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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;srkjkd, post: 351954, member: 7248&quot;]good post. great reading!&nbsp; when i returned to collecting coins a few yrs ago...this really threw me off. i had taken ana courses in 1983 and my thinking was in light of those yrs. i had always been taught that technical grading was that all coins were created equal and that the merits of coin grading was&nbsp; simply the amt of wear and contact marks, ect. which the coin had incurred over its life. strike was not a factor taken into acct. it was up to the collector to pick up the subtleties in comparing coins. if a coin had a certain amt of wear and marks, ect..to be graded, for example,xf., then it was an xf coin even if the strike was weak.</p><p>&nbsp; i still have a habit of viewing the coin technically to give it a grade. even if it was &quot;prettier&quot; than another coin of same grade, i would not bump it to au. to me, it was still an xf coin due to wear and marks and it was up to me to find a&nbsp; specimen which was nicer . market grading would bump a pretty coin even tho, technically it was the same .&nbsp; i still have the same feeling and it is simply up to me as a collector, to find the nicest coin for my collection which meets technical standards of a given grade but with the bonus of it just being a nicer strike, more luster, ect.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; i simply believe that every single collector needs to be able to grade and set standards for his or her own collection rather than rely on what a holder&nbsp; (whether a 2x2 or a tpg graded coin) says.&nbsp; after all, in the end, it is your money and your opinion on what a coin is worth to you, regardless of what grade you want to call it.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp; you, as the collector, are the one who ultimately lives with the coin and it comes down to trading money for a given item. you have to decide what it is worth to you.&nbsp; my coin collecting is done for fun and recreation but i still want the best coin i can get (in my own opinion) for the money i trade for it.&nbsp;&nbsp; its nice to look thru your collection and be happy w/ the coins you have rather than the holders or stickers someone else puts on them.</p><p>&nbsp; hope my opinion makes some sense...i still feel somewhat like a dinosaur in the numismatic world (and not just due to my age!!)...once again...great post. i really appreciate it when great numismatic minds like doug and bone (as well as others), share thier knowledge. you are doing so many collectors a huge favor when they can learn from you.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp; may God bless you all.....steve[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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