Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 60726, member: 112&quot;]Market grading can be confusing as there are really two criteria that have a bearing on the grade assigned - value and condition. As for condition - what PCGS&#039;s statement means is that they will assign the grade that is found acceptable by the market. The market can be defined as dealers and collectors. </p><p><br /></p><p>So - say PCGS assigns a given coin the grade of MS65. At any given point in time a given coin in that grade has a particular value - and if that coin is readily bought &amp; sold at the value given to MS65 - then the grade is accurate. But if it is not accepted, and it is readily bought and sold at the value assigned to MS64 - then PCGS overgraded the coin. So they will then adjust their standards to reflect this and for a period of time all coins of that type and in similar condition will be graded as MS64 - not MS65. It also works the same way in reverse. For if that same MS65 coin is commonly traded at MS66 values - then they undergraded it and they will adjust their standards to meet that acceptability.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now this all works fine - as long as the prices for coins in a given grade remain steady or are moving up. But what happens when the prices go down ? To the best of my knowledge this has only ever happened once - at least since PCGS, NGC and ANACS have been around - since 1986.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1989 the coin market collapsed - almost overnight. Coins that were being sold for $1500 one day - were being sold for less than $100 less than a month later. And the market stayed down until 1999 with minimal value changes. Then it began slowly moving upwards until we got what we have today.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now the change for the market back in the late &#039;80s, both going up and back down - took place so fast, that I don&#039;t think grading standards for any of the companies really had time to change very much. They did a little - but nothing that reflected the magnitude of the market changes. So the system has never really been tested in a gradual down market. </p><p><br /></p><p>Kinda makes it interesting though all the stories and reports we are hearing about how the grading companies are tightening up their standards recently now doesn&#039;t it ? Of course it&#039;s pure coincidence that the coin market has been slowing down - even dropping these past few months&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in