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Message:: [QUOTE="GDJMSP, post: 1788972, member: 112"]As I told you above, PCGS was grading moderns, post-'64 coins from the day they opened their doors for business in 1896. And yes, some of them albeit very few, were graded as 70's. But much more importantly, the ANA was grading coins as 70's in the late 1970's, a full 10 years before the TPGs even existed. And just about everybody else in the hobby graded coins as 70's back then too. They had to, for as I said above before 1987 there were only 3 MS grades that even existed - MS60, MS65, and MS70 - that's it. There was no such thing as an MS61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, or 69 until 1986 when the ANA and PCGS added those grades. So any coin that was nicer than an MS65 was graded as an MS70. And in those days even some older coins were given the 70 grade, quite a few in fact. So the 70 grade was most definitely not theoretical, it was in actual use. And not just in some catalog or price guide. One thing you seem to be forgetting Chris, in 1987 grading standards were significantly tightened up, a full 2 grades. The ANA tightened their standards and PCGS tightened their standards too. So it was not until 1987 that coins graded as a 70 began to be scarce. Now I'll readily grant you that in today's world we have come full circle and the 70 grade is again commonplace, much more so even than it ever was in the late 1970's and early 1980's.[/QUOTE]