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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;oval_man, post: 1514025, member: 22602&quot;]Thanks for taking the time to dig this up, I really appreciate it. It&#039;s exactly what I was wondering about and looking for.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I think this just about sums everything up. And, frankly (and I&#039;m not at all disagreeing with you about the importance of books), it&#039;s ultimately why I didn&#039;t buy the books we&#039;re talking about: because written words are open to interpretation. No matter how detailed PCGS or the ANA defines their guidelines, who determines, e.g., what &quot;minute&quot; spotting is? Books can provide an excellent foundation but, as you say, you have to take the written information and apply it to the experience of looking at actual coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>I know you know all this, but let me add something else: you said yourself earlier that PCGS doesn&#039;t uphold their own guidelines. Things have changed because the market exerts its own force. This is another reason I do my homework on Heritage comparing dozens of coins to one another, cross-referencing as much as I possibly can. (And let me mention that I&#039;m also constantly scrutinizing coins at shows—for learning; I rarely buy—and talking to dealers about them.) If market forces have altered grading standards, then it&#039;s the market, not the &quot;true&quot; grade, that is going to determine what a particular coin ultimately sells for. If you want the coin, you have to pay what the market will bear. Of course, I strongly believe that every buyer should have a sense of whether a coin&#039;s grade, and therefore its going price, is inflated in any particular market cycle.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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