Have you ever considered hiring a grading consultant?

291fifth

My definition of a grading consultant is as follows:

This is an individual who evaluates the coins in your collection only in regard to grading matters.

He is not an authenticator. He is not an appraiser.

He is not a dealer, he does not work for a dealer, and he does not make dealer recommendations. He is completely independent.

When evaluating your coins he does not want to know anything about how much you paid for them or who you bought them from. This information is irrelevant to his job.

He charges you a set fee for his time/expertise. The fee is not based on valuation.

Following his evaluation you are free do do as you please with your coins. You can agree with his evaluation or ignore it, but you have to pay for it regardless of what you choose to do.

He will not handle the sale of your coins or recommend anyone that you should sell them to (or auction them through.) His independence is critical.

Does anyone like this currently exist in the numismatic field?

charley

Yes. He is known as a con artist. Respectfully, John Curlis

291fifth

<< <i>Yes. He is known as a con artist. Respectfully, John Curlis >>



What an odd reply.

charley

No responsibility, no risk, no proof of accuracy, take it or leave it price, doesn't authenticate, assumed expertise... I would find it odd that someone would actually pay for this type of 'service'. With Respect, John Curlis

tjkillian

Yes, I did that with our very own Mark Feld. I took him forty of my better coins for him to evaluate. He did a wonderful job, although I had to threaten him with physical bodily harm to get him to accept payment.

PrivateCoinCollector

<< <i>

<< <i>Yes. He is known as a con artist. Respectfully, John Curlis >>



What an odd reply. >>



I agree. That was odd. I TRY to be that when I can except for the fee part. I always tell people to just let me see the coin before I know anything about it. Then I share what I think and then ask for the story. It would be great to have a person like you describe. Nice original post.

charley

The difference with Mr. Feld is there is expertise, there is responsibility, there is risk to his reputation, there is previous demonstrated proof of accuracy and you had to almost force him to take payment. None of these traits are presented as an assumption in the hypothetical question posted. Respectfully, John Curlis

ziggy29

No. If I ever wanted to tread in an area where I didn't feel competent to evaluate coins, I might, but that hasn't happened in the areas where I've tread, with proper education and experience looking at coins.

MikeInFL

Yes, I'm about to send a bunch of coins to Mark Feld to evaluate, then on to CAC to sticker.

Nic

K

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>My definition of a grading consultant is as follows:

This is an individual who evaluates the coins in your collection only in regard to grading matters.

He is not an authenticator. He is not an appraiser.

He is not a dealer, he does not work for a dealer, and he does not make dealer recommendations. He is completely independent.

When evaluating your coins he does not want to know anything about how much you paid for them or who you bought them from. This information is irrelevant to his job.

He charges you a set fee for his time/expertise. The fee is not based on valuation.

Following his evaluation you are free do do as you please with your coins. You can agree with his evaluation or ignore it, but you have to pay for it regardless of what you choose to do.

He will not handle the sale of your coins or recommend anyone that you should sell them to (or auction them through.) His independence is critical.

Does anyone like this currently exist in the numismatic field? >>



Where do you come up with this stuff? And, more importantly, why?

lcoopie

I can't wait for my grading consultants next emailing

mgoodm3

Sounds like a good job. Can I take classes at my local community college?

PerryHall

<< <i>Does anyone like this currently exist in the numismatic field? >>



Yes. They are called third party grading services.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

LindeDad

<< <i><< Does anyone like this currently exist in the numismatic field? >> >>




<< <i>Yes. They are called third party grading services. >>

coinkat

Interesting question... perhaps there are afew ways of looking at this question. One can say there is an inherent conflict between buyers and sellers of coins. Thus, there is a need for TPG which includes authentication. TPG seems to be a grading consultant with accountability. I respect the graders at PCGS and NGC EVEN THOUGH I MAY NOT ALWAYS AGREE WITH THEM. Having said that, I also admit that I am perfectly capable of incorrectly grading a coin and have made mistakes and will likely make mistakes in the future... hopefully, just fewer mistakes.

Are they right 100% of the time?

No... but then again, who is? And by the very nature of the subjective components associated with grading, there will always be opinions as to a coin's state of preservation and some opinions will be valued more than others based on experience.

Is there a market for such a service?

I think the TPG has that market cornered

Do I hire a grading consultant?

Yes... bothe PCGS and NGC get submissions from me

291fifth

<< <i>

<< <i>My definition of a grading consultant is as follows:

This is an individual who evaluates the coins in your collection only in regard to grading matters.

He is not an authenticator. He is not an appraiser.

He is not a dealer, he does not work for a dealer, and he does not make dealer recommendations. He is completely independent.

When evaluating your coins he does not want to know anything about how much you paid for them or who you bought them from. This information is irrelevant to his job.

He charges you a set fee for his time/expertise. The fee is not based on valuation.

Following his evaluation you are free do do as you please with your coins. You can agree with his evaluation or ignore it, but you have to pay for it regardless of what you choose to do.

He will not handle the sale of your coins or recommend anyone that you should sell them to (or auction them through.) His independence is critical.

Does anyone like this currently exist in the numismatic field? >>



Where do you come up with this stuff? And, more importantly, why? >>



I'm trying to liven up this forum. Would you rather have another thread about ordering modern NCLT "coins?"

My observation is that most collectors can't grade.

MrEureka

Call me naive, but I think that if I were a lightside collector looking for grading assistance from an expert collector, he would not charge me for the service.

PerryHall

<< <i>Where do you come up with this stuff? And, more importantly, why? >>



I thought he was just filling in for Longacre.

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>My observation is that most collectors can't grade. >>



Can you grade?

COALPORTER

Is it possible that a woman can be a good grader too ?

coinkat

291fifth:

I tend to agree with you that developing excellent grading skills are not high enough on the priority list for most collectors. I think that is really the bigger question and perhaps the better question is...

What are collectos doing to improve their grading skills?

Just afew suggestions worthy of consideration...

While alot of helpful information is exchanged here on the forums, one needs to look at coins in hand and learn to understand the differences in grades, detect original coins in contrast to those that have been enhanced as well as issues associated withstriking characteristics of various series that can often be misplaced as wear...

attend coin shows...

look at what you want to collect and understand the series

Swampboy

Interesting post.

I wouldn't consider paying anyone to grade my coins but I'm jealous as heck of those who Do have someone knowledgeable who will look over their collections and offer an expert opinion.

The one limiting factor in aquiring grading skills seems to be the number of coins one looks at and grades.
I was just thinking yestrerday how I probably look at less than 100 coins a month and that includes studying my own collection over and over. I look at tons of coins online, here and elsewhere. I always 'play' along with guess the grade threads but I don't consider that the same as inspecting coins in hand in terms of improving my grading skills.

Swampboy

Looks like coinkat and I were on the same wavelength there for a minute or two.

charley

MrEureka, not being charged for the service is not part of the hypothetical presented by the OP. The OP furnished specific criteria to consider for the answer. As an example, PCGS AND NGC don't fit the criteria. Both authenticate, have a priceguide(accurate or not), both consider where a coin comes from, they don't have a set fee for their time/expertise(they have various levels of service).Mr. Feld doesn't meet the criteria because he is a dealer. The hypothetical doesn't tell us to assume accountability or expertise or ability to authenticate. Answers, for the most part, have assumed these traits. The OP can always change the criteria, but unless changed, the OP is assuming Utopia exists. Respectfully, John Curlis

atom48coin

What's wrong with this?!? People have their antiques and other valuables appraised all the time. I don't see hiring a grading consultant being that far off. I would certainly consider it if I had more than widgets...and I might even consider it before selling a ton of widgets. Learning to grade yourself is ideal, but a second opinion helps, too...especially if he/she has accumulated references. My grading skills suck. I find dings on pre-slabbed PR70 coins, and then have sent in a few coins I thought where PR70 and they've come back PR69. So, I obviously could have used a second opinion. Same thing for MS coins.

Good post.

Broadstruck

garsmith

<< Have you ever considered hiring a grading consultant? >>

No

bidask

<< <i>Call me naive, but I think that if I were a lightside collector looking for grading assistance from an expert collector, he would not charge me for the service. >>

Thank you for saying that Mr Eureka.....

You see I believe there are honest dealers, who deal in coins, attribute, authenticate, and appraise and can be objective.

The belief that a person must be 'independent' is a myth.

lkenefic

291... I like your posts... thoughtful

I've considered this before and probably will pursue it in the future as my collection gets deeper (re: better). I think I'm still evolving as a collector and developing my eye.

L

IGWT

Call me naive, but I think that if I were a lightside collector looking for grading assistance from an expert collector, he would not charge me for the service.

Thank you for saying that Mr Eureka..... You see I believe there are honest dealers, who deal in coins, attribute, authenticate, and appraise and can be objective.
The belief that a person must be 'independent' is a myth.

Or, maybe he chose the word "collector" advisedly.

Broadstruck

Maybe you could just find a friend at your local Big Brother organization

BECOKA

No,

The closest I could come is hiring a couple of my most trusted dealers to give an opinion on a coin I am interested in at auction. In many cases since they know what I like they say pass and it is usually good advice. This is much less expensive than traveling to an auction to see the coin in question in person.

dorkkarl

<< <i>My definition of a grading consultant is as follows:

This is an individual who evaluates the coins in your collection only in regard to grading matters.

He is not an authenticator. He is not an appraiser.

He is not a dealer, he does not work for a dealer, and he does not make dealer recommendations. He is completely independent.

When evaluating your coins he does not want to know anything about how much you paid for them or who you bought them from. This information is irrelevant to his job.

He charges you a set fee for his time/expertise. The fee is not based on valuation.

Following his evaluation you are free do do as you please with your coins. You can agree with his evaluation or ignore it, but you have to pay for it regardless of what you choose to do.

He will not handle the sale of your coins or recommend anyone that you should sell them to (or auction them through.) His independence is critical.

Does anyone like this currently exist in the numismatic field? >>

if they do, they are probably from india

K S

relicsncoins

it's a hobby people. I'm not about to waste any money on having someone grade my coins. Most of my coins I own because I like the look of them. I could care less that one person might think it's a 63 while another might think it's a 64.

Let's extend this idea into another hobby;

Have you ever thought about having a person come over to your house and squeeze the glue out of the tube to put your model airplane together for you?