I stopped grading (sort of) ... and enjoy collecting more!

First, I'm not about to criticize collectors who enjoy grading or find it necessary. If they like it or find it profitable, then go for it! But for me, I've pretty much turned grading over to PCGS and NGC so I can enjoy other aspects of collecting. Doesn't mean I'm ignorant of grading. I've taken the PCGS grading classes at Long Beach, which were fun. And I may do the ANA classes as well. Grading classes teach a lot more than grading and authentication, and you meet some great folks.

When it comes to US coins, I buy only PCGS or NGC certified coins and seldom buy anything more recent than 1942. The only exception is a rare purchase from the US Mint … these always grade 69 or 70. When considering a particular type, date, mint and variety, I look at recent auction sales and set a maximum to spend for a particular grade ... it can be fudged upward though. After that, it's pretty much a matter of eye-appeal ... toning, spots, strike, location of nicks and lines, luster, etc. Yes, some of these did influence the assigned grade. But I really don't get concerned whether the assigned grade should have been higher or lower. If the price is reasonable for the assigned grade and the eye-appeal grabs me, I go for it.

Sometimes I'll look at a coin that is up for auction. Say it's PCGS MS64 and affordable to me. When I examine it, I'm rarely thinking is this really MS63 or MS63+ or MS64+ or MS65. No ... I'm concentrating on the toning, strike, location of nicks and scratches, luster. In some cases, determining variety or researching provenance.

I’m not fooling myself by pretending I have the time, opportunity, experience or innate ability to grade with the skill of dealers and graders who handle hundreds or even thousands of coins per week. In addition, for most of the coins I buy, examining the actual coin is not feasible because the auction is far away. Grading via photographs is iffy. Lighting can be varied to change the apparent grade several steps. So, I have to rely on the TPG grade as well as photos and cataloger’s description. Occasionally photos from a prior sale or TPG website are available.

I'm not especially concerned about gradeflation. Just means coins may have to be regraded at some point. And, yup, it will keep up the cash flow to grading services. If a coin is of a certain quality and grades inflate or the grading system changes, the coin will likely find the proper level when regraded. Ultimately, grading is ranking a coin amongst its peers and, barring discovery of hoards, that won't change much.

What I really enjoy is talking to other collectors and dealers; researching history associated with my coins (present and future); going to shows and club meetings; learning about coin design and minting; checking my coins for varieties and dies; and just plain admiring coins ... mine and others. Grading ... not so much.

Cal

 

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Nice write up.
Does PCGS still do coin grading classes? That'd be fun to attend.

 

I think that's a healthy attitude for a collector and it's one I generally follow.

 

I’m a third of the way there…. With my ancients I could care less what the grade is. I’m just looking for a coin I like and that appeals to me. Foreign, I guess I might actually be there too. I mostly do like 1 lb lots. I’m more interested in the countries in there than the value. As for US, it’s just still too ingrained in me. My peace dollar collection is pics MS64, IHCs are EF40. I can’t break headings hold for those.

 

I too buy what I like. I hold quite a collection of prime pieces with problem labels and I couldn’t give a hoot. I love em.

 

I operate a 2 point grading system - acceptable and unacceptable.

 

I still like my daughter's grading scale from back when she was 5...

Pretty
Okay
Yuck

 

They haven't put them on in several years unfortunately. They were held in conjunction with the Long Beach show. I really enjoyed them and learned a lot in the two I took. Met some great collectors and PCGS personnel. Class included lunch with PCGS executives. Proof of attendance was a slab with a modern dollar and special label. I got to do only 2 of the 3 classes before they stopped them. Wish they'd bring 'em back. Videos of the 3 lectures are on youtube. But there was a lot more to the classes than the lectures, especially meeting other folks and the quiz slabs at the end.

Cal

 

While I commend your collecting style and think that it is cool how different collectors form their own set of guidelines to build their collections; my style is so different than yours.

To me, grading coins and comparing my coins to those owned by other collectors is half the fun. When I started collecting coins seriously over 2 decades ago, I restricted myself to purchasing only PCGS and NGC graded coins to avoid to the pitfalls associated with raw coins. As the years passed and my knowledge grew, I found it much easier to both cherrypick dealer inventories as well as predict how the TPGs would grade my coins. You mentioned that you don't have the skill and experience to compete with dealers who handle a much higher volume of coins than you do. In my experience, the vast majority of brick and mortar dealers are essentially bullion traders and most can't grade true numismatic rarities worth a lick. Additionally, they have limited time to spend on each coin because of the increased volume which makes them prone to making mistakes. For example, my LCS listed this coin as a "1942 T1 Jefferson Nickel GEM BU" for $5:



Turns out that it was a full step 1942-D premium gem worth near $100.




It is the hunt for coins like this in the wild that really gets me excited. Knowing that my grading skills can turn a purchase of a few dollars into hundreds is exhilarating.

 

Are the TPGs still market grading? I would guess so, but I haven't really kept up with the topic in a few years. When I first found out about this difference, my interest in grading and slabs decreased somewhat. But, my confusions around why certain grades appear on certain slabs cleared up completely. If you don't know the difference between technical and market grading, it's worth learning about.

There was a thread on this a while ago: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/technical-grading-vs-market-grading.30055/

As for me, I've started buying mostly ancients. Concerns about cleaning, etc., turn into concerns about tooling and slabs don't have the following that they do for moderns. That comes with some risks, but I do prefer it. Plus, I really missed actually holding coins in my hand. Slabs definitely take that thrill away (but I understand the reasons why coins get slabbed).

 

I use the binary system. The coin is either mine or it isn't.

 

I am transitioning my collection to a mainly graded one and have learned to grade decently, though my collection is a world coin one. These days, I buy coins specifically in mind to have them graded. My weakness comes with mint state pieces. I am usually able to tell a lot mint state from a high mint state, but those grades in between, let's say 62-68 are the ones I normally get wrong in GTGs.

I've had fairly good luck so far at NGC with interesting straight grades, but I do own a few details coins.

Just recently I've begun to attend coin shows and interested with dealers, which is occasionally a hit or miss. I do an immense amount of time connecting with fellow collectors on Instagram and of course here in CoinTalk, which keeps me passionate about collecting and occasionally leads me to acquire a previously unknown piece. I think many consider numismatics to be a lonely hobby, but since I found coin forums, Instagram and coin shows this isn't the case!

 

This is the problem with collecting U.S. coins in my opinion. There are only so many different coins, so instead of seeking something new people have to focus on getting better and better versions of what they have. I collect foreign and you'll never hear me mention a grade. The concept doesn't interest me at all. I own less than five graded coins and I hate them because I have to store them in a box I never look at instead of in albums with everything else.

 

I too have a problem with graded coins as they are a very definite rectangular peg in a very definite round hole - see below


Like Hiddendragon, I have a few still in holders. These are waiting for the trays to be expanded to accommodate my date order OCD and are also out of sight and out of mind in a drawer in the interim. If the coin fits the trays, then that is where they go, so a few dozen top pops and over a hundred one or occasionally two grades below top have been similarly treated. As posted earlier, they are acceptable of not, irrespective of what anyone else thinks - and it's not a p'ing competition.

Not collecting US coins means I am disconnected from the competitive registry set fad where it appears to me that the coin is secondary to someone else's opinion on what number should be on the label - a weird concept that I can't get my head round. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a high grade coin and this frequently equates to a decent coin in hand, but I don't think the tail should ever wag the dog