Coin Grading Question

There is no advanced scanning technology used. Grading isn't an exact science, it's very subjective. However, when a high number of industry experts and long time numismatics feel that a certain coin merits a certain grade, that becomes the standard for TPG grading standards.

As for the grading itself, the coins themselves often only see one person, however, the person who does view the coin is likely an expert in that specific series. The exception here is if a very rare, unusual or valuable coin makes an appearance, several people may be asked to weigh in on the coin and its grade.

1)I thought I had seen a video once from PCGS that stated that a coin that was sent in for grading is originally graded by one individual the grade was entered but then sent to another individual for cross grading.. if the two grades (which wouldn't be seen by either grader) were inconsistent then it was sent off to a third grader...

2) coins get cracked out .. apparently it used to be quite a thing. If someone has seen a coin graded as a 64 by one company but KNOWS that it has a really good chance to get 65 at another company the buy the coin crack it out and resubmit it to get the higher grade. (In my personal opinion I think this is why we saw such high prices realized in the most recent Landon auction. most of those coppers are heavily scrutinized by ICCS and will grade higher in PCGS slabs especially the 64 /w browns .. my guess is that those will all grade 65 with PCGS and turn good profit for being cracked out)

3) Over the years grading has changed a bit. I certainly can't discuss most of the details as they are way above my realm of knowledge and expertise but in the past there has been times when certain companies were more conservative in their grading so a 64 would now grade 65 or more because of the way grading has changed.

There were a couple of attempts at getting a "scientific" computer-algorithm-based slabbing system in place, a few decades ago. Compugrade was one I recall reading about. They failed. Computer technology has advanced considerably since then, but the basic problem remains. Coin grading is like walking around your house, or driving a car down the road: it's a lot more complex that it appears to be at first glance, and it's a lot harder for an AI to actually do than we think it should be.