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 Replies: 8 / Views: 936 |
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Rest in Peace
United States
5375 Posts |
I'm sure this has been thought of many times before, but grading based primarily on wear, except only in unc, does not make sense to me. I know sometimes, a 'choice' coin is given a bump up within that grade, but in some cases, that seems like there should be more.
Frequently, I see AU-58 coins that look a lot nicer than MS-62 coins. So why not have the grades overlap a bit? As in, having the 'about uncirculated' grade go up to 'AU-63' for pristine, beautiful surfaces the equivalent of an MS-66/67+ coin, regardless of wear. It might have a tiny bit of wear, but it would be a lot nicer than the MS-63 coin....so while having NO wear whatsoever might have a large impact, I don't see why having very clean fields on an AU coin shouldn't have an 'official' impact. Now, I'm sure this would be hard to implement due to introducing even MORE subjectivity into grading, but they already do that for MS grades often...
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2217 Posts |
Quote:
I'm sure this has been thought of many times before, but grading based primarily on wear, except only in unc, does not make sense to me..   I think I am with you here, as I see the actual grade of a coin as an overall grade related directly to price. If a coin is close to UNC but has a few edge knocks and a nasty scratch on an important part of the detail of the coin this reduces the grade of the coin considerably. It will now only be a good VF or a low XF as this related directly to the coins pricetag. Edited by NumisMattyUk
09/29/2008 5:47 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Welcome to market grading, which isn't grading at all, but pricing.
As you've already noticed, an AU58 coin is often as nice as a MS63 coin. The correct way to handle this is to put AU58 on the holder for the grade, and give the coin a MS63 price.
The TPGS figure that dealers and collectors are stupid, and an AU58 coin, having a lower number, will not bring the price of a MS63. Rather than educate them to the value of eye appeal, they put MS63 grades on AU58 coins.
This means two things. First, there are no longer any AU58 coins. The ones in AU58 holders are nice AU55s. Second, the grade of MS63 is meaningless, since it is being given to both nice circulated and mediocre uncirculated coins.
And all because coins are not graded to standards, but given grades that represent the price that the grader feels the coin should bring.
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Moderator
 United States
16677 Posts |
EAGS. Eye Appeal Grading Service. Why not!
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
The solution is simple. Lets just go back to the good old days when there was G, F, Unc and Proof. Nothing inbetween. That's all there was when I was a kid and we did OK.
I'm just waiting for some TPGS to start a 1,000 point system or a decimal system. MS-62.947 or AU-3,594.333. Eventually we will have things like VG-3.48852958 approximately.
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Rest in Peace
 United States
5375 Posts |
Yeah Biggfredd, it's pretty silly. I still do say having 'no trace of wear' should command somewhat of a premium, but the price differences between AU 58 and MS-64 coins when they have similar eye appeal is INSANE. Far, far more than double. I'm also aware of the overgrading, and the slabbing (without notification) of cleaned coins, particularly older ones. It's really very annoying.
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
This is how I see it... The grade is always going to be subjective, no matter what rules are followed. For any coin you sell or buy, set a price that you think it is worth. If you think your "AU-58" coin has similar eye appeal to a "MS-64" coin, then that is what it is worth to you. If someone agrees, then they will pay it. The selling price is always going to be what you are willing to take and the buyer is willing to spend, regardless of what the grade is. The grade is just a starting point for negotiations.  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Actually, I can strip all the mystery aside.
The purpose of the grade is a shorthand communication of apparent condition of a coin to someone who can't see the coin. The better photo reproduction becomes, the more useless grades are.
There is no reason at all to grade a coin in a face to face transaction. The coin looks exactly like what it looks like.
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
Well stated, Biggfredd! |
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Replies: 8 / Views: 936 |
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Posted 09/29/2008 11:31 pm
