I am on a mission to distinguish grading services.

hmmm...really?

Ever consider that they may make a mistake on occasion and do it right?

 

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Yes...I should have made it clear that the rank I gave were my own ranking.

Speedy

 

Yes...but that is rare for them.....I have 2 coins in PCI slabs that I agree with....I would only suggest that people that know some about coins and grading to even look at their slabs...unless the person knows some about grading then PCI should be left alone.

Speedy

 

Yes I have considered it, but why would you want to send a coin to a company that only grades a coin properly if they get lucky, I demand more than that!

 

I like this major players outlook.

The 2 major grading services are so wound up in discerning the ever so subtle minutia that separates a 66 from 67, a 67 from a 68, etc…that in my opinion, they often miss the bigger picture. As recently as the mid 1980s, we all bought coins based mostly on our own personal perception of the aesthetic “eye appeal” of a given mint state or proof coin. We were willing to pay more for the nicer, more eye appealing examples...and such examples were assigned "higher grades" by words such as "gem proof" which was nicer than "choice proof", "superb gem proof" which was better than a "gem proof". Nobody…I mean nobody…was concerned about the tiniest hairline that only the very sharpest professional could find with his highly trained eagle eye. Today, the "registry folks" stomp on each other to buy a PCGS 69 coin at a truly ludicrous price…and not because the coin looks even the tiniest bit better than its 68 counterpart. Can they see the difference with their own eyes? 9 out of 10 registry collectors cannot see any difference!! They buy it ONLY because PCGS says its better on the grading tag!!!! And to add some real fuel to the fire, if you crack out 10 pre-1972 PCGS proof 69 coins and resubmit them to PCGS for grading, it is exceedingly likely that most of them will get only a 68 on regrade!!!

 

Honestly I wish it would go back to that... but it's never going to happen because the demand will remain for somebody's "expert" opinion of a grade, mainly because it takes the guesswork out of figuring out the grade for yourself.

I personally don't buy by grade... I buy what coins that I like the appearance of. However grading is a reality, and determines the value whether you like it or not, so you have ot have at least a reasonable estimation of the grade to make sure you're paying a fair price for what you get. I certaintly wouldn't pay huge mutiples of what an MS-67 sells for to get an MS-68 though, if I can't even see the difference myself, lol.

 

I like, and believe in your signature.
They are tyrannosauruses, and we must listen to their phone calls.

 

The 2 major grading services are so wound up in discerning the ever so subtle minutia that separates a 66 from 67, a 67 from a 68, etc…that in my opinion, they often miss the BIG PICTURE. As recently as the mid 1980s, we all bought coins based mostly on our own personal perception of the aesthetic “eye appeal” of a given mint state or proof coin. We were willing to pay more for the nicer, more eye appealing examples...and such examples were assigned "higher grades" by words such as "gem proof" which was nicer than "choice proof", "superb gem proof" which was better than a "gem proof". Nobody…I mean nobody…was concerned about the tiniest hairline that only the very sharpest professional could find with his highly trained eagle eye. Today, the "registry folks" stomp on each other to buy a PCGS 69 coin at a truly ludicrous price…and not because the coin looks even the tiniest bit better than its 68 counterpart. Can they see the difference with their own eyes? 9 out of 10 registry collectors cannot see the difference!! They buy it ONLY because PCGS says its better on the grading tag!!!! And to add some real fuel to the fire, if you crack out 10 pre-1972 PCGS proof 69 coins and resubmit them to PCGS for grading, it is exceedingly likely that 5 or even more of them will get only a 68 on regrade!!!
It is true that PCI standards for numeric grade, cameo designation, and deep cameo designation are not quite as strict as those of the 2 major services. The fair market prices reflect this quite well (in some cases too well, ie. undervalued). But be clear about this: PCI has not lost sight of the BIG PICTURE! Coins with clearly nicer eye appeal are generally awarded higher numerical grades. Coins with clear cameo contrast are awarded the designation without splitting hairs about it (the 2 major services try constantly to split the tiniest hairs). Coins with exceptionally strong cameo contrast are acknowledged with the deep cameo designation again without trying to split hairs

 

hehehe....I bet that this guy was selling a PCI slab....??

That is for sure....alot higher grade most of the time.

Speedy