A New Grading System! -Rick Snow

I'm a big fan of Rick & EERC (and a customer) but if he's already acknowledging in his article that EAC uses one of the last truly strict grade systems, why doesn't he just grade his FEC/IHC's using EAC grading standards instead of trying to convince everyone that we should switch to his 100-point grading scale? PCGS (David Hall)'s market research shows that a 100 point grading system has almost zero support -- imagine trying to maintain a "conversion table" between ANA-70 and SNOW-100 grading systems, or worse, trying to price them...

Rick has been at war with overgraded coins for years; as much respect as I have for his knowledge and dedication, sometimes his articles read more like diatribes against TPG's and a thinly veiled attempt to justify a huge markup on Eagle Eye Photo Seal coins, and a faint odor of somewhat sour grapes behind his "CAC is a rip-off of EERC Photo Seal" argument.

Don't confuse market grading with grading to a value: If a seller and a buyer both agree that a coin is worth $300, does it matter what the numerical grade is at all? The value grade is $300. The market grading Rick argues against is that of high prices realized for overgraded coins making it tougher to sell correctly-graded examples, and there's much merit in his theory. Problem is, theory doesn't always work in reality; if, say, PCGS switched to EAC grading standards for its early copper, they'd lose 95% of their business to NGC and ANACS overnight. So Mr. Snow, as a business owner, must consider this: do I take the high road and try to market my raw AU50 Indian Head cents at PCGS AU58 prices, and watch them gather dust, or do I simply have PCGS slab them all AU58 and sell them at (inflated) AU58 prices, and make a profit? This is the collector's dilemma: grading accurately saves you money when you buy, but costs you money when you sell.

Also remember that many of the key players in the coin business these days are more investors and speculators, less collectors and numismatists, and the investors usually have more money and are more willing to spend it with reckless abandon, even if the coin they're after is severely overgraded by a TPG. In other words, the collectors are no longer setting prices; the investors and speculators are, and this is driving many collectors out of the market for higher end coins very rapidly.

Interesting. Did you know Rick is a CCF member?
John1

A little off subject ; I am not a fan of TPG , I mean who are these so-called graders anyway. are they above God ? Since when is TPG'ing written in stone ? As far as I'm concerned Grading of any coin is still subjective. Yes there are inexperienced collectors who admit they cannot grade coins, and there are the older bunch (40-60) year collectors who can pretty much grade ,but not every single coin they come in contact with . the subject of grading can go back at least 150 years and we are still debating it today .
So when I go to a show ,I will try to do my own grading of what I'm comfortable with and buy accordingly.
Ok I admit TPG can authenticate a coin so you don't get burnt buying a fake . But how many tests do they put through that coin ? Again is their value of findings written in stone. Just like a Doctor we have to believe what they say !
These statements are my honest opinions and do not intend to discredit anyone or any company .

Kanga - I'd have thought so too, which is why I think it won't fly. Rick's a big enough fish that he could have approached NGC and PCGS and gotten their buy-in first.

It's the CAC dilemma - did it or didn't it - either he did approach them and they're not interested, or he didn't (why not).

Because if he did and they are, I'd expect to see the headline "Rick Snow to present proposed new grading system, sponsored by xxx" if only to draw more people to the talk.

Would I like to see something change? Heck yes - I'd like to go back to the original ANACS grading: separate grades for obverse, reverse, luster, surface, eye appeal and strike.

I find this infuriating. Investors care little about the history and beauty of the coins themselves, and unfortunately they are keeping the coins out of reach from those who actually appreciate the coins. I hope the high-end coin market crashes because some coin prices are getting utterly ridiculous.

Together with digital photography and the internet, the major TPG companies greatly facilitate everyday commerce in the coin business. They are not perfect, but they are far better than nothing. While a fool and his money will still soon be parted, TPGs play a critical role in protecting the unwary/uneducated from the unscrupulous, in addition to helping quantify the vast sea of data that collectors face every day.

So they figured it out before the rest of us and make a few bucks. One way or another, 30 years ago, the hobby needed some sort of discipline and structure if it was to keep growing the way it has.

I didn't go to the ANA show this year. Hopefully someone here did and was there for Rick's presentation. It looks like it was the first one of the day this morning.

https://www.money.org/uploads/pdfs/...Schedule.pdf