PCGS "HALL OF FAME GRADING TEAM"

wondercoin

I had the pleasure of having dinner last night with David Hall, the lovely Carol from PCGS and a host of other other icons in the world of Numismatics today. I had the chance to chat with David for the better part of an hour and I asked him who he thought his "Hall Of Fame" Grading Team (MY TERM ENTIRELY FOR WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET AT) would consist of. David pointed out that scores and scores of graders have come through there since he opened his doors in the mid- 1980's, but immediately mentioned Ron Howard and Miles Standish as "Hall of Fame" members (AGAIN, MY TERM). Both these guys currently work for PCGS and David basically said (AS I INTERPRETED IT) they were AMONG the best in the business and (A FEW OF) the best the business ever saw. I know he was being sincere in his remarks and it was refreshing to know these guys were still at PCGS after roughly 15+ years each of service. David mentioned a couple other graders as (AMONG) the best graders to have worked at PCGS including Mark Salzberg. It was neat hearing about the various graders and how PCGS determined the consistency among its very best graders.

Who is the best coin grader you have ever met?

Wondercoin

KoinKollector

I wonder if he omitted Rick Montgomery on accident??

DenverCoin

I was about to have dinner last night with David hall, the lovely Carol from PCGS, and a host of other icons in the world of Numismatics today, when I remembered…

I didn’t receive MY invitation.

MacCoin

Wondercoin you lucky guy! I'ld love to have homerunhall for dinner. Dave if you're ever in Central Maine drop me a line I take you out for some nice lobsters

MadMarty

Didn't everyone get this invitation:
PCGS Set Registry Reception!

As a valued member of the PCGS Set Registry program you and
a guest are invited to attend a PCGS Set Registry Reception
at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

David Hall, Collectors Universe President, and one of the
founders of the Professional Coin Grading Service, will give
a discussion on how the Set Registry concept came about.
Meet other Set Registrants and members of the PCGS staff.
Refreshments served.

Just wish I could go to Fla to attend!!!

Schmitz7

pmh1nic

Skip Fazzari is probably the best grader/authenticator I've ever met. Most recently he was with NGC but I think he also worked for PCGS at one time.

pontiacinf

lol Denver


mitch glad ya had fun. I hope the PCGS clan will be at the NYINC as I met David at the ANA Worlds fair of money but was too chicken to talk to him. He did pose for a pic though.

and to those who keep asking, theres only one copy and im not scanning it.

so there

wondercoin

"Didn't everyone get this invitation:
PCGS Set Registry Reception!"

Nope - no Registry sets = no invitation! I'll try to "crash" that party. Wondercoin

coinguy1

Mitch,

I wonder - if Miles were currently employed at NGC and Rick were still at PCGS, would David still have mentioned Miles (and not Rick) as being part of the dream team, or would it have been the other way around? Actually, that was a rhetorical question.

LucyBop

<< <i>Who is the best coin grader you have ever met? >>



Why that would have to be, me, myself and I! Nobody, and I mean nobody, call pull the wool over the eyes of a Gambini!


I see it all with the Frankies....

wondercoin

Mark: Good question You know I have personally admired Rick's grading talents for years and Rick was always helpful in showing a collector or dealer where the "mistakes" were being made in an effort to better ones ability. I am confident Rick would fit in to any "Hall of Fame team".

By the way Mark, who is the best coin grader you have ever come across in your career? Wondercoin

braddick

Some of the most talented graders in the business now are employed by PCGS and NGC.

STEWARTBLAYNUMIS

David Hall has previously stated Rick Montgomery is the BEST grader in the world.(when he was president of PCGS) IMO he is certainly one of the best authenticators,expert on counterfeiting and grader who can figure out how a coin has been altered.

Mitch - How did the grades come out ? How many dealer/collectors went on the invitational.Does David Hall have another black eye?

I would like to state that Ken Krah at NGC is one of the best grader/authenticators in the business.Coinguy 1 can comment more than I about Ken.

Stewart

Johnscoin

I would probably argue that J.P. Martin of ICG is best authenticator. He really knows his stuff

coinguy1

Mitch, Stewart,

I think I'll take a pass on naming best graders, other than to say that a few other names (of people not currently at NGC or PCGS) that quickly come to mind, are John Albanese, Jim Halperin and Jeff Isaac.

After all, how is "best grader" determined? If they agree with me more often than others, does that make them the best? That wouldn't be a fair or correct standard. And, how high they score/compare against the final (correct or incorrect) grade assigned by PCGS or NGC doesn't tell me that much either.

wondercoin

Stewart: IMHO, grading was "tight". Virtually no copper "worked" in the ultimate grade. On a personal front, I thought PCGS was also a bit tough on some Wash quarters as well. Many coins were submitted looking for that ultimate MS68 grade -I am not aware of a single coin that worked.

There were a dozen or so who physically attended this week. It was great that David Hall took the time to come out for dinner last night and address questions concerning PCGS (as well as my silly question mentioned here ) . If memory serves me right, this was the 7th Invitational this year (the first since Rick departed PCGS) and also the first time David attended as well. David's face looked just fine Wondercoin

coinguy1

Mitch, you said "David's face looked just fine"

I'm curious, how did the rest of him look? Sounds to me, like there might have been something about the rest of him you didn't think looked so good but that you wanted to put a positive spin on things.

STEWARTBLAYNUMIS

Mark,

Are you REALLY a stand up comedian moonlighting as a coin guy?

stewart

wondercoin

"I'm curious, how did the rest of him look?"

Mark: Honestly, I prefer blondes - but he looked pretty darn good. Wondercoin

Clankeye

Stewart--

I attended Mark's sole attempt at doing standup comedy. It was in a dive called Louie's House of Gags in the early 80's. Mark's coin humor did not fly with the "civilian population" and the evening ended in tears, jeers, and bitter recriminations.

I myself had a great time heckling him unmercifully.

Sincerely,
Clankeye

homerunhall

Mitch's comments are taken out of context and are extremely inaccurate and deceptive...David

Russ

Interesting...

Russ, NCNE

tradedollarnut

David: which is deceptive....the part about preferring blondes or the part about grading?

wondercoin

It is always possible the "context" was different, as the title of this thread was entirely my idea. I also did confirm with another dealer with respect to the names I mentioned in the post, but, while I stand by the post, I also recognize the notion of a "grading dream team" or "Hall of Fame" may be a somewhat "deceptive" concept as one that might exclude people that should not be excluded. So, again, to be clear, the notion of a Hall of Fame grading team was entirely my idea and not David's. I have edited the original thread a bit to address this issue.

Wondercoin.