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Message:: [QUOTE="bqcoins, post: 913892, member: 5036"]My cynicism aside, market grading is the same thing as value grading IMO.  You can't really separate the two because they are so closely linked.  Which coins are the ones that see the most "grading slip" from one grade to the next...the keys.  This eventually causes a shift in the other coins of that series because the key can't get three or four points away from the standard before the other coins have to move to "keep up".  What they are really keeping up is appearances.  This seems to be the exact reason that PCGS came out with the plus, so now they can market grade in smaller increments leaving room for the coin to "appreciate" in grade over the years as the way coins are graded becomes more understood.  It all comes down to money in the end, it is never about a collector wanting the nicest coin for his collection so they reinvent the grading system and call his technically graded AU-58 and market graded MS-65, no it becomes about cash and what cash people will be willing to part with to accept the fact that what was once an AU-58 at $150 is now an MS-65 at $2000.  If they want it bad enough and there is enough demand than they can trick themselves into believing whatever they want.  And the sad thing is that it is not just true for our hobby, but carries over into other hobbies as well.[/QUOTE]