PCGS And Down Graded Cook Collection Coins

That is a nice little system then. If you send for a regrade while in the slab, they are incented to match grade closely as variance from prior grades will raise liability concerns for the company (would you like to be the grader who costs your company 6 digits because of a downgrade) whereas if you attempt to double blind test (as any objective or scientific experiment would require) you carry all the liability for the loss individually.

While a digression from the original thrust of this thread, since grading measures are subjective and not objective (see Olympic scoring of figure skating vs. long track speed skating) then there is always the opportunity for other factors influencing the outcome... It is human nature and need not be nefarious or malicious though many will attribute a "wrong" outcome to nefarious intent, again human nature. Knowing the 1911 $ is essentially one of a kind (at least outside of museums) I can understand the desire to overgrade; doesn't make it right.

So it goes back to a mantra often repeated on this and many other discussion boards... Buy the Coin not the Slab. If you can't see the coin in hand and can make your own assessment, you are taking a risk as photography is always subject unintentional artifacts. One of the things I love about this forum is the open discussion of these topics; I have learned significantly from threads such as this.