A Look At Historical Conservative Grading

Flipping through some old Charlton guides revealed just how much looser Canadian grading standards really have become.

The 1964 coin guide describes the following:

Poor - badly worn
Good - not defined
Very good - Much wear, but main features of design and legend clear
Fine - More wear on higher parts than VF
VF - Slight wear on higher points of design
EF - Slightly circulated with only very little evidence of wear
AU - not defined. It was not deemed necessary. Next grade was UNC.

1965 Standard Grading Guide to Canadian Decimal Coins:

"An 'extremely fine' coin shows slight wear on the high spots, with all other details sharp and clear."

"The term 'about uncirculated' is not listed in standard catalogues, although widely used in price lists. The term really means a good 'extremely fine', and it frowned upon by conservative collectors."

It makes me think about the current grading of AU-50, 53, 55, 58...and whether or not we really need that level of resolution in grading. If someone can repeatedly demonstrate the difference between, say, and AU-53 and an AU-55, I'd love to see it. PCGS can't reliably tell the difference, but you're welcome to try.

I mostly feel bad for newer collectors who accept what the holder says without question. I remember seeing a 1913 Broad Leaves 10 cent at the RCNA a few years back that PCGS had called "XF-45". It was without a doubt no better than VF-30. Whoever bought it paid double what it was really worth.

It also makes me think to myself, if I can take one of my truly rare coins that's an ICCS EF or EF-45 and get PCGS to call it an AU or AU-53, I could be looking at thousands of dollars in value increase on that coin. What would I accomplish by doing so? I could make more money when I choose to sell, but it's only because the next guy is paying too much for a coin that's over graded, and that doesn't sit well with me.

I guess I'm just being overly conservative in the way I think about things, but every day in this forum I see the effects of grade creep, and I know in the end it hurts collectors because you're paying higher prices for a coin than the coin actually warrants.

That is all

/whining