Grade-flation

ARCO

I am curious to hear from the old time collectors who were around in the 70's, 60's and earlier what the grading standards were like compared to today. Did you get a lot more coin for your money....detail wise, or did the same problems of overgrading exist?

Specifically I am curious about the circulated grades up to AU. Wading through local coin shows and Ebay I am left to wonder if the ANA grading standards are an antiquated curiosity to most dealers and no longer apply and if grade-flation is a newer phenomenon?

Tyler

longtimecollector

I've been doing the "coin" thing since the early 60's......... Just a kid then really, so 90% of my collecting was from circulation...... There were still about a 50-50 mix of wheaties in circulation, and the earliest premium prices I remember for junk silver coins was 1.20 per 1.00........ Not only were Mercs an almost everday find, but Standing Quarters were still found (about 1 in 4 had a date)........ I Remember in the early 60's being able to go into the bank and request silver dollars...... and you got Morgans and Peace Dollars.. (mostly Morgans) for a buck a piece !!!!! Circulated grading has in my opinion always been pretty much the same...... I have to chuckle though when I think back at how many ads I saw in Coin World before the advent of the OLD style ANACS certs (with a picture on a certificate) of dealers advertising MS-70 + coins !!!!!!! Actually, when I think back on the "old days" of my collecting years, the same truths held true then also....... We didnt have self appointed grading gods, we had a market based on the merits of the coins, not the holders......... the real "truth" of collecting has ALWAYS been...... ITS WORTH EXACTLY WHAT SOMEONE IS WILLING TO PAY FOR IT !!!!!........ As for my own preferences, I have always liked circulated coins, always trusted my judgement, and before I spent what I consider to be "stupid" money on a coin, I read. read, read everything I could to make sure I was getting the "real McCoy"....... I think the old way was better ........ I DARE ANYONE reading this to get 7 outta 10 right when trying to differentiate between an MS69 and a MS 70........

dorkkarl

grades notwithstanding, i got a he11uva lot more for my buck in 1975 than i do today, economic inflation notwithstanding.

K S

BillJones

I've been buying coins since the early 1960s. Back then grading depended the honesty and expertise of the dealer. For circulated coins legitimate dealers were far more conservative than the grades the leading slab companies put on coins today. This was true until slabbing came into vogue in the 1980s. Prior to that when ANACS papers with the only certification, the old standards were mainly still intact. For example I have a 1909-S-VDB cent with VF-30 ANACS papers that were easily make it into an EF slab today.

Mint State grading was a lot less precise than it is today. Generally if there was any differentiation in Mint State grades at all, it was limited to Uncirculated, Choice and Gem. Most of the time mint condition material was called “BU” or “Proof” and that was it.

Back in the old days one could cherry pick higher grade Mint State and Proof coins and pay only a small premium or no premium at all. The reason was that no one cared that much if a coin was raging Gem. They were mostly concerned about the fact that it was Uncirculated and if it had good eye appeal. Ugly coins were unpopular just like they are today.

ksteelheader

ttt

JML

ITS WORTH EXACTLY WHAT SOMEONE IS WILLING TO PAY FOR IT !!!!!........

That pretty much sums it up. Call it BU, 63, Unc. or whatever. The envelope has always been pushed, whether "grade" or "price" Pay what is comfortable. Do not purchase, if it does not make sense.

UncleJoe

From my perspective grading was more conservative in the 60's & 70's.

AU was not as big a grade then. In fact many coins that are called AU today were EF (XF) then. I think with the greater use of AU the other circulated grade standards have been pushed down slightly.

I think gradeflation is more rampant today because the spread in prices from one grade to another has become very large and ridiculous in some cases IMO.

Or is this a case of "The Good Ol' Days"

Joe.