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 Replies: 14 / Views: 985 |
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Valued Member
United States
172 Posts |
Poll Question
In the last few years there are new grading companies, and they do have more accurate grading then PCGS. However that is due to the magnification of the microscope used. First there was the Jewlers loop at 5X, and that was the standard. Then these Digital Microscopes came out, and 7x the 7.5 X now 10X. So, now there are competing Grading services, that claim they are more accurate. Now this is affecting Coin collecting as a whole, the new guys are attempting to out due the Top company PCGS. So, what do you think about the grading standard, should there be only one or many?
Edited by RWC112
10/05/2025 3:56 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19110 Posts |
A little difficult following your paragraph. Please try breaking your writing down into sentences. Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36416 Posts |
It's been a 10x loupe for many years, but I've used my 16x Anco since 1972.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1653 Posts |
Quote:
Now this is affecting Coin collecting as a whole, the new guys are attempting to out due the Top company PCGS. I do not know what this means. |
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Valued Member
 United States
172 Posts |
well having several different coin grading companies is good free market capitalism, but having different standards will make it too confusing and hurt the collectors and dealers as it will drive down values ...
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6449 Posts |
The ANA standard seems completely adequate for circulated coins. Everybody including PCGS, ANACS, NGC, and competitors seem to grade circulated coins approximately the same. The differences in grading between companies primarily seem to arise on details coins and uncirculated coins. I think a 3-5x loupe (or equivalent) is sufficient for grading a scratch, ding, lamination flaw, corrosion spot, or other small blemish. A coin shouldn't receive a details grade for imperfections that cannot be readily seen with the naked eye under inspection. I would find it fair if determining details: cleaned used a higher resolution, as the evidence is tiny. Mint state grading is so wildly subjective that I wouldn't even take it seriously if it didn't produce such huge price swings for the registry set folks. A rainbow toned quarter with Reed Marks in Washington's face can grade MS67. I think magnification has zero correlation to grades higher than MS64, it is all the subjective opinion of the grader. For those coins, I think PCGS TrueView rules the day, because at least you can see the coin yourself and make a subjective judgment. Variety attribution should use whatever magnification is required to confirm or refute the variety in question. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19930 Posts |
Graders do not use magnification except to confirm fine details/flaws. By the time they pull out a loupe, they have already pretty much decided the grade.
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6449 Posts |
Thad, if that's true, that would explain why so many highly graded coins show heavy Die Deterioration in the TrueView pics. While Die Deterioration blurs the devices on a coin, it also produces a rather pleasing amount of luster, particularly if the fields have die flow droplets. |
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Moderator
 Australia
16805 Posts |
Agree with BadThad; it was also my understanding that graders, as a rule, don't use magnification unless it's called for. They get 30 seconds to examine a coin; there's no time to whip out a loupe.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
18627 Posts |
just me 2cents. you can't use TV for anything related to grading. they are glamour shots
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Valued Member
United States
172 Posts |
thank you for all the great info I had no idea the graders just gave it a look and only used the magnification for details
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6449 Posts |
Quote:
just me 2cents. you can't use TV for anything related to grading. they are glamour shots While TrueView pics are undoubtedly fluffy glam photos, at least they allow you to see the coin in detail when purchasing a slab online. I am interested in varieties, and TV does allow you to determine if PCGS correctly authenticated the variety in most cases. |
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Moderator
United States
187475 Posts |
I never grade with magnification. Overall eye appeal matters most to me, which means viewing the whole coin with my own eyes.
Looking for varieties and errors, however, I see to prefer my cheap 10x. I am a novice at E/V, so your mileage may vary.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3619 Posts |
Many coins can be graded without magnification. The exceptions I always make are (1) tiny coins, like silver Three Cent, gold one dollar, and California fractionals and (2) any coin where die clash polishing can emulate circulation wear on mid-grade and lower coins, such as Buffalo nickels and SLQs. After making my initial grading decision, I always examine the coin under available magnification to look for less obvious things that may affect value, such as subtle surface disturbance and variety attribution. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19930 Posts |
Quote:
Overall eye appeal matters most to me, which means viewing the whole coin with my own eyes.
And that is the #1 for graders. Luster is a significant factor in eye appeal. That's why grading high MS and proof coins from pictures is impossible. Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Replies: 14 / Views: 985 |
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Posted 10/05/2025 4:53 pm
