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Yet Another Reason To Leave the Brussell Sprout In The Crisper
Submited by andrew on Sat, 29/08/2009
So there are increasing numbers of collectors in Australia that believe that slabbing is going to be the salvation of the average collector, and will be the only way the industry will ever move forward. I've registered as an authorized agent for the company that arguably leads the way in the independent grading of world coins, PCGS, and have had a modest percentage of my own stock graded by them. I see a role for independent grading in the Australian market, but don't see it as being the panacea that many collectors believe it to be. Far better to use our brain and make our own decision about the condition of each coin we trade rather than replacing our brain with a brussell sprout and slavishly accepting the grade attributed by a 3rd party. An article posted by a prominent US numismatic journalist, grader and dealer this week sheds some light on the reality behind independent grading - it sure is independent, but hasn't proven to be without flaws in the US experience. It seems that several key figures in the US numismatic industry have observed that "Yesterday's AU May be Today's MS Coin", or more to the point, "the interpretation of Uncirculated or Mint State is more liberal than it was 30 or 40 years ago" and, "Today, such coins that used to be graded About Uncirculated (AU) are now often graded as MS-60, MS-61 and MS-62." Slabbing seems to be put forward as the sole solution to the admittedly unfortunate experience of a collector finding out that the coin or note they purchased in one grade will only be accepted for purchase at a lower grade. Independent grading, when executed correctly, theoretically will go some way to ensuring the risk of that occurring is minimized, but as this article suggests, that may not always be the case. I'll leave it to you to determine if the anecdote at the end of the article goes some way to explain the gradual loosening of standards that has apparently occurred in independent grading in the US in the past few decades: "A former colleague of mine once facetiously said let's call every coin submitted for authentication genuine. That will make the counterfeiter happy, the dealer happy, and the customer happy. In much the same way, graders could call every coin with lots of luster uncirculated. This would make everyone happy. Now, that's a novel thought' Bookmark/Search this post with:
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Brussel Sprouts
| Feb 8th, 2012 at 10:46 pmGreat website, Andrew.
Re. “Jet another reason to leave the Brussel Sprout…..”
So what else is new, Andrew. I have observed the loosening of the USA Grading Standards since they first began to slab coins in 1986. Evolution of the exercise is what the believers call it; manipulation of the coin market is the way I see it. If not an insidious and self-serving exercise. (Got a coin graded by XXXX in 1990? Must send it back for an upgrade – and of course another grading fee…)
All the positives that are inherent in professional grading are negated by the PERCEPTION bordering on fanaticism by some that grading is such an exact science that it can be done to 11 grades of MS – plus another 20 or so for those coins that are then called low end or high end in addition to the given MS grades. NO-ONE is able to grade consistent –the more grades they are, the more inconsistent becomes the art. And it does not matter if it is done by consensus; today’s consensus often enough will be different than tomorrows.
I do overwhelmingly agree with the article, but note that the essence of it has been eluded to by many (including myself) for a long long time. If there is a view that I would have expressed in a different way, it is near the end, ie.:
Dealers accept a certain amount of friction on many of the uncirculated coins they buy and sell because there are not enough truly uncirculated coins around in some coin series to meet the demand from collectors.
To me, that should read:
Fact is that a coin with minor rub or friction, but with quality Luster or Brilliance and a virtual absence of Detracting Marks deserves to be graded better than AU. The reason being that it makes for better Eye Appeal, and the market clearly accepts such a coin in preference to another that may technically be UNC or MS, but is “ blessed” with Detracting Marks and Hairlines. This view can easily be observed when one follows what people pay for coins at auctions. As to Market Grading versus Technical Grade, Every collector that I know wants to know what his coin is worth. Which clearly indicates that value and grade go together, and therefore favors the concept of Market Grading over technical grading.
By the way, what the heck is wrong with Brussel Sprouts? I love them.
Klaus Ford
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