Hey everybody it's jake, I have been getting into collecting much more these days and I have several items that I am thinking about getting graded by PMG. Anyways, my question is what are (in your opinion) the "criteria" of getting a note (or a coin) professonally graded? Thanks, -Jake
Well, I don't get anything graded unless I intend to sell it or I think it is under graded and has a chance of going higher. But really, you can grade anything that you want so long as it's not cleaned or otherwise damaged in any way. You should keep in mind that grading can get expensive and getting a coin graded that is not worth more than the cost of grading may not be such a good idea. I think a value of perhaps $100 may be a good number as far as worth being graded.
I would only submit a note for grading if after I thoroughly look it over I believe that it would come back with a high grade for modern notes. Now if I want to keep an older, large-size or Confederate note from becoming any further damaged from handling, exposure, etc. and I really like the note, I will think about sending it in. Of course, any other large-size or fractional notes that fit my criteria of submission of the modern notes definitely gets sent it!
Jake, I agree with the direction of the other replies given so far. I would add that grading criteria may be somewhat subjective from one collector to the next, but that if we are talking about submitting to a professional grading company, then it really depends on each note and how it measures up to their established policies of what they agree to grade, what their grading standards are and what they write into their guarantee. Those terms are what we agree to when submitting notes for evaluation and grades given by a third party, not the consensus of opinions on a public forum. However, for any of us to assist in your inquiry more effectively than has yet been offered, we would need to see what notes you are considering for submission. Then we may give you feedback and demonstrate our criteria weighed against the established grading standards used by the industry leading grading companies. Any submissions that are to be made to a TPG should be decided upon on in a note-by-note evaluation by the collector prior to submission. If you are getting more into this aspect of collection protection and market evaluation then it's something you will come to learn to do yourself as you gain experience seeing notes graded by the given TPGs. Similarly, such criteria should be employed by the collector when buying notes to avoid ever purchasing problem notes to begin with. Having avoided ever purchasing problem notes for your collection will make your job of determining what to submit a whole lot easier. So, if you could provide scans (not photos) of each note (providing the face and back views, with full defined margins) so that we can see what you are thinking about submitting, then we may be able to make appropriate suggestions based on criteria we understand the TPGs use and how we agree or disagree with those standards speaking about your notes. Also, before you submit notes to any TPG, make sure you fully understand their guarantee, grading standards, fees and turnaround times. It's best to inform yourself beforehand of how the TPG looks at notes and arrives at their designated grades. If you should happen to disagree with any of their terms, or worry that their take on a particular grade will not meet the grade you hoped to get for your notes or that a lower grade isn't worth your time, expense and effort, then perhaps you may want to reevaluate using that TPG, select another or avoid submitting that particular note all together. Examples of published TPG's grading Standards, guarantees & services/fees: PMG & the PMG guarntee PMG Services & Fees PCGS Currency & PCGS Grading standards PCGS Services & Fees CGA & CGA guarantee / Limit of Liability CGA Services & Fees
Hi Jake, I don't know what you collect, but if it happens to be non-USA material then you should be aware that the grading services mentioned are a bit out of their domain when grading anything non-US. The grading standards used outside the US are different (IBNS) than what the grading services use, which can leave you with a note that "says" one grade, but actually isn't if you try to sell it. Dave
Grading is always relative... hence suggest you use your own judgement... see article at http://www.navonanumis.blogspot.com/2012/05/currency-grading-is-grading-paper-money.html Good luck.
