Have you tightened your grading standards in the past year?

291fifth

Tell us why.

Barndog

no. No need to. The coins haven't changed in the past year.

PerryHall

Unlike most grading services, I see no need to change my grading standards.

leothelyon

How I grade coins has change over the years but the grading standards haven't changed. It just took awhile for me to recognize what a MS67 coin looks like, at least what I'll accept for that grade. Same goes for the MS64 to MS66 grades. And yes, when a MS68 coin comes along, I'll be able to recognize that coin as well.
As long as my coins are fully struck to begin with, I have seen no problems with the grading standards, I have only got better at it, that's all.

Leo

RYK

Not my grading standards, but my standards for originality. A few weeks ago, I had some spare time and spent over an hour at the bank vault looking at my coins. There were a handful of coins that did not meet my current increasingly strict originality and overall appearance standards, and I am removing them from two near-complete sets. Some of my coins may be over-graded by one grade (while some are probably undergraded by as much), but the overall originality appearance is quite nice, and this does not bother me.

Fairlaneman

<< <i>Not my grading standards, but my standards for originality. A few weeks ago, I had some spare time and spent over an hour at the bank vault looking at my coins. There were a handful of coins that did not meet my current increasingly strict originality and overall appearance standards, and I am removing them from two near-complete sets. Some of my coins may be over-graded by one grade (while some are probably undergraded by as much), but the overall originality appearance is quite nice, and this does not bother me. >>



Eye Appeal, huh ? The DLRC "Star System" has been put to work.

Ken

Longacre

<< <i>Not my grading standards, but my standards for originality. A few weeks ago, I had some spare time and spent over an hour at the bank vault looking at my coins. There were a handful of coins that did not meet my current increasingly strict originality and overall appearance standards, and I am removing them from two near-complete sets. Some of my coins may be over-graded by one grade (while some are probably undergraded by as much), but the overall originality appearance is quite nice, and this does not bother me. >>




Very interesting post. I need to spend some time with my collection and review it from an originality standpoint. I tend to be pretty picky with purchases, but a fresh look at the whole collection at one time is probably a good thing. I know of one coin that I might be looking to dump at Baltimore. As for grading standards, mine have not changed, but I think that the TPGs, especially NGC, are pretty loose with Southern gold (or stated more correctly, looser than PCGS with Southern gold).

TwoSides2aCoin

Yes.
When I joined PCGS I knew I could grade better than the graders.
Now I look at the coins and compare them to KNOWN examples in MS67,68,69 and PF69/70 before submitting them for encapsulation. Something got tightened... and they must have been my standards cuz PCGS's didn't seem to get lowered

STONE

Unless you think that midgrade VF/EF's through G/VG's have changed their grades, NO I haven;t changed my system in 2006.

jmj3esq

Yes, I just started seriously collecting in the last 12 months. I have come a long way since last January. Thanks, in most part, to this forum.

bhartman35

I didn't really know much about grading when 2006 started (especially in my chosen series, Mercury Dimes). Kinda hard to tighten your standards when yo don't have any to begin with!

LanLord

<< <i>no. No need to. The coins haven't changed in the past year. >>

291fifth

Now my own comment.

I have tightened my own grading standards in the past year, largely as the result of:

1. Discussions on this forum regarding originality.

2. The sale of a friend's large cent collection on eBay. (I handled the sale for him.)
I advised him to send the coins to ANACS for slabbing because I thought a good number would bodybag if sent to PCGS or NGC. I was stunned by the large percentage of the coins that ended up with "details" grades, including many that I thought were perfectly good when I first viewed them. I had the chance to examine the coins very carefully and, in the end, agreed with ANACS in virtually every case. (The coins were graded in September, 2006)

Even though I have been collecting for a long time I found that I needed to look more closely at all the coins I was buying/considering.

I'll bet many of you need to be looking more closely, too.