Poll 1 - 1969 $20 (S/N Ec): Comparing TPG Grading With Recent Examples

Can't really assess grade of UNC notes from pics so I picked the last option, otherwise why would you spend so much to have it graded four times.

thanks DBM & Jbuck. Purpose is not as much to grade the bill but rather to get a sense of how YOU perceive the TPGs compare with each other in respect to their grading standards :)

Beautiful note. I would put this at a 66 myself.

+1
This is very much how I view the 3 DBM! But of course it is a gross generalization. We all must judge the note (& not the holder). TPG's are just like a back up pair of eyes for us as banknote consumers. To take them more seriously than that means you're in the grade-rarities rat race (one I'd never join)!

I wasn't going to vote b/c its impossible to judge a note's grade by a few images (as you & Coinfrog point out) but then curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to see the results.

I voted option 2 b/c I have more 63's from BCS than I care to admit & I have seen an alarming # of 67's from PMG/Legacy (some legit others quite dubious). I find it unfortunate that Legacy has certified so many early Bank of Canada notes (1935-1954 DF) which pretty much disqualifies most of the TCNA recent offerings. If there's one thing a poorly assessed note does (for me) is it will eliminate my interest b/c I simply don't want to be re-submitting a poorly graded note.

Interesting!

I dislike getting into "spitting matches" over grading. I've been trying to grade notes for 47 years & find it super subjective. It astonishes me that people are out there willing to throw large sums of cash at PMG super gems (especially the Gem UNC70's or notes with stars). I have only seen more & more of these when I never saw one when I first started to regularly peruse the auctions for TPG notes.

I actively avoid 69/70 or PMG notes with stars.

I've always maintained that eye appeal trumps technical grade (the #'s & stars) but I often do bid more aggressively on 66's over lower grades. It seems to be the "sweet spot' for PMG. Original "64" seems to be BCS "sweet spot" or grade most seen. These are notes graded pretty accurately IMO. I have a few BCS 65's & perhaps 1 or 2 "66's" but feel these should be "67" or "68" (they're just that flawless) so can't imagine what Steve found wanting.

However, having said that, I've seen a lot of AU55 & 58 that have been really lovely & show better (more vivid perhaps?) with super eye appeal rather than a UNC 62 or 63 from PMG, Again, I have to trust that they found too much handling but some of my 62 & 63's were very nice but were knocked down to these odd grades by BCS.

I feel that BCS is the collector's certifier while PMG is the seller's TPG. As a collector you're guaranteed to get minimum grade stated on the note (but likely better).

I have also discovered a lot of conservative grades from PCGS but I dislike the older holders (newer PCGS-B are much nicer). They're not as easy to sell as PMG too (they often seem to get discounted a little at auction). My 2 cents.