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 Replies: 10 / Views: 2,044 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4637 Posts |
As some of you know, I am a member of several paper money forums, and the subject recently arose concerning who submits notes for grading, and why. I can only speak for myself, and I will give you a little background first. About 20% of my collection is graded, and of that 20%, about 60% were already graded when I bought them. My criteria for choosing notes to submit is fairly simple, what is the note worth, and will it help a family member in the future when having to act as a surrogate for my collection. My recent submissions have been to PMG, typically 10 notes at a time. I grade economy. I don't care how long it takes. I have also submitted to Superior, 10 notes at a time and turnaround is utterly remarkable. My thoughts on who submits notes is, I believe the vast majority of notes submitted are for dealers, auction houses, and others that have plans for selling them either now or somewhere down the line, and those that participate/compete in TPG registry sets. I'd like to know your opinion. Edited for spelling Edited by SteveInTampa
12/07/2016 6:53 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Stever - Your list of likely submitters is pretty inclusive! I would bet most of us have "plans for selling them either now or somewhere down the line". I love paper money, but also collect with a strong eye toward appreciation in value. About 40% of notes I buy are in TPG holders, and I buy them based on price and subjective evaluation rather than any interest in re-submissions, which is a folly. The remaining 60% are raw, and like you, I submit 10 notes at a time to PMG, economy. I have had some some great scores, but some disappointments as well, which I do not resubmit. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
Most of my notes don't have enough value to merit grading.
For the few I have that merit grading I buy that way.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
I would say that nearly 75% of my paper money has been graded by a TPG. It hasn't always been that way but that is the direction I have been going in over the last couple of years. One reason that I have not seen mentioned so far is the protection that having them graded provides. I collect a lot of confederate and obsolete notes and a lot of the paper that these notes were printed on is really, really thin. I am much more comfortable handling these once they are protected in the TPS's holders. Another reason is that I do believe having them graded helps in selling and takes the uncertainty out. Also, a part of me likes the "gamble" of buying a raw note at a good deal and it coming back graded higher than I thought. Sometimes this works to my advantage and I can make a few bucks and sometimes I don't. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4637 Posts |
Quote:
Stever - Your list of likely submitters is pretty inclusive! I would bet most of us have "plans for selling them either now or somewhere down the line". I am not wording it correctly. When I get auction catalogs, virtually all high end notes are graded, and there's a reason for this. When someone is bidding 4,5,or 6 figures they want piece of mind. The auction description is always going to hype the note. The printed and online photos are also flattering, but a third party opinion is reassuring and almost essential to most buyers. I am not privy to any TPG statistics or data, just guessing that most notes graded are for auction houses, dealers, or collections soon to be sold. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Absolutely agree. Just kidding a bit.  Connor's point is a good one - it's a great rush getting a high TPG grade back on a raw pick. My problem is I keep using money that should be spent on grading to buy more notes! I have well over a hundred that need submitting and the cost is starting to loom.  Edited by Coinfrog
12/08/2016 4:59 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4637 Posts |
Quote:
My problem is I keep using money that should be spent on grading to buy more notes! Very good point. Mine is the opposite. My typical 10 note submission, including shipping, is right around $300. Money I would rather use towards another note. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
I could use your discipline. I've got a $4K+ in submission costs staring at me. I'm trying to stop buying raw, but it isn't easy.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5836 Posts |
With regard to coins, the only ones I have graded are those which I really want to be sure are authentic and have not been cleaned/altered. These are primarily coins that I have purchased specifically as investments (as opposed to those destined to live in my type album), although in recent years it has also included most of the proof coins I purchased for my virtual "proof type" album.
With regards to notes, however, I don't own a single graded example. Aside from stacks of [relatively] common notes that I hold onto just for the heck of it (small-size blue-seal silver certificates and red-seal legal tender notes and the occasional old-style bill from the 1930s or 1950s), the rest of my notes were purchased specifically to put together a type set album that would be analogous to my 7070 coin album. Graded notes don't fit into the album pages, and many of the notes aren't in all that good of condition. Plus, I only by from reputable dealers and am not really concerned with authenticity. Many of the notes are actually worth more than most of my coins, but I still just have no desire to get them graded since I don't really care what the grades are and am not planning to sell them during my lifetime.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Unfortunately, TPG notes don't come in slabs! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Read everything you can about grading notes, then practice by giving a provisional grading to every note in your collection, just to put into practice what you have learned. I don't buy on ebay, but do buy via public auction. and so it is essential that I have to have confidence to trust in my own note grading skills, at the auction view days. Notes or coins, we should all learn to accurately grade for ourselves. TPG's have their best use for selling on ebay where a prospective buyer is not able to examine the item in hand. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4637 Posts |
Great advise, but I do not understand Quote:Unfortunately, TPG notes don't come in slabs! . I challenge myself by assigning a grade to the notes before I send them in, and compare it with the grades given to the notes by the grading companies. A term I hear often, Buy the note, not the holder. This means that every once in a while it's possible for the graders to make a mistake....after all, it's a paid opinion. Edited to add; Unlike coins, it is sometimes almost impossible to find folds and flaws in paper money once it is slabbed. I have some 55EPQ and 58EPQ notes that I have examined, and am unable to determine why they did not come back as CH-CU or GEM. Edited by SteveInTampa
12/09/2016 07:18 am
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Replies: 10 / Views: 2,044 |
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Posted 12/07/2016 8:40 pm
