Posted 03/27/2007 4:36 pm
I have to reiterate tights24's words - the Heritage Archives are the single most massive database of graded coins in existence. They have records of, as of today, 1,031,405 past auctions, most with huge pictures. Membership, and access to that database, is free. You just have to register.
Just to warn you, though - grading is a subjective endeavor. Heritage's coins are mostly slabbed, and subject to the ongoing "market grading" interpretation of the major TPG's. Market grading usually shows up in the bigger picture - as you look at lots of coins, you will see some allowed to slide into a higher grade than you might have expected.
You can see that dynamic happening live here in the forum with the interaction between myself and Susan (Forum Mom). She's a strict by-the-book grader (and a better grader than me, I might add), and I'm a market grader. We will look at the same coin and be 3-5 points apart some of the time, with my opinion the higher one. I am grading based on the market's definition of the grade, as illustrated by TPG grading and sales results, and she grades according to the exact established standards of the ANA (although even those have slid in recent years.
Just to warn you, though - grading is a subjective endeavor. Heritage's coins are mostly slabbed, and subject to the ongoing "market grading" interpretation of the major TPG's. Market grading usually shows up in the bigger picture - as you look at lots of coins, you will see some allowed to slide into a higher grade than you might have expected.
You can see that dynamic happening live here in the forum with the interaction between myself and Susan (Forum Mom). She's a strict by-the-book grader (and a better grader than me, I might add), and I'm a market grader. We will look at the same coin and be 3-5 points apart some of the time, with my opinion the higher one. I am grading based on the market's definition of the grade, as illustrated by TPG grading and sales results, and she grades according to the exact established standards of the ANA (although even those have slid in recent years.
