First of all let me state I have been collecting coins for 41 years and am quite adapt at grading. And I have a very impressive collection by any standards.
Myself and a very close friend(Major Dealer) made a personal wager on one of the top TPGS and their practices. So we took 2 coins a 1927 s SLQ and a 1921 s
Lincoln Penny and I sent them to this service for grading. I firmly belived as my friend did the 1927 SLQ was au-58 and the 1921 penny was ms 64 bn.
I was shocked when the coins came back as 1927 slq vf30 and the 1921 penny ms 60 bn. Each coin 4 full points under what they should have graded. So we removed the coins from slabs I sent them to the same TPGS with the same results(big suprise).
Most people would think well they are very accurately grading these coins. Well we removed the same coins from the slabs yet again this time my friend sent them in and they came back slabbed 1927 SLQ MS-60 and the 1921 penny came back MS -65 bn. So once again we removed coins from slab resent them and same results.
As for the wager between us I bet him that the
TPG would grade coins he sent in higher than coins I sent. Now these are the same coins as we video taped and photgraphed the coins and procedure we used and were extremly careful not to damage the coins in any way.
Now here is where it gets really interesting. I did a walkthrough of these same coins RAW condition, the 1927 SLQ graded ef-40 and the 1921 penny graded ms 61bn. MMMM another big suprise coins graded higher when I paid the higher fees. Once agin we removed these same coins from their slabs and he did a walkthrough this time they graded 1927 SLQ MS-63 FH and the 1921 penny graded ms-67 brown.
It utterly amasing me and shows me that if you are a well known dealer who sends hunderds of coins a month in your coins will grade grossly higher than joe public colletors coins do. When I called their customer service I was told the (coins removed from holder then their is no guaranteee to the grade story)
When I explained the procedures we used and told them I had video and photgraphic evidence as well as a very detailed paper trail, They refused to comment and stated the no guarantee to grade BS again. It cost me nothing on this because the deal myself and friend had was loser of the wager paid for all fees incurred. But it Proved a very good point.
If you are a major dealer your coins will be graded higher than average joe collectors coins and if you pay the higher price walkthrough service your coin will grade even higher that what it actually is. This poses a VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM to the market thus flooding the market with overgraded coins. Yet most people are so mind washed by ads and media about the advantages of a
TPG they will only buy a coin that has been slabbed by such a service, and they refuse to even look at a raw coin.
Do not get me wrong TPGS have done a very good job of removing a lot of problem and counterfit coins from the market place. In the near future we shall be making a dvd of this procedure but we may leave out the
TPG name due to the fact they would more than likely sue us over this (I am speaking with an attorney to see if I can show the companies name we used in the dvd).
I will not give anyone the name of this company until I know for sure from my attorney I can legally do so. I personally REFUSE TO OWN A SLABBED COIN! I enjoy holding the coin and looking at it if I wanted to hold a piece of plastic I can go to the fridge for a coke bottle.
All a TPGS does is give their opinion of the grade of a coin, and the higher the price you pay them the higher grade they assign your coin. I do not need any company giving me their opinion of the grade of my coin as I can grade it myself. Is their opinion better than mine since they are a company?
Sorry for such a long winded post just wanted to let everyone know, We will be doing the same procedure with a few of the other TPGS in the comming months and will post the results when we finish. BUY THE COIN NOT THE PLASTIC!!!!!!!!!
Posted 07/26/2006 04:00 am
