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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robp, post: 5004681, member: 96746&quot;]The TPGs are muddying the waters if they try to include die quality alongside wear on the coin. A coin&#039;s grade should be a measure of the amount of wear. End of. To then say the grade is dependent on the quality of the die is frankly silly. </p><p><br /></p><p>The TPG wasn&#039;t in the mint when the dies were made, so can have no idea whether the die is as intended or not. Perish the thought that the engraver inadvertently added an extra hair strand that he didn&#039;t originally intend to and then compounded the mistake by not leaving a note for posterity to that effect, so hoodwinking the TPG grader. Are detail differences in nominally similar busts an intended variety or a mistake? On the above criteria that should make a huge difference.</p><p><br /></p><p>Leaving aside the oxymoron of unc with wear that applies to virtually everything between 60 and 65 or 66, whether proof or currency, the level of wear should determine the grade. I think they&#039;ve made a rod for their own backs by over complicating what should be a fairly easy exercise for many collectors. After all, they are only giving an opinion just as I or anyone else is doing, but crucially, they are more concerned with &#039;adding value&#039; by tweaking the designations with an increasing number of micro grades. </p><p><br /></p><p>Rhetorical question, but if you can manage with 50, 53, 55 &amp; 58 for XF, then why do you need 60, 61, 62, 63..... up to 70, and then add +, Cameo, Deep Cameo etc for MS and proof. Whilst this is in their interest as it provides collectors with more reasons to submit coins in the hope of getting an uplift, it is also guaranteed to increase the number of contentious grades assigned. The best way to have a robust grading system which few could query is to keep it simple, with fewer levels.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s just a triumph of marketing over common sense, and sadly, people lap it up.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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