2009 25 C - P District Of Columbia Grade Please

Big hit on A carrying over onto first T in STATES, plus I'm seeing many small ticks on reverse...IMO....MS-66+....67..

IMO MS65+ maybe 66. Hit as mentioned and a little softer strike. Pics a little dark could be scratches we can't see.

Subjectivity is the name of the game with grading companies. A coin with MS66 in a slab can be cracked out, resubmitted to the same company, and it will never be guaranteed the same grade (maybe higher or lower) again. This is why even when people really know what they are doing that sending in to get a good grade is a gamble.

Even dealers who have been playing this game for many years cannot predict what is actually going to happen.

The graders spend 8 hours a day looking at coins. According to a couple people I talked with who worked grading, they were paid by how many coins they could get through in that 8 hours. They are human, they felt rushed, and like any other human they can make mistakes. So things like the following happen all the time:
http://goccf.com/t/346174#2967242

There is a mob-wanted desire, likely fueled by the masses of slabs people (especially newbies) are exposed to on the internet, to believe grades on slabs are verifiably accurate to some standardized and calibrated standard. This is a fantasy. Anything on a label is just opinion and not verifiable science about the condition of the coin.

Thus we have the crack out and re-submit "game" people "play." The gamble is fun and the company makes profits.

My post is not a slam on grading companies - they are just a business seeking to make a profit. Although they abandoned a computer and laser grading system they had in the 90s which they proclaimed as being more accurate (90% vs. 85% - I can give PCGS references) than their current subjective system. Again, subjectivity makes more profits.

There is an AI system currently being developed which hopefully will change us to having an accurate and repeatable system. The system was allowed to scan hundreds of slabbed Morgans at all grade levels and learned what (let's use for this example) MS 65 meant to humans by "averaging" all scans of MS65 Morgans it was given. The system is in the initial stages, but so far does very well with the same grade being assigned every time - like it should be if the grade is actually assessing the coin. Just search youtube for Daniel Malone. You will find a link in his videos to the website where the AI grading is being developed.

It can be fun to play the game and look for good coins to send in and then profit by selling. You are smart in coming here to learn. Just be aware even some of the most knowledgeable dealers cannot understand why a coin they send in is labeled (that time) by the graders. Then comes the decision to pay another fee ad do it again, or forget about it b/c its not worth it anymore.

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