Any value in this idea?

ElKevvo

Hi,

Is there any value in purchasing a small set of common date Morgan or Peace dollars in a variety of states that have been graded by both NCG and PCGS (just 'cause those seem to be the most common) to get a better idea of what they should look like and help in learning how to grade better? I have looked a lot of pictures on the Heritage site, books, etc. but the pictures are 2 dimensional and I am thinking real world examples might be better. But I am wondering if the variances between individual coins are too much to learn anything from a small sample size of 1 coin per grade/grading svc.

Any thoughts might be appreciated...

Thanks!

Russ

It is an idea with great value.

Russ, NCNE

vega1

Aside from the obvious cost of this idea, in general I think you may learn more about how the TPGs grade coins, than the actual grading of coins. There have been many discussions here and elsewhere about market grading vs. technical grading. This excercise may yield alot of information about the former, but its hard to say how much it would tell you about the latter.

So, depending on if you want to learn more about what a PCGS AU-58 looks like, or how to spot a technical AU-58, this excercie may have more or less value. I would suggest perhaps the ANA grading seminar instead(?)

CoinResource

Go to amosadvantage.com and search for Coin "Grading Assistant" CD.

PCGS also has a good book...

Craig

Veep

The idea has some merit, but you'd be better off going to shows and looking at as many graded coins as possible. There are too many coins that just made the grade or just missed the next grade to think that you can buy one of each grade and have a "definitive" grading set.