Requirements for graders at PCGS?

K6AZ

We've had some discussion lately regarding people very young being hired as graders at other services. This has brought up the question, what are the requirements for PCGS? Do you have a minimum number of years a candidate must have in the business to be considered?

homerunhall

I believe grading talent is not dependent on age, though the older graders certainly have more experience. Ryan Carroll of Heritage is a world class grader and I think he's 23 or 24. Michael Wriethe of our grading staff is an absolutely world class grader and I think he's 25 or so. However, note that both Ryan and Michael have dads in the coin business so they grew up looking at coins. A grader either has a great eye or he doesn't. You can train your eye over time, but only if you have some natural talent for grading to begin with.

One thing that's interesting is that most world class graders have two things in common. Most of them are near-sighted, and near-sighted people have extra magnification close up...which is why i can't have lasek surgery to correct my 20/240 vision. Also, most world class graders have fantastic memories. For example, I can play gin rummy with the cards face down and I can play backgammon without looking at the board. Ron Howard, our Director of Grading, is a nationally ranked scrabble player and has a phenominal number of words memorized.

Thanks,

David