Grading By Way Of The Coin Community - What Are The Expectations?

For me, I don't usually ask often for a grading, Mostly only when I'm not sure what grade to put on it. It is incredibly hard to grade proof or high MS coins due to the lack of any wear on them, that and the fact that my Eyesite is not too good anymore. (I already have had 4 surgery's on my eyes to try to clear up my vision.) If I get a grad on a high MS or proof coin, I'll usually take the lowest mark given and log that into my coin data base I'm compiling. I put my trust in the folks here to give honest and polite estimates of coins presented as best they can with the photos given.

edit: I also may post up a coin of questionable history I'm considering on buying. Most times the coin I put up like that has been altered or just fake, which saved me money.

All of the above are sound reasons. I know there are many more knowledgeable and experienced collectors here than I and appreciate their opinions.

I'm with grape on this question, I am perfectly fine in my grading abilities. I'm not out to find out what anyone thinks, I do like the challenge of some the guess what the TPG said in You vs. PCGS/NGC. I also like to put up a challenging coin or two when I run across them, like the 4 Seated half dollars I am looking at acquiring for a client, or the 1831 Capped Bust quarter, none of those I own currently. Many of the coins I post I do own, others I used to own and have sold them off. But with all my posts, I strive to teach a little bit on why, or learn myself from others on what they see on a particular coin series.

I remember member JonBrand posting a bunch of incuse Indian gold coins, that were well photographed and a real challenge to me in grading, I learned a lot from those coin he posted. Some of Germanicvs EAC coinage is a treat to behold and I always look forward to any coin he posts from his extensive and thoughtful EAC collection, GrapeCollects puts up some really nice type coins that can be a challenge, so many great responses from others have taught me things to look for and at, fortcollins super insightful comments on Buffalo nickels comes to mind or condor101's EAC knowledge.

I just think we are lucky to have this place to enjoy these grading challenges together.

Funny I happen to see this in the modern side of grading, an area I don't really frequent often. I find it's awfully difficult to grade high end proof and MS coins from photos, as really well made photos are harder to make of modern coins that show subtle differences from MS68, MS69 and MS70 or proof coins of the similar numerical grades.

My main question is often to help determine if the coin has been fiddled with. Old cleanings are hard to detect at times. 99% of the time, I feel confident in my grading and tend to undergrade by a point to be sure.

There are experts on the forum who know particular attributes of a series and can help correct first impressions. Case in point was the Lincoln Cent that was recently posted here:




Not knowing the particulars for this issue, I would have undergraded it significantly.

Similar to the others, I often ask for two reasons. Either to check and see if a coin is "worth the price," or because I enjoy putting other coins out there for discussion, to see what others think, and practice my own grading.