When you grade MS and PR coins, do you....??

mercurydimeguy

Some people say MS60 / PR60 are baseline MS / PR grades and then based on a coin's positive attributes they grade up accordingly.

Some people say that since the only quantitative known grade is a perfect coin -- e.g. MS70 or PR70 -- so they start with the perfect grade and then, accordingly, subtract points based on a coin's attributes.

Some people rank coins by memorizing what slabbed coins looked like at assigned grades, and then assign a grade to the coin based on what they believe other comparable coins look like in the same assigned grade.

How do you do it? What's your secret sauce

By the way, can you also chime in as to why you do it a certain way in order to substantiate your approach?

/mdg.

ricko

Start with perfection.... after a while, your eye 'sees' a target grade, then, through examination, you refine it to achieve what you believe to be correct. Grading is at best subjective, at worst, voodoo. Grades arrived at by those who work at the skill are usually accurate within plus or minus 1.5 points... and that may be affected by those graders attempting to grade a coin outside their area of expertise. Cheers, RickO

mercurydimeguy

Interesting results...it looks like more than 50% of the respondents (so far) actually rank coins instead of grading them.

SilverEagles92

If I am asked to grade a coin that is obviously VF, I'm not going to start at 60.

Bruceswar

I take a look at the coin and give it a first impression grade then go from there. It is always different every time.

airplanenut

I don't think about 60 or 70. I look at a coin and have a general idea of what it should grade almost instantly. Then, I hone in on the right one. For example, if you give me a 64, I'll likely have 62-66 in my mind. 62 and 66 are almost instantly kicked out, then I figure out why the coin isn't a 65 or a 63. Voila, it's a 64.

roadrunner

I play mostly with MS coins. So after a quick look to determine overall appeal, I immediately assess the luster from MS65. That usually gets me in the ball park. Then it's time to count marks from perfection. Proof coins are the same basic process.

Too hard to start from 60. Most of the coins I see are at the 64-66 level. So instinctively I compare things to what I think 65 looks like.
I then either add or subtract from there. If something is so clean and dazzling I spend some time deciding if I can add in an extra point to MS67. Rarely do I ever see anything worthy of a 68 grade, and they cost an arm and a leg any ways.

roadrunner

GoldenEyeNumismatics

Last year at the Summer Seminar advanced grading course, they tought us to grade from 70 downwards.