Shows Us Those Overgraded Slabs From Major Companies

If you use Canadian grading standards then, yes, they are definitely overgraded.

It certainly annoys me beyond belief that the major graders at times can be so clueless when it comes to grading coins, especially circulated Canadian coins. It goes to show that we all must learn how to grade coins properly, and to not discontinue the practice of thinking for ourselves!

Below is a photo of a Canadian nickel I found on Ebay back in March, which I started a new thread about. The thread topic? You guessed it - over-grading by the major players! It should come as no surprise that this nickel is still for sale on Ebay (with a BIN of over $200 CDN!). At this over inflated grade it will not sell at any price.

We all should learn to grade for ourselves. That is why I like the grading threads seen here in the CCF. We all get a chance to exercise our grading skills, and compare those skills with others.

One of the main benefits of TPG is that it is not the seller's opinion to be seen on eBay but an independent opinion.

It makes me sad to see these pictures.
Fortunately, TRPgraders don't often get it this far wrong, but it does leave me somewhat uneasy.

Wow. Those coins are just painful to see.

For me, the biggest gripe about the PCGS and NGC overgrading is the ill will it creates between customers and local coin dealers.

My wife and I do a few shows every year. I can't think of a single show in the last few years where we have not been offered at least one badly overgraded Canadian coin. When we tried to explain the grading, people became angry and accused us of trying to "steal" their coins. They then heard the same comments from the other dealers, and their gripe became that all dealers are thieves. Naturally, they never look at the coins we are selling where we reduced the assigned grade. That's pretty hard to put up with show after show.

As a result, we no longer try to help people see the grading when they have improperly graded slabbed coins. We just politely say that we are not interested in their coins. Then, of course, they get angry because we are insulting their coins. Ugh!

I can see honest difference of opinion on the numerical grades. For example, many coins are fairly debatable whether they are F-12 or F-15 or whether they are VF-30 or VF-35. Seeing a VF coin slabbed as AU is indefensible. Unfortunately, there seem to be quite a few of those disasters out there.

Interestingly, I see a half dozen overgraded PCGS or NGC coins for every undergraded example. That ratio is pretty close to 1:1 for ICCS and CCCS, which tells me they are more consistent. They certainly grasp Canadian standards much better.

Another one

I could photograph coins all night - that prove your statement wrong. If anything, Canadian grading companies are consistently inconsistent over the past five years.

Moral of the story is that I now NEVER buy any graded coin, sight unseen... I examine potential coins I wish to buy in my own hands, with my own eyes, before making a purchase.