Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;eddiespin, post: 3553569, member: 4920&quot;]So it&#039;s a joke. Very funny, ha, ha, ha. But you cut through the BS, and I admire that.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m going to talk for a minute about &quot;back in the day.&quot; You obviously don&#039;t need this, as you know what I mean. Your experience shows it. Back when we used to collect coins instead of invest in commodities is, of course, what I&#039;m referring to.</p><p><br /></p><p>In those days, let me just say this, we knew how to grade. We had to, or we were cheated. But most importantly, grading wasn&#039;t emotional, as it is, these days. It was tied to verifiable degrees of wear for circulated coins and contact marks and luster for uncirculated coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>So along come the TPGs. And they don&#039;t know anymore about grading than we did back when we were 14. Who the hell cares what grade they give a coin? We know what the grade is. Grading is what the hobby is about!</p><p><br /></p><p>Enter the ANA. Do you know all these verifiable criteria relative to the condition and state of preservation of the coin? Forget all that. We have these TPGs on the make, now, and they don&#039;t have anymore talent than any of you had when you were 14, but they&#039;re going to pick your pockets more than your dealers did, you watch and see. &quot;Pretty&quot; is the grading standard, now.&nbsp; Sound a little emotional? OK, &quot;Eye-appealing.&quot; Not better, still emotional? Here&#039;s one, &quot;Market-acceptable.&quot; The proper diction to describe that one is, &quot;arbitrary.&quot; But call it what you will, so long as it&#039;s impossible to verify. It&#039;s &quot;pretty.&quot; No it ain&#039;t. Yes it is. It&#039;s &quot;market acceptable.&quot; No it ain&#039;t. Yes it is. Not like, the Buffalo has a 3/4 horn, or the Wheat lines are all present, or Lincoln&#039;s cheek and jaw are merged. Is it &quot;eye-appealing?&quot; There&#039;s the standard. And the point is, let&#039;s see you grade that...[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in