How Valid Is The Dealer's Grading Representation?

Honestly? It really depends on the dealer, but in general I wouldn't trust the dealer. First, he has a vested interest in you seeing the coin as worth purchasing. Second, you have no idea where his expertise lies. I'm good with Morgans, and getting there with Bust Halves, but don't trust my grade on a Lincoln. There's too much to learn, about too many things, to be a reliable all-around grader without years of experience. This is not to be making blanket accusations of fraud; a perfectly honest dealer can easily be out of his expertise with certain coins in his inventory.

There are a few - just a very few - online dealers I will buy from sight-unseen. Maybe 3. Many of the more reputable online dealers are not on my list, for the reasons of expertise mentioned above.

Unless you have experience with that dealer, having graded stuff that you agree with, walk carefully.

I wouldn't think a dealer would ever give you some sort of guarantee on his grading capability unless you are paying him for his opinion.

But I think generally a dealer can tell pretty quickly if a coin is mint-state or not, regardless of series. My dealer will say "at least BU" rather than say it is MS-61 or MS-63 or whatever.

Similarly, if he says it's Gem or MS-65, I know that it is probably at least a 65 and might be a 66.

Learning to grade yourself is obviously the best advice. Whenever I get a dealer's advice on grade, I take it home and scrutinize the grade again myself. That will help you fine tune your skills.

Good advice, and so appreciated. Thank you.

Learning to grade yourself is obviously the best advice. Whenever I get a dealer's advice on grade, I take it home and scrutinize the grade again myself. That will help you fine tune your skills.

That really sounds like fun. I'm looking forward to that time. In the meantime, I have to figure out what DH has. He has kept it in bulk containers all mushed together. I'm still sorting out by denomination. Once I get it all into the database (if?) I'll feel like I can stop and breathe long enough to learn that skill. Until then, I'm still playing around and enjoying like crazy.

Superdave, Is one of those three trusted online dealers Harlan J Berk? Ive been looking at some coins on his site.

SuperDave,
I also vouch for James Garcia, he is an excellent dealer and he is from the St. Louis area as well so I see him at the shows.

As an aside, he recently wrote the auction catalog descriptions for the winter show in St. Louis https://www.scotsmanauctionco.com/a...x?Auction=54

I have always trusted Don Bonser. He knows. Good honest man. Need more like him. There are others.

Generally I would answer by asking you if you are buying or selling!

True story. I remember one dealer back in Indiana. I asked him what the difference was between M.S.60 and M.S.65. while flipping thru a price guide that he had. He told me that the M.S.60 was what he bought them for and that the M.S.65 was what he sold them for. I was playing stupid to determine his honesty. I got his honest answer. Again, There are others.

Buy a coin from your local dealer and ask him about his grading methods. Keep the coin for 6 months. Return to the store with the exact coin in a new holder and ask him to grade the coin and make an offer. You will learn a lot very quickly.... gusp

As a general rule, I would request large, clear pics of any coin you are looking to purchase from the internet. Even with well-respected dealers, there is a difference in areas of expertise. Once you have the pics, you can feel free to post them here in the grading section. It certainly is not a foolproof method, but this will definitely give you an honest idea of the grade of a coin and help to hone your own grading skills.

You really shouldn't buy raw coins from your friendly dealer in town or mail order if you can't grade. Because if you can't grade, you don't know if he's reputable.

I have one on line dealer I use. I trust them completely. The very few times I've disagreed with a grade. I pulled out the grading guide and found that they were spot on. They also take returns for 30 days, and will buy-back the coin at 80% of the current retail for life. Firms like this are rare. I had to go through a number of bad mail order places until I found them. But I consider it time well spent.

As far as my local guys go. They generally grade accurately when selling. They have to. I don't buy coins (any more) until I know how to grade them. On the other hand, my local guys ALWAYS-ALWAYS-ALWAYS claim a coin I'm selling is a couple of grades less than actual.

I understand about business in general, costs, and margins. I just wish wish they'd tell me their offer instead of insulting my intelligence. That's the nature of the beast. I ignore what they say about grades when I'm selling, and just listen to the offered price.