Moving Coin Grading into the 21st century....

[Wyatt Earp]

Why hasn't somebody come up with the idea of a system where you would use the percentage of the known weight of an uncirculated coin to ascertain grade? The present system is far too open to overgrading....and it's pretty rampant.

You could assign a coin a 93 (percentage of full weight)...and leave the esoteric aspects of collecting (eye appeal) up to the individual buyer....but...a 93 would always be a 93....a 76 always a 76. A collector wouldn't have to know which dates within a series were softly struck....such as the 1940-S walking liberty half....which was struck on dies that should have been thrown in the dumpster....or the 1905 Barber halves....all 3 mints produced weak strikes in '05. A person wouldn't have to have any real knowledge of die state with such a system. They would only have to agree to buy or not to buy...based upon intangibles like the presence of any evidence of cleaning and desirable vs undesirable toning or planchet quality (in the case of early copper coins)

It would be simple....maybe that's the problem.

Wyatt

[GoldDigger]

I think you make a real valid point. If a coin is worn down that means some of the metal was lost so the weight should be reduced. In our modern time with digital scales it would not be hard to create a method to grade coins in this manner.

[Metalman]

Ahhh if were only so simple !!

The whole Idea behind a numerical grade (weight aside since almost all UNC coins will weigh the same ) and the same can be said for the other numerical grades as well ,, is the differences of storage, care,handling such as in mint bags and other environmental ,conditional influences which also hold sway over a coin,Not to mention Mintage numbers .

I don't want my MS-65 Morgans competing with MS-60 Morgans in the market any more than a person wants their Lexus competing with a hundai even if they weigh the same they are far and away different in many other aspects.

each and every series is different,, just as each and every coin within that series is different .

There is just no way that a fair price for any given coin can be achieved based on weight and eye appeal of the buyer . I mean even an MS-68 can be pretty ugly if it make the price right !!

Metalman

[Wyatt Earp]

The system I envison would be used to grade circulated coins....and cut out the flim flam operations selling G-4s as VG-8s. In the lesser grades....it really could be "that simple".

.....a coin with a percentage of 65-70 percent remaining could not grade higher than (for example) AG.....70-75 percent G, 76-80 percent VG, 81-85 percent F, 86-90 percent VF, 91-95 percent EF, 96 to 99 percent XF, and 100 percent.....MS. The heck with AU....it either is or is not uncirculated. Just kidding.....Obviously this is just a thrown together example...with about 5 minutes of thought put into it....so don't be too harsh.

I agree that once into the higher MS grades.....the Sheldon system may still be best, and the customer for an MS-70 1894-S Morgan may be willing to pay a service for their opinion (not the a perspective buyer will necessarily agree with that opinion)....but I'll never be in that select group who are buying coins at Sotheby's and Stack's.

I guess too...that if a person knows absolutely nothing about coins....then maybe the 3rd party system has value to those individuals....but I'm not a slab guy and never have been. I suspect that I never will be. I have my own eyes, and my opinon of grade is the final determinant in making a purchase....everything else is wasted money. Standards for grading Barber halves seem to be getting lost. I see slabs designated VG-8 from PCGS that I would grade as G-6 frequently. Look at the early dollars if you want to see 3rd party opinions all over the map. When it becomes crystal clear that these guys' opinions are no more valid than mine....it's time to zip that billfold.

Wyatt

[Metalman]

Wyatt we are in 100% agreement on the the TPG's,,my collection is 100% raw and 100% graded with my opinion and it will stay that way as long as I can distinguish between a real coin and a counterfeit,, which is the only place that I see a benefit to the TPG's ( certification) of authenticity !

The rest is debatable with nether one of us actually having the high ground ,, I dont mind using the sheldon scale but if a better system came along that was more reliable and less subject to personal opinion I would be interested in learning it ,, as long as it does not cost me thousands of dollars worth of grade reductions in my collections !!

Metalman


Besides some coins just would not be as easy to appreciate inside a plastic tomb !!