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Message:: [QUOTE="900fine, post: 715940, member: 6036"]Those are certainly good points. There are many problems. Yes, we the people have a say. But if you line up every hobbyist in the world and let 'em talk forever, you'll never get anywhere. Check my signature line ! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> So "we the people" proxy our decision making to a "legislative body" - in one case, the ANA. In committee, they come up with the standards - accepted widely, but not universally. Since the whole grading thing is tightly coupled with commercial / marketplace issues, and the TPGs opinions are accepted widely (but not universally) in the marketplace , the TPGs have enormous influence on the market's perception of grading (e.g. what constitutes an MS65) Unfortunately, what it leads to is the sort of thing you mentioned. For instamce, enormous amounts of artificial gamesmanship about playing one TPG against another e.g. knowing how each one grades certain series in certain ranges and how to take advantage of their respective inconsistencies. IOW... numismatics should be the art, science, and knowledge of the coins. In reality, it is also the art, science, and knowledge of the TPGs and their various idiosyncracies.[/QUOTE]