This is exactly the kind of thread that prompted me to write my "confused???" thread.
As a newbie collector I read these threads and don't know wear and how i should buy coins.
One of the best responces I got, the point was made. Use the grade given as a tool ONLY. And make up your own mind. which makes much sence to me.
But it doesn't change the fact that 1 or 2 points can mean 1,000s in price difference. And to a newbie it can be very confusing. Its enough to make me happy I can't deal in $1,000.00 coins.(as much as I would like be able to.) Or that somethings are completely subjective. Like toning. (eye appeal) I can recall many pictures of coins, that might be almost perfect but. I felt to be butt ugly Toning wise. And some OMG SO NICE, a rainbow toned merc. dime comes to mind. (From a few months ago) I don't remember whos it was. (not mine, shucks)
But anyway, if I'm looking at a slabbed coin I'll use the grade as a tool. And keep in mind that tools get dull. pz
(Old man) Look I had a lovely supper, and all I said to my wife was, “That piece of halibut was good enough for Jehovah”.
(Priest) BLASPHEMY he said it again, did you hear him?
Actually the correct model for subjective economic behaviors/outcomes is a lognormal/log-geometric distribution. That means the right or "overgraded" part of the curve will have fewer coins than the "left or "undergraded" area. Because of this, more coins have to be resubmitted which are under the mean expected value--which of course is exactly the case, with all the resubmissions. The curve never becomes a symetrical "Bell" curve, because the mean, median and mode shift to higher values as some coins are overgraded.
So the idea of 5%-5% over/under isn't the normal curve for an economically censored distribution--more like say 15%-3%(high), it's just the 3% overgrades seem so much worse than the 15% undergrades that may be viewed as "correct" --but aren't.
The important result is an "average" shifts to a higher value over time, and so ironically the quality of "average" goes DOWN.
Comments
As a newbie collector I read these threads and don't know wear and how i should buy coins.
One of the best responces I got, the point was made. Use the grade given as a tool ONLY. And make up your own mind. which makes much sence to me.
But it doesn't change the fact that 1 or 2 points can mean 1,000s in price difference. And to a newbie it can be very confusing. Its enough to make me happy I can't deal in $1,000.00 coins.(as much as I would like be able to.) Or that somethings are completely subjective. Like toning. (eye appeal) I can recall many pictures of coins, that might be almost perfect but. I felt to be butt ugly Toning wise. And some OMG SO NICE, a rainbow toned merc. dime comes to mind. (From a few months ago) I don't remember whos it was. (not mine, shucks)
But anyway, if I'm looking at a slabbed coin I'll use the grade as a tool. And keep in mind that tools get dull.
pz
(Priest) BLASPHEMY he said it again, did you hear him?
So the idea of 5%-5% over/under isn't the normal curve for an economically censored distribution--more like say 15%-3%(high), it's just the 3% overgrades seem so much worse than the 15% undergrades that may be viewed as "correct" --but aren't.
The important result is an "average" shifts to a higher value over time, and so ironically the quality of "average" goes DOWN.