coin grading skills

lincolnSence

David - can you tell us a little about the rigors of passing the PCGS test to become a grader and what skills do these fine graders have that collectors typically might not/don't have. In addition, what is the difference between a good grader and say a "top 100" grader? Can anyone become a champion grader, or is there something else. Thanks.

homerunhall

I believe that grading coins is one of the most difficult things to do in collectibles. I think it's much easier to grade sportscards, currency, stamps, and records...the four graded collectibles I know a good deal about.

In the late 1980s, when we were flooded with submissions and had a dozen graders on staff, we had a pretty simple grading test. It was a box of about 100 coins. We even took the test box to coin shows. Hundreds of people took the "test." And you'd be surprised at some of the top dealers that didn't do well at all.

If someone did good on this initial test, we'd have them come out and test grade for a few weeks. They would grade the coins and put their grades in the computer just like the other graders, but their grade would not count towards the final grade. We could then see how they did compared to the final grade. After a few weeks we could pretty well tell whether a grader had the right stuff or not.

Today, we have a smaller staff so we don't have a test. We draw from the pool of know good graders.

The most important grading skill is consistency. Also important are grading skills in a broad range of coin types...recognizing coin doctoring...and counterfeit detection. The guys we have are very skilled in all areas...and they are very well paid.