Please Explain/Enlighten What Terms On TPG Slabs Mean.....

Basically DETAILS means the coin has been altered in some way, generally by being cleaned.
AU DETAILS means that IF the coin hadn't been altered it would have graded in the AU range.

"Corroded" is used in place of DETAILS when the TPG can used a more descriptive term for the problem.
Otherwise it means the same as above.

IMO a grade for such coins should never be given.
It gives newbie sellers to place an artificially high price on a coin.
And newbie buyers end up paying more than a coin's worth.
IMO only the problem should be noted on the slab and let the buyers and sellers determine its value.

I do not .
If a coin is super rare, the only hope many people have of "filling" is with a problem one. There are some coins that definitely should be graded with details grades. Everything is out in the open. It says the problem so there is no trickery. If people are overpaying for them- that's their problem. Additionally, there are times that the details grade is given and the buyer feels that the coin is actually not cleaned. They now have a grade assigned to it, which they would otherwise not have.
Yesterday, at a large coin show I was shown a coin that had an "Artificial toning" label from NGC which the seller was sure that was explainable in a natural way. (He is the seller, but was previously the buyer, and he felt that when he bought it as well, already in the slab.)
The point I am trying to make is that the TPG should say what they think and allow for the consumer to determine on their own if they want the coin. They are not responsible for what people do with the grade.
IMHO

Go to NGC and PCGS websites. Your question is answered straight from the horse's mouth

Firstly. A sincere thanks for the replies, they really are enlightening. Mostly I've seen only ICCS graded coins and found the "details" qualifier quite confusing.
I do beg to differ with some of the opinions expressed.
TPG's are in effect holding themselves out as offering a somewhat objective standardized evaluation (and hence value) that eliminates/reduces subjective interpretations. As in any quality evaluation system (meat grading/diamonds/lumber) it should be universally clear and applicable by all parties in the same way. The idea that you ought to buy the coin not the slab is the antithesis of this. I may value coloured diamonds higher or lower than someone else but the grading should be consistent. Likewise meat grading relates to degree of marbling of fat, the cut may determine the taste or tenderness. And who would want a warped 2x4 even if it had a "tight grain" detail.
This is of course only a personal opinion and subject to change depending on the arguments advanced

cdngmt- I am a bit hesitant to agree with you. Coin grading is and always has been extremely subjective. TPGs have, like you said, attempted to regulate it more and have been fairly successful. However, it still varies significantly. You can get a coin in a PCGS MS-63 slab, crack it and send it back, and get MS-65. By 'buying the coin, not the slab', you can consider if it is over- or undergraded (hence affecting value) and weigh other factors like eye appeal. This concept applies as much or more to details coins than problem-free ones.

Hi
Again I do appreciate the opinions expressed. I can understand GR58 explanation ...as far as his example goes(ie with cleaned coins. BUT when I saw corroded I really can't see/accept it. To me its double talk akin to its perfect except where its not.
I think the other to commentators are both on the point I'm having such difficulty with. Unless grading is more standardized and will generate the same (or narrow range of )valuation wherever it is evaluated, there is no justification for pricing.
We are in effect buying tulip bulbs, prices and values have no floor, they are fad and whimsy (which is true of course to some degree). If the value is all puffery...why not just catalogue pictures? {we can't really handle the coins with "impairing their value and worth"}

Details BAD

It means that the coin was messed with. Altered. Cleaned. Something like that.

Not original.



Now, if your choice (for an exceptionally rare or pricy - given YOUR budget) is between a hole and a details coin, and you know you aren't going to turn around next week or next month or even next year and want to upgrade... a details coin can "fill the hole".

Sometimes that is ALL you are going to get - there simply aren't any original coins in existence. S'be'it.



Net Grading. OK, the coin has been messed with. If it HADN'T been, it would be an XF40.

One school says no net grading, just XF details.
The other school says, "we can approximate how messed with". XF Details, Net VF35 - means just a little. XF Details, Net AG3 - means a lot.

Also sometimes you look at a Details coin and you might think "I don't see it". Remember, the TPG's are still just some guys sitting in a room giving an opinion. They have lots of experience of course but they aren't necessarily perfect.