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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 13525, member: 112&quot;]It never seems to fail - whenever this subject comes up or makes the headlines in the trade papers I go off on one of my tirades&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie9" alt=":eek:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />&nbsp; &nbsp; It appears this time is no different&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>But instead of writing something entirely new, and because there are so many here who are either new to the hobby or that do not know me that well I have decided instead to revisit some material on the subject so that those who are not aware - may be.</p><p><br /></p><p>Back in March of 2002 the PNG, Professional Numismatist Guild ( an organization made up of coin dealers ) decided to conduct a survey about grading companies amongst its members. This survey was much discussed in the numismatic field and for a while it appeared the PNG would not even make the results public. But they did - in the fall of 2002. </p><p><a href="http://www.pngdealers.com/public/surveyresults2002.cfm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.pngdealers.com/public/surveyresults2002.cfm" rel="nofollow">PNG Survey</a> </p><p><br /></p><p>Now if you think this survey was being discussed before the results were published - that was nothing to what happened afterwards. I saw the survey the day it was released and responded immediately. I sent my response not only to the PNG, but to several on-line coin publications. My response was quickly published - since it is no longer available on-line I copied it below.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Being a voracious reader of anything I can find about coins as well as being an avid collector, I read PNG&#039;s Consumer Alert posted on your web site with great interest. While I would be among the first to agree with the premise of the article and the many other articles I have recently read along the same vein; I can&#039;t help but feel that it is about time that someone - collectors in particular - spoke up. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Everybody has their own opinions about which 3rd party grading company is the best. But it is pretty much an accepted fact that coins graded by PCGS command the highest prices in the marketplace. This fact is evidenced simply by visiting any on-line auction site you care to mention or a visit to any coin dealer&#039;s shop or web site that sells certified coins. PCGS is quickly followed up by NGC in this regard and the rest fall someplace farther down the ladder. CDN even list a Certified Coin Market Indicator in their weekly newsletter with a ranking of the different grading companies as to the prices their coins bring. Everybody knows this and the marketplace clearly reflects it. But is it really justified ? In some cases, I am sure it is. In others, I am not so sure. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>It almost seems as if some folks would like the majority of the grading companies to just dry up and blow away. That is except PCGS and NGC. While PCGS is endorsed by PNG and NGC by the ANA, does that mean all the others don&#039;t count ? If that is the case, is NGC somehow denigrated or slighted because PNG does not endorse them as well ? Or is PCGS a lesser company in regard to quality or standards because the ANA does not endorse them ? And in turn, if this is true, is the ANA somehow more highly regarded or given a greater degree of respect than PNG - or visa versa ? I don&#039;t think so !! </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>But when I read an article like this, it bothers me. It bothers me for two reasons. Number one is because it seems to me that they are painting their warning in too wide a swath and with too large a brush. It also bothers me because the very people they are trying to protect, the beginner or the uninitiated collector, are now being told, or at the very least the implication is given, don&#039;t buy anything but PCGS or NGC coins. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>As a collector, I search for knowledge. Knowledge enables me to make a better informed decision when it comes to buying a given coin, as it does us all. I often buy coins on different auction web sites and from different dealers all over the country - both sight seen and unseen - certified and uncertified. This is pretty much the way most us conduct our business or pursue our hobby. I do of course pay attention to who the grading company is when I buy certified coins. But most of all, I try to heed the advice I find most often quoted in any &amp; all publications or given in person - I trust my own eyes. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>If a coin has that certain look that appeals to me, or seems to be of a higher grade than that being given by a grading company or individual - I buy it. And if I get a better price because of the name on the plastic slab wrapped around it - so much the better. And if the coin in question is of too high a price because of the name on the plastic slab wrapped around it - I don&#039;t buy it. It&#039;s that simple. And I know for a fact that it is just that simple for the vast majority of all collectors out there. But for those who have yet to gain the knowledge to allow them to do this - as the phrase has come to be known - they buy the slab and not the coin. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>While I am far, far from being an expert on coins, I have eyes, I know the basic rules and I know how graders arrive at their decisions when it comes to assigning a grade to a coin. I also know that I have on many occasions spent the money to purchase the same year, type, mint and grade of a given coin in multiples - all graded by different grading companies so that I might be better informed in deciding which grading company I like the best or in who I have the most confidence. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>What this process has taught me is that there are many grades within each grade assigned to any given coin. Most collectors are aware of this. Most of us realize that in any group of MS69 graded $10 Gold Eagles, some just barely made the cut to the 69 grade. Some are solidly in the middle of the 69 grade and yet others will be just the tiniest whisker away from that pinnacle of perfection - an MS70. And with this being true, I can give you countless examples of an ICG graded coin being of a higher quality than say a PCGS graded coin of the same grade. Or of an NGC graded coin being of a higher quality than an ICG of the same grade. This comparison can go on forever with any of the different grading companies whether it be PCGS - ICG - ANACS - NGC - SEGS and so on. This is the nature of grading coins - this is the nature of our pursuit - our hobby - our business or our life. So to state that only coins graded by so and so are of sufficient quality to warrant purchase or collection is an out and out falsehood. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Now I am an ardent fan of 3rd party grading companies. And I think they have done a tremendous amount of good and perhaps done more to advance the collection of coins than perhaps anything previous in the history of collecting coins. But I am here to tell everyone that the time has come. The time has come for the PNG - the ANA - the many magazines and newsletters - and most of all us - the collectors and investors to put an end to this scenario. It is time for the numismatic world as a whole to stand up and demand a reckoning - a balancing - and a single global standard when it comes to the grading of coins. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>No longer should any organization endorse just one grading company. This only promotes the false inflation of prices and a false sense of security for collectors &amp; dealers alike. Let the ANA and the PNG - and anyone else who has an opinion - get down off their high horses and speak their minds as individuals. Let them come forward and drop their petty endorsements of just one grading company. Let them establish rules - regulations - and standards that ALL THE GRADING COMPANIES must adhere to and let them all be recognized and accepted. And for those companies who do not adhere to these standards - well the market will take care of them. Those companies will dry up and blow away ! And rather quickly too I might think. And these stories of little old ladies being bilked of their life savings will go away too. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>So collectors - dealers - investors - writers and all of you out there in the world who collect coins for whatever reason - if you agree with these thoughts - then let your thoughts be known as well. For the PNG - the ANA - they are us. These organizations are made up of people just like you and me. And without us - none of them would even exist.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I was not the only one to respond. There were letters to the editor in every coin magazine, editorials - <a href="http://www.coinworld.com/news/040802/editorial.asp" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.coinworld.com/news/040802/editorial.asp" rel="nofollow">Editorial</a> , articles about the survey in all the magazines - <a href="http://www.coinworld.com/news/110402/news-3.asp" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.coinworld.com/news/110402/news-3.asp" rel="nofollow">Article</a> , and the coin forums were hopping. Opinions regarding the survey were widely varied both for and against it. </p><p><br /></p><p>More recently, Coin World conducted their own test of the grading companies. They sent 15 coins to each of the grading companies and had them graded so the results could be compared. While this was a commendable effort - the results were fairly meaningless because the sampling was so small. I would have posted a link - but am sorry to say that I have been unable to find this survey available on-line.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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