My friend and I were talking yesterday and he says that an individual that grades coins, say NGC or PCGS, has to be certified and pass a certification test. However, I said that anyone can sell on eBay and advertise a coin as "high grade" or "gem" without any training at all. Are we both right? Any comments would be appreciated.
There are no test. NGC and PCGS write the standards they wish to use. There are some rules on ebay but I'm not sure what they are today.
There is no industry approved, independent certification mechanim for third-party coin graders, but internal to each company they train and test their employees. Each company determines their own grading criteria, loosely based on ANA grading standards. So, coin graders are not "licensed" or "certified" in the sense that your friends thinks they are.
They get to say nasty things about our coins and we have to pay them again to see if they will say something nice.
"Professionally certified numismatists receive specialized training allowing them to valuate and appraise coins. Coin graders can receive certification through the American Numismatic Association (ANA)." Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_12049577_certified-coin-grading.html
Yes the ANA has courses in learning how to grade coins, and it is possible that some of the graders who work for NGC or PCGS have even taken those courses. But they are definitely not required to have taken those courses before they can work as a grader at either company. The ANA courses have 1 basic purpose - your own personal gratification, and that's all. That said, you don't just go to NGC or PCGS looking for a job as a coin grader and get hired as one either. Each company tests those applying for a job as a grader. And if you do well on the tests then yeah you can get a job as a grader. And as geekpryde said, yes they do train employees to be graders as well. But there is no course or certification program that professional graders have to take in order to become a coin grader at NGC or PCGS. You can teach yourself to grade and if you can pass the grading tests they give you, then you can get the job. Passing their tests is the only real requirement. Some years ago CT even had a moderator who was a grader at PCGS.
If you're thinking of becoming a professional grader, you'd likely live much better working for NGC than working for PCGS. The cost of living is much higher in California than in Florida.
You can post coins for sale on eBay and say whatever you want to say about your coin offering. BUT, the buyer needs to know enough about coin grades to be able to look at the picture and agree or disagree. If the buyer gets the coin in hand and decides it's not the grade he thought it was when looking at the picture he should return it to the buyer for a refund. Don't be concerned if the buyer says NO RETURNS because eBay will refund your money if you're not happy whether the seller wants to take refunds or not. But you should always contact the seller first to give them a chance to refund, before contacting eBay or leaving bad feedback. As for NGC and PCGS they really don't care whether you agree with their opinion or not, as they have a pay first, "who cares" no refund policy whether they put your coin in slab or not.
Ebay's excessive buyer-coddling policies should not be used as an excuse for stupidity or for gambling. Every time someone on this board writes of gambling with the expectation that eBay will bail them out if they lose, it makes me want to vomit. This isn't to say that there are not legit cases where such forced returns are reasonable, but if a seller (the seller is the one offering the item in exchange for money, while the buyer, in wishing to acquire said item, is the one willing to exchange cash for it... just for the sake of clarity, of course) has not, will not, or cannot provide enough information for one to make an educated decision on, and they do not accept returns, simply walk away. Much would change if eBay forced buyers to accept even a minimal level of personal responsibility.
Agree, but no one accepts personal responsibility for anything they do wrong in this country today. They are all looking for some excuse to be accepted that lets them off the hook for their own stupidity or bad judgment ... and unfortunately it always costs the small businessman in the end, especially on eBay.
As far as I know there is no such thing as a "Professionally certified numismatist", at least not in the US. As far as what is on that eHow site they don't know what they are talking about. Yes the ANA has a correspondence course and if you finish it successfully you will get a certificate, but NOT a certification. And passing that course is NOT required to go to work for one of the top TPG's. And anyone who wants to can start their own third party grading service, but you are not likely to be accepted by the general numismatic community. (Unless your name is John Albanese.) Several years ago PCGS advertised for graders and said they were paying up to $250K. But for the average grader $100K would probably be closer to the norm. And in the Newport Beach area that is NOT a high salary. And to get it the work is not that easy. There is a lot of burnout.
