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Message:: [QUOTE="GDJMSP, post: 66577, member: 112"]Before accepting or not accepting the comment - buy the coin not the slab - one should at least understand what it means. It's really quite simple - it means don't pay more than the coin is worth. Say there are two Morgan dollars, of the same date & mint, at your local dealer's or a show in a PCGS, NGC or ANACS slabs graded MS65 and the book price for this coin in 65 is $250. As you say, many people trust these companies and would simply pay for the coin based on the grade on the slab. That is buying the slab. But if the collector examines the coins before agreeing to buy one and determines that in his opinion the one coin is not really worthy of the grade MS65 and that it should instead be graded MS64, a coin with a price of $175, then  he would be foolish to pay MS65 value for it. But, in the opinion of the collector, the other coin is indeed worthy of the MS65 grade. He therefore agrees to buy this coin instead of the other one. That is buying the coin, not the slab. In other words, not only should you not trust the opinion of the lower tier grading companies, you shouldn't place blind faith, when it comes to grade, in the opinion of ANY of the grading companies. And that includes NGC, PCGS and ANACS. They all make mistakes - they all overgrade & undergrade. You need to know how to grade for yourself so that you can judge the performance & accuracy of the grades assigned by the grading companies - all of them. For yes there are times when you can find a coin that is properly graded in any slab. They may be few and far between, but if you can properly grade for yourself, then you may just find a gem for a good price. That is buying the coin and not the slab as well. It goes both ways.[/QUOTE]

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