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<p>[QUOTE="Lehigh96, post: 1864130, member: 15309"]I vehemently disagree. What you call inconsistency, I call subjectivity. Some coins are rather easy to grade and others are not. And I am not referring to subtle aspects of grading. I am simply talking about where that coin falls on the incremental grading scale. For example, a Morgan Dollar that would grade MS65.5 would almost certainly get an MS65 grade from any professional grader. Let's assume that graders can consistently grade a coin within a half point. If the grade of the coin is MS65.5, the grading range of that coin would be MS65.25 to MS65.75. But if that coin in question was an MS65.9, the range changes to MS65.65 to MS66.15. That means that a significant number of graders would grade that coin MS66 while others would grade it MS65. So while in one submission, the graders would grade that coin MS65, it is easy to see how the coin could get an MS66 grade. So who is right and who is wrong? The answer is that they are both right. Grading is subjective. What one grader might view as a high end MS65, others might view as a low end MS66. For example, how would you grade both of these 1884-O Morgan Dollars?</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Morgan%20Dollars/MD1884-ONGCMSXX1967477-XXX_zps02deafdd.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Morgan%20Dollars/MD1884-ONGCMSXX_zpse9912fd3.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>You have always been a proponent that coins of a particular grade are not created equal and that there is no set price, rather, there exists a price range for that grade. This is in perfect alignment with the fact that there are low end, mid grade, and high end coins for the assigned grade that deserve to be traded at different values. It also explains why some low end for the grade coins trade for prices commensurate with a lower grade, and why some PQ coins trade for prices of a higher grade.</p><p><br /></p><p>So while it may defy common sense that the same coin could grade differently and still be graded correctly, it brings into relief the subjectivity inherent in grading. There is no right and wrong, there is only opinion. And paramount in importance when buying a coin is that you agree with the opinion of the assigned grade. If you are buying coins without forming your own opinion on grade, and just taking the assigned grade as gospel, then you become a plastic collector and kool-aid drinker. Nothing really wrong with that, but it drastically increases the chances of a financial loss when it comes time to sell the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now I agree that there are times when the TPGs simply blow a grade and if you resubmitted the coin it would either come back graded higher or lower. There is some level of what you call inconsistency in grading. But subjectivity in grading has a much bigger impact on the apparent inconsistency in grading than does actual inconsistency.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Lehigh96, post: 1864130, member: 15309"]I vehemently disagree. What you call inconsistency, I call subjectivity. Some coins are rather easy to grade and others are not. And I am not referring to subtle aspects of grading. I am simply talking about where that coin falls on the incremental grading scale. For example, a Morgan Dollar that would grade MS65.5 would almost certainly get an MS65 grade from any professional grader. Let's assume that graders can consistently grade a coin within a half point. If the grade of the coin is MS65.5, the grading range of that coin would be MS65.25 to MS65.75. But if that coin in question was an MS65.9, the range changes to MS65.65 to MS66.15. That means that a significant number of graders would grade that coin MS66 while others would grade it MS65. So while in one submission, the graders would grade that coin MS65, it is easy to see how the coin could get an MS66 grade. So who is right and who is wrong? The answer is that they are both right. Grading is subjective. What one grader might view as a high end MS65, others might view as a low end MS66. For example, how would you grade both of these 1884-O Morgan Dollars? [IMG]http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Morgan%20Dollars/MD1884-ONGCMSXX1967477-XXX_zps02deafdd.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Morgan%20Dollars/MD1884-ONGCMSXX_zpse9912fd3.jpg[/IMG] You have always been a proponent that coins of a particular grade are not created equal and that there is no set price, rather, there exists a price range for that grade. This is in perfect alignment with the fact that there are low end, mid grade, and high end coins for the assigned grade that deserve to be traded at different values. It also explains why some low end for the grade coins trade for prices commensurate with a lower grade, and why some PQ coins trade for prices of a higher grade. So while it may defy common sense that the same coin could grade differently and still be graded correctly, it brings into relief the subjectivity inherent in grading. There is no right and wrong, there is only opinion. And paramount in importance when buying a coin is that you agree with the opinion of the assigned grade. If you are buying coins without forming your own opinion on grade, and just taking the assigned grade as gospel, then you become a plastic collector and kool-aid drinker. Nothing really wrong with that, but it drastically increases the chances of a financial loss when it comes time to sell the coin. Now I agree that there are times when the TPGs simply blow a grade and if you resubmitted the coin it would either come back graded higher or lower. There is some level of what you call inconsistency in grading. But subjectivity in grading has a much bigger impact on the apparent inconsistency in grading than does actual inconsistency.[/QUOTE]
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