Gradeflation

Chris,

Thanks for bringing this up. A lot of people have speculated that I brought this practice with me from ICG when I came to ANACS. Let's face it, modern coins are not for everyone--just as I mentioned in an earlier reply is sugar-coated cereal, or, for that matter, American cars. Once people accept that notion, it becomes easier for some to accept 70s.

The way I see it, until 6-8 years ago, darn few coins that were struck after 1964 were ever submitted to coin grading companies. Given the presses that were used to strike pre-1964 coins and the ways planchets were prepared then, I can't imagine many (any?) pre-1964 coins would have graded 70. However, with the Mint replacing its hundred year-old presses in the 1980s and 90s and the Mint demanding higher quality planchets and the Mint producing infinitely better dies and hubs, the quality of the coins they were making was significantly better.

Also, if you can accept 69 as a grade, what do you do when you have a significantly better coin than a 69? I don't think you have a choice but to use the next higher grade.

I hear a lot of people commenting about the prices people pay for a 70. Is it any more outrageous than the $89 Ralph Lauren shirt I'm wearing that was made in Malaysia for probably less than $2. Or how 'bout a $4 cup of latte at Starbucks that runs through your plumbing in 30 minutes?

Maybe I'm as stupid as my 16 year old says I am, but I'm convinced people dress the way they do to look their best--regardless of how repulsive it might be to me--and I'm just as convinced that people spend their money the way they do so it brings them the most.

James