. Not only that, but it could also cause a loss of faith in the grading of coins in and of itself because of apparent "changes to the standards being used".

A "newbie" is not going to want to be involved in something that appears to change all the time. When taking blind faith in a particular service or dealer and using them as the objective "standard", then when the subjectiveness of grading becomes more clear and apparent in some of their slabs or displays, then that could cloud the issue and make it appear that their grading changes or is not consistent or is "wrong".

Yet, this is not true.

Yes, it takes quite a lot of time to learn even what you like! And you most definitely need to know what you like before you can even think about grading. The personal bias that you develop is of the utmost importance to grading, because that bias is what will keep you consistent in your grading.

Just some food for thought.