I recently got back my very first TPG submissions (yay!) from ANACS (um, yay?) -- they were having a special at the local show, and I had a number of coins that I wanted authenticated as much as anything, but also evaluated for problems. Eight coins, some clean grades, some details, some nice surprises, one or two disappointments. I'll be posting images for guess-the-grade, but I'm not sure on what schedule -- my go-to laptop is going-back-to the Apple store for a fit-and-finish repair, and I'll find it awkward to post photos while it's gone. I'm not sure whether to post all the coins in this thread, or whether to start separate threads. I'll be happy to hear advice. First off, some gold, which I have very little experience grading myself. Each of these came as part of a lot, and I valued each around melt.
I'll wait a bit longer in case any of the afternoon crowd want to have a guess, and then I'll post grades tonight, I think.
Well, I'd like to believe that ANACS is a lot tougher grading than everybody thinks, but I think the safer conclusion is just that "grading from photos is hard" -- and that, if I ever decide to eBay any of my coins, my photos should serve me well. The Eagle and half Eagle were the first gold coins I ever got, as part of a large (by my standards) lot on eBay. I think I figured their value at the time somewhat higher than melt, but melt was lower then. A large local dealer told me that the Eagle was ex-jewelry, and the half was "in terrible shape", and offered melt. The quarter came in another lot, and I think I figured its cost basis around $250 at the time (gold was higher at that point). I've showed it to various dealers; most said XF or AU, and one said he didn't trust its authenticity. The grades: Eagle -- AU55 details, rim bump. The ANACS salesdroid said he didn't think the bump was severe enough to stop it from grading, but I guess he was wrong. I kind of thought it would go 58; it's got LOTS of luster. I'm not surprised nobody here caught the bump -- it's a lot harder to see now that it's slabbed. Half eagle -- AU55 details, cleaned. No surprise there, except I didn't really think it would go that high. Quarter eagle -- MS60 details, cleaned. This was a bit of a disappointment; it had no luster in the fields, but also no obvious hairlines. I was pretty sure I didn't know how to grade Indians, and this has done nothing to change my opinion. Overall, I'm satisfied. All three are confirmed authentic, the grades aren't too far off from my guesses, and I'm not too surprised at any of them getting details grades. I may well end up eBaying them, as I'm not too attached to any of them (although I do kind of like the quarter, and I'm probably too cheap to shell out for a much nicer example).
Woah, Woah.... Woah! Did Doug just put a higher grade guess than what the coin actually holdered in? I'm creating a new perspective in life.
He guessed higher than ANACS. I think the real lesson here is "photos can lie", but it does kinda make me wonder what NGC or PCGS would think of it...