Options
Should a for profit firm be able to offer their professional opinion on a coins grade for....
Luxor
Posts: 514 ✭✭✭✭✭
......a fee, and then openly make a market for such coins in the open market? Isn't this exactly what the FTC(?) warned PCGS about many years back because some PCGS graders were also in the business of selling and/or making a market for the coins they may have also graded which amounts to a huge conflict? In fact, IIRC didn't PCGS enact a policy shortly after the warning that graders or finalizers cannot actively buy/sell or make a market for PCGS graded coins which still holds true today?
Your hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need it.
0
Comments
I guess the obvious question here is, do you know of a grader or finalizer buying or selling?
Incoming.:)
There's a difference between saying "This is what I think about the assigned grade" and "This is the grade I'm assigning."
What’s the point of this hypothetical post? Or do you have something to share?
Latin American Collection
Not quite correct based upon the LA Times article.
Another company was warned for what the OP posted.
Our host was warned for something else.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-17-fi-864-story.html
Now this thread needs one of these:
Train wreck dead ahead!
Yes, CAC should be be able to offer their opinion on NGC and PCGS coins and make markets in them, whether stickered or not. Ditto for anyone else who wants to charge a fee to evaluate NGC and PCGS coins and make a market in them.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Ouch. You used the C word. Lol
There's a difference between PCGS and CAC. PCGS could intentionally details grade a coin and then buy it and regrade it. CAC is just putting an "acceptable" on an already graded coin.
That said, there is a potential conflict if they bought raw and stickered them for profit. But I think the market would be short lived as they would lose the faith of the rest of the market pretty quickly.
But as long as they are buying already stickered coins on the open market, the conflict is minor.
I was just answering the question that I thought was being asked.😉
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
That was my first thought also. It never ends well.
Ideally, I suppose a grading firm should be independent of everything. A strictly non-profit with expenses provided by endowment and anonymous donations. There would be no charge for services and the graders would be unknown, long time, knowledgeable professionals. A "secret club" at an unknown location whose parent company would be the ANA or some other large numismatic organization.
There would be no reason to inflate grades or change from very strict standards as the opinion of dealers in the market would mean nothing. If you did not like their grade opinion, use one of the for-profit services and pay for the second opinion.
Keep dreaming...:)
.
PCGS would never kill their reputation by doing something like this. Not to mention there would probably be all kinds of legal ramifications with this.
Positive BST Transactions (buyers and sellers): wondercoin, blu62vette, BAJJERFAN, privatecoin, blu62vette, AlanLastufka, privatecoin
#1 1951 Bowman Los Angeles Rams Team Set
#2 1980 Topps Los Angeles Rams Team Set
#8 (and climbing) 1972 Topps Los Angeles Rams Team Set
So it's only a "minor" conflict if they offer a professional opinion on a coin for a fee and then make an active market with cash bids for such coins they find "acceptable"?
Your hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need it.
It might not be a conflict at all. The only real conflict is if they are stickering coins just to sell them. If they buy and sell already stickered coins, there really isn't a conflict.
This is true, of course. But the potential conflict would exist which is why it is preferable that the people offering opinions not be in a position to profit from that opinion. They could also crack out and grade higher. Again, it would, if found out, kill their business. But it wouldn't be the first such fraud in the collectibles area.