How much would it bother you if . . .

Singapore

A coin in a PCGS MS63 holder was last sold in a 1995 auction raw and was described as an XF45?

A PCGS MS64 pop-top 'finest known', was sold in 1997 raw as 'one of the finest known' but called AU?

A PCGS AU53 pop-top coin was sold in 2001 raw as an XF?

A PCGS MS66 coin was last sold in 1997 as 'Uncirculated' and brought MS60-ish money?

I could go on but you get the idea. These are all true, by the way, and all have been on the market in the last few months. I traced them in old catalogs and thats what I found.

So how much would it bother you if you owned one or more and paid a price commensurate with the current PCGS grade?

TomB

If it were a typical business strike or proof coin it would bother me very much if I were to own the coin. However, I doubt very much that I would buy any of those coins in PCGS holders. On the other hand, if it were a coin where the method of manufacture or release were unknown and investigative work uncovered that the coin was in a better state of preservation than previously presumed then it would not be so bad. Either way, I doubt I would own such a specimen. Could you please share what coins they are either in the thread or via a PM? Thanks.

Russ

Are you talking about listings from Stacks?

Russ, NCNE

Baley

the coin is what it is. the grade is an opinion. who can say whether it was undergraded before or is overgraded now? If i paid a fair price for what I got why would it bother me?

dan1ecu

It wouldn’t bother me as long as I paid a reasonable amount based on the price guides. I’d be a bit envious of the guy that had it slabbed and was therefore able to make a big profit.

Singapore

Without naming the actual coins, I can tell you they are all colonials / early copper from Bowers.

Its not new news that PCGS grades this stuff more liberally than the auction houses did historically - and that its been a game to see how much you can make on the float between the traditional 'real' grade and the PCGS grade.

I agree with dan1ecu - someone (not even necessarily a very shrewed or knowledgeable person) bought this stuff raw, invested a few bucks in some grading fees and suddenly is offering coins 'worth' multiples of his outlay. Of course, this presumes he can find a buyer who believes these coins are now graded accurately and worth the money suggested by the PCGS grade.

In one case, one of these coins traded at auction 4 times in a several year period each time sold raw and called AU and bringing then current AU money. Now its a PCGS 64 and being offered for a huge premium.

Not a good thing for anybody other than the dealer who had it slabbed, and PCGS who made a few bucks on the fees.