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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;calcol, post: 24832849, member: 77639&quot;]First, I&#039;m not about to criticize collectors who enjoy grading or find it necessary.&nbsp; If they like it or find it profitable, then go for it!&nbsp; But for me, I&#039;ve pretty much turned grading over to PCGS and NGC so I can enjoy other aspects of collecting.&nbsp; Doesn&#039;t mean I&#039;m ignorant of grading.&nbsp; I&#039;ve taken the PCGS grading classes at Long Beach, which were fun.&nbsp; And I may do the ANA classes as well.&nbsp; Grading classes teach a lot more than grading and authentication, and you meet some great folks.</p><p><br /></p><p>When it comes to US coins, I buy only PCGS or NGC certified coins and seldom buy anything more recent than 1942.&nbsp; The only exception is a rare purchase from the US Mint … these always grade 69 or 70.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; After that, it&#039;s pretty much a matter of eye-appeal ... toning, spots, strike, location of nicks and lines, luster, etc.&nbsp; Yes, some of these did influence the assigned grade.&nbsp; But I really don&#039;t get concerned whether the assigned grade should have been higher or lower.&nbsp; If the price is reasonable for the assigned grade and the eye-appeal grabs me, I go for it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sometimes I&#039;ll look at a coin that is up for auction.&nbsp; Say it&#039;s PCGS MS64 and affordable to me.&nbsp; When I examine it, I&#039;m rarely thinking is this really MS63 or MS63+ or MS64+ or MS65.&nbsp; No ... I&#039;m concentrating on the toning, strike, location of nicks and scratches, luster.&nbsp; In some cases, determining variety or researching provenance.</p><p><br /></p><p>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.&nbsp; In addition, for most of the coins I buy, examining the actual coin is not feasible because the auction is far away.&nbsp; Grading via photographs is iffy.&nbsp;&nbsp; Lighting can be varied to change the apparent grade several steps.&nbsp; So, I have to rely on the TPG grade as well as photos and cataloger’s description.&nbsp; Occasionally photos from a prior sale or TPG website are available.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m not especially concerned about gradeflation.&nbsp; Just means coins may have to be regraded at some point.&nbsp; And, yup, it will keep up the cash flow to grading services.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Ultimately, grading is ranking a coin amongst its peers and, barring discovery of hoards, that won&#039;t change much.</p><p><br /></p><p>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.&nbsp;&nbsp; Grading ... not so much.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cal[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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