A discussion on commercial grading started. When two professionals deal, you'll seldom hear a grade.
Insider3
Posts: 260 ✭✭✭
Have any of you seen two professionals dealing? You will** hardly ever hear a grade mentioned.** It goes like this:
Dealer A: how much?
Dealer B: $
Dealer A: I'll take it.
Every so often you'll hear:
"can you do a little better..."
"I've got to make..."
What else have you heard them say aside from "You've got some mustard on your shirt."
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A dealer told me 30 years ago - "I don't grade coins, I price coins"
Yep, I’ve heard variations of that a number of times as well, and it actually has a lot of merit.
I’ve heard pros discussing and debating grades of coins in TPG holders, but not while dealing. They tend to pass or play very quickly.
Me, I generally have to study the coin(s), study price guides, auction records, pop reports, etc. unless it’s something I’m very familiar with.
In general, you don't hear dealers discussing grade when negotiating the sale. It's usually pretty concise like you stated. This did happen to remind me of a couple dealers a few years ago at Central States. One dealer was interested in a Saint that the other dealer had. I don't remember the date, but I believe it was graded MS66. The dealer trying to buy was willing to pay 66 money for it. The dealer that owned the coin wanted 67 money for it because he believed that it was under graded. This wasn't so much a problem, except for the fact that I listened to them argue about it for about ten minutes, and they weren't quiet about it.
There have been a few times that I have asked another dealer about a coin, and when I get the response of "there's a story that goes along with this coin", I just go ahead and figure that I am going to walk away with nothing.
Grading is trying to peg an abstract standard to something. Pricing is an exercise of replacing something ranked against where it falls against the alternatives. You can see the gravity & mechanisms of the entire market in the microcosm of 1804 dollars
It’s just easier to see with those because everything is so exaggerated
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
If guy wants 67 money for 66 coin then I just leave. He can just shove it / I don’t pay above grade on holder. He can take his BS / racket and hawk it to somebody else.
It’s like the crud dummy guy that walked up to my table telling me he paid blue sheet / sells to other dealers low balling me on a slabbed 64 PQ SLQ. Told him “well go find one then.”
If a dealer is offering a a raw XF-40 (my opinion) Capped Bust half dollar labeled as an AU-53 (his opinion), I assume he purchased it as an AU-50/53 and walk away without arguing opinions.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
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But what if it has a Gold CAC sticker? Doesn't CAC know more about grading coins than PCGS?
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Oh boy here we go again
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