with what has been said.
Quote:
Don't make the grading firm any richer than it already is .
The grading companies make too much money off of the coin hobby b/c marketers have convinced people "professional" grading is an essential part of numismatics (or newbies see slabs all over
ebay etc. and just assume slabs are THE coin hobby).
Yes, slabbing then selling the right coins maximizes profits. The TPG-invented registry sets are a part of the intended business model to maximize profits. Registry sets create a fun atmosphere of competition that continually drives up the prices of how much people will pay for the slabbed top grades.
There are two distinct yet generally not very well defined hobbies:
1. The first is about the coin, the whole coin, and nothing (well..history etc.) but the coin(s).
2. The coin+slab+TPG-name+grade on label. Some of these hobbyists can even go to the point of not personally evaluating the actual coin, but focusing on the other aspects involved (including different colored/designs of labels as well)
There is no right or wrong as to which is THE correct was to enjoy a hobby b/c hobbies are about what people enjoy.
The TPGs aso make out well b/c the two worlds of numismatics are generally not well defined except by a few of us nuts who like to help hobbyists not waste their money. So there are a lot of people, unlike the OP, who will assume slabbing is needed for everything and waste their money.
If a legitimately scientific and reproducible grading system were implemented in which each coin always graded the same, the focus likely would shift back to the coin itself. However, TPGs would likely not make nearly as much money as they do clinging to an outdated system based on subjectivity. Tech that could have been implemented a couple decades ago remains in the closet.
Posted 04/09/2020 12:41 am
