LOL! I am the fool that bought that 1900 quarter! I fired up my computer and there it was on the block....dang...I thought it was the 00 1/2! Wasn't until I hit the bid button that I realized it was the quarter. Those internet only auctions go so fast....live and learn. If someone wants it for what I paid they are welcome to it...otherwise I think I will keep it to look at as a suttle reminder!
I love the 13P and 11S quarter......and fully agree the 11S in under rated. Having acquired at least four 11D quarters (to keep the hoarders from getting them), I haven't squirreled away any 11S's.
11-S is far scarcer than 11-D (Over rated). The only11-S I presently have was bought raw from Jim Dimmick for $81 if you can believe that in Jan 2012 - I had it certified last June and came back XF40.
Many of those VF/XF Quarters I sold a few months back were bought from his same auction on eBay including the 99-S (VF35 when certified and under graded as the new owner will attest to), 1900-S (35 also under graded - solid 40), 98-S (30), 11-P (40)
<< <i>11-S is far scarcer than 11-D (Over rated). >>
The 11D is a big key in Gem 65, 66, 67. It beats out the utterly common 11S in mint state. That reputation appears to track straight back to the pools many of us swim in regardless of the evidence. My first barber purchase in '06 after a 10 year coin hiatus was a raw XF45 11S quarter. Haven't seen one as nice in a long time. Looked very close to the one shown above.
We're all born MS70. I'm about a Fine 15 right now.
Fellow Paesans: Always fun to read the post Heritage auction stories. I have also overbid a coin thinking that it was something else. I too kept it as a reminder to be careful. Personally, I stayed away from Barbers this time around even though I was interested in the 14-s half and a few others. Prices sailed past my comfort zone. I did find a special seated lib quarter but I won't post it here. (I remember a Morgan posted not too long ago and that guy took some heat!)
I'm looking for input on this coin. It is eBay item # 140940882911. An 1895-o ICG 60. I picked it up because I liked the reverse stars coming through the obverse. I'm looking for opinions on coin originality, whether or not to break it out and submit to pcgs, or any other advice. Personally, I think it was dipped and retoned. I don't see a natural skin or luster. Don't worry about hurting my feelings. If its a dog, its a dog.
A lot of sweet coins recently posted. Greg, I really liked the 14-S. Right in my favorite grade range.
Mike, great post. I agree that there is more to it than the EM Registry. At the fall Baltimore show BCCS meeting, I was surprised how many collectors there did not participate in the boards or the registry, but were hunting the tough coins.
Well said Mike -- It clearly is more than EM collections - there aren't that many of them ... And that 1912 Half was one of the better looking circulated Barber coins in that sale IMO. the 96-O XF45 was hideous IMO (Hope I am not offending someone here) .. the 1900-O AU55 had paint or some other foreign substance all over it, I could go on ... But as Lenny and others said .. I watched the coins sale well past my line in the sand .. So I let them sail right into outer space
If it were just the registry, the prices would be very low .. I would say less than 5% of the circulated grade collections are on the registry
Strange prices are so far up as pops of slabbed circulated coins have risen considerably with the rise in prices... Seems to me the amount of certified circulated coins from R1 to R4 dates have tripled in the last year
At Baltimore, I met people on the floor who collected circulated Barbers - And I wasn't pursuing random strangers business .. A few times I overheard people asking for a certain coin at a dealer's table .. On one occasion, a person who was talking to a dealer specifically said he was looking for a PCGS XF40 1904-S Half. I happened to have that exact coin with me (I brought the 20 coins I wanted imaged by Todd and another 10 coins for potential trade/sale etc. .. One of which was the 04-S XF40 Half) .. I approached him after we were a safe distance from the dealer to let him know I had the exact coin he was looking for .. I told him what I would need for the coin but that I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to sell it .. I still have his contact info and still remain undecided ..
Paesan - don't think that 95-O qtr will grade at PCGS. Nice strike and die clash, tho.
Mike - Interesting post on the Heritage auction. And great find on the fake 95-O dime. First one of those I've seen, which now that I think about it, is surprising.
Scott - Beautiful '93 half.
Today's pic, a stellar '93 quarter from the Iowa collection.
Vern l It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
Some great coins being posted and discussed. One thing about this Mega Barber Thread; anyone reading it, very quickly will get an education (about many things) and understand that pricing is ultimately based on supply and demand. To that end, many price guides available do not even come close on nice barber coins of any denomination, particularly choice pieces nice enough to make the grade at PCGS. The closest to reality seems to be auction archives, when there are records of such coins in the grade.
That '93 half and quarter are just awesome. Heck, I was just glad to find a crusty F15 '93 half at our monthly show in early March.
Great quote and philosophy......and Rich certainly puts his money where his mouth is, too. I quoted crazy 2X+ over sheet prices to him on some better date seated material at FUN, and he didn't quibble a bit, just started writing the check.
Keyman, Agree with you on the 95-O. Don't think pcgs will touch it. Just love the coin for my variety collection though. That's a great 93 quarter. Anything from the Iowa collection is a keeper for sure.
Sweet looking 04O half......I have it's twin, or at least a kissin' cousin, raw in my stash somewhere. The dealer insisted I pay full Greysheet Ask, so I went ahead and stretched
On the 00S quarter, looks like AU53 details, but subdued luster likely kept it in a 50 holder.
Vern, Two bits says 58 on the 00-S even though it doesn't appear to have 58 luster. I like the details and can barely see a rub. Love the half too!
Mike, I've been chatting with SAM about plenty of shilling going around on feeBay. I'll let him elaborate. He's smaaahter than me! As for seated libs, I do halves more than quarters. This one just struck me right and the price stayed low IMO so I'm quite pleased. Since I'm a novice in SL quarters, I'm hoping my friend Doug wouldn't mind inspecting it and giving the verdict. Waddaya say, buddy?
Craig, Love the 11-S. Was watching it all the way. Just picked up a beautiful 58. I'm sending it to my Midwest photo store for proper cataloging and I'll share the pix down the road.
One of my customers who is now retired military and just moved back home to Michigan was high bidder right up to the end. He saw that I had listed it the other day, and called and asked about it. I told him the coin was quite nice and he would like it, He has been getting into barbers apparently. But in the last second or two, he got beat out by another buyer. He was upset that he lost out, as he had asked me what I thought the coin was worth and I said about 400.00. I told him well, somebody wanted it more.
Just like this past heritage auction, there was a coin I really wanted , and bid strong about 10k more than it was worth, still lost out, somebody paid in excess of 15k more than "what I though it was worth " Blew prior auction records for that date/grade out of the water. oh well
Our hosts graded the 00-S quarter AU-55, don't have a pic of it in the slab to post as of yet. Thanks for all the guesses. The grade of the 04-O half is shown below.
I didn't win acquire anything from the recent Heritage auction, looking forward to the Central States auction next month.
Craig - Nice pick up off a date I like very much.
Mike/Jim - The 03-O in 58 brought the same as the MS62, I won a couple of weeks ago.
Paesan - Look forward to the next package, it'll be like Christmas in April.
And here's another coin I don't think I've posted here before, graded 55.
Vern l It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
<< <i> Seems as if Gold Beans are literally worth their weight in gold. >>
I pay zero attention to stickers. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nunca. Nadie.
Sorry, but I make my own assessment of eye appeal and quality (and sometimes ask a fellow collector for their opinion) but I don't get swayed by the sticker... In fact, two quarters were recently sent to me for approval - both the same date, same grade, same grading service, PCGS ...One was stickered the other wasn't... the non-stickered coin was far nicer ... and the seller agreed and wanted more money for the non-CAC coin - and I was ecstatic to oblige. I gladly chose to keep the coin without the sticker and returned the coin with the sticker. Granted the non-stickered coin probably hasn't been sent for "certification" ...
To me, one person grading the grade doesn't mean much to me. We all have bad days. We all get sick... And business must go on. Backlogs happen and pressure to keep up happens.
I have maybe 7 or 8 CAC certified coins and ironically many of those are avg. to below avg. as far as the coins I cherish the most in my collection.
Witnessing a common date half, 1908-D AU50 gold sticker sell for $700+ and the same date in AU55 (and IMO a nicer coin by far) sell for $360 30 minutes later in the recent HA is all I have to see to believe people are not buying coins, many are buying stickers; just as they buy old or rare slabs .. which is perfectly fine .. I prefer to concentrate entirely on the coin inside the slab and below the sticker. Yes - cliche as can be, if I knew another way to phrase it I would
<< <i> Seems as if Gold Beans are literally worth their weight in gold. >>
I pay zero attention to stickers. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nunca. Nadie.
Sorry, but I make my own assessment of eye appeal and quality (and sometimes ask a fellow collector for their opinion) but I don't get swayed by the sticker... In fact, two quarters were recently sent to me for approval - both the same date, same grade, same grading service, PCGS ...One was stickered the other wasn't... the non-stickered coin was far nicer ... and the seller agreed and wanted more money for the non-CAC coin - and I was ecstatic to oblige. I gladly chose to keep the coin without the sticker and returned the coin with the sticker. Granted the non-stickered coin probably hasn't been sent for "certification" ...
To me, one person grading the grade doesn't mean much to me. We all have bad days. We all get sick... And business must go on. Backlogs happen and pressure to keep up happens.
I have maybe 7 or 8 CAC certified coins and ironically many of those are avg. to below avg. as far as the coins I cherish the most in my collection.
Witnessing a common date half, 1908-D AU50 gold sticker sell for $700+ and the same date in AU55 (and IMO a nicer coin by far) sell for $360 30 minutes later in the recent HA is all I have to see to believe people are not buying coins, many are buying stickers; just as they buy old or rare slabs .. which is perfectly fine .. I prefer to concentrate entirely on the coin inside the slab and below the sticker. Yes - cliche as can be, if I knew another way to phrase it I would
I completely agree with you concerning CAC stickers. There are plenty of below average coins with stickers, just as there are many overgraded coins in slabs. Buy the COIN!
Well said Mike. And just so I am not misunderstood, "I didn't mean that anyone, you, or anyone else, was buying stickers and not coins." My attempted point, was as you stated simply and eloquently, was that the majority/the masses are if not buying stickers, at least paying attention to stickers. Clearly, many people do want the "insurance" of buying stickered coins.
A follow up point, at least in my simple way of thinking, would be if a collector is not able to differentiate a nice coin from one not so nice, and needs said coin to have a sticker to be for consideration, I believe that person to not possess the true passion that is the hobby. I believe that person is more the "investor" who is looking to profit from his "investments". By default, one who collects should have passionate interest. Passionate interest would seem to indicate a desire, time spent reading, learning, asking, mingling, watching, surfing ... And hence, the ability to make one's own decisions as to what to buy (and what not to buy). One who lets the sticker dictate his decision to buy a coin (or to pass on one), would buy default be indicative of one not as passionate, or at the very least, "green" with inexperience (pun intended)
I find it interesting that we think CAC can accurately determine whether a coin is solid for the grade or under-graded (gold stickers) when the TPGs can miss the grade by points - not tenths of a point. People are always showing huge difference between NCG and PCGS grades on the same coin OR how the same TPG rejects a coin on re-submission or decides to bump it a grade or two. The variability from day to day of the same grader; the variability among various graders and TPGs is statistically greater than what CAC claims it can measure.
What would help is if the TPGs wrote an explanation as to why a coin was graded a certain number. If people knew their 53 was not a 55 or why a 64 in not a 65 etc. If a coin has been tooled, what's wrong with explaining where the tooling is or how they know. There are lots of example where this would be desirable. It would help them to be more consistent and for us to become better educated.
I will not bash people for wanting CAC or TPGs - they are looking for consistency. CAC would not exist if we had it from the TPGs. Similarly, TPGs would not exist if we had it from coin sellers.
In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.
<< <i>I find it interesting that we think CAC can accurately determine whether a coin is solid for the grade or under-graded (gold stickers) when the TPGs can miss the grade by points - not tenths of a point. People are always showing huge difference between NCG and PCGS grades on the same coin OR how the same TPG rejects a coin on re-submission or decides to bump it a grade or two. The variability from day to day of the same grader; the variability among various graders and TPGs is statistically greater than what CAC claims it can measure.
What would help is if the TPGs wrote an explanation as to why a coin was graded a certain number. If people knew their 53 was not a 55 or why a 64 in not a 65 etc. If a coin has been tooled, what's wrong with explaining where the tooling is or how they know. There are lots of example where this would be desirable. It would help them to be more consistent and for us to become better educated.
I will not bash people for wanting CAC or TPGs - they are looking for consistency. CAC would not exist if we had it from the TPGs. Similarly, TPGs would not exist if we had it from coin sellers. >>
The only consistent grader one can rely on is themselves.
CAC is a scam, period. How hard is it for someone to take a coin that has already been professionally graded, often by the best, and say, "Yeah, I agree. Sticker it." My 7 year old can do that. Who's to say they are right? And why don't my NGC/CACs cross? Scam!!!!
Paesan.
PS, Sometimes I get fired up and come across harshly and unrefined, but I really can't blame sellers for cashing in on CAC stickers. If buyers are OK paying a premium for the bean, then beans will be in style. But collectors are running up prices on themselves needlessly IMO. I take pride in right coin at right price. I admire you guys out there who sit back and strike at the right time. I want to emulate those guys.
The current discussion reminds me why, many times, I long for the pre-plastic days of old. There were plenty of thieves but many honest folks too. Best of all you got a real good look and if you did not educate yourself by learning grading distinctions, cleaning, coloring, etc. you lost. The same holds true today. Winners look through the plastic to the coin and know what they like. Usually, such folks are almost always successful in their endeavors. The only difference today is the dollars, big time!
I really enjoy the comments on the meriits of CAC, and for that matter, on TPG. I have yet to spend a penny at CAC, and can't imagine doing so in the future. They aren't any more consistent in their opinions than the TPG's, and they aren't even providing a proof of authenticity or a protective holder. There is no substitute for looking at lots of coins and listening to and learning from veteran collectors and select experienced dealers.
A pic for today from my raw set.
Vern l It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
Comments
Mike - More nice dimes, and that 1912 half has the perfect look for a 55.
Scott - More nice coins and pics, my fav is the 1913 (notice how I always pic quarters).
Pic for tonight - A very under-rated date from the Iowa collection.
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
I love the 13P and 11S quarter......and fully agree the 11S in under rated. Having acquired at least four 11D quarters (to keep the hoarders from getting them),
I haven't squirreled away any 11S's.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Many of those VF/XF Quarters I sold a few months back were bought from his same auction on eBay including the 99-S (VF35 when certified and under graded as the new owner will attest to), 1900-S (35 also under graded - solid 40), 98-S (30), 11-P (40)
<< <i>11-S is far scarcer than 11-D (Over rated). >>
The 11D is a big key in Gem 65, 66, 67. It beats out the utterly common 11S in mint state. That reputation appears to track straight back to the pools many of us swim in regardless of the evidence. My first barber purchase in '06 after a 10 year coin hiatus was a raw XF45 11S quarter. Haven't seen one as nice in a long time. Looked very close to the one shown above.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
I'm looking for input on this coin. It is eBay item # 140940882911.
An 1895-o ICG 60. I picked it up because I liked the reverse stars coming through the obverse. I'm looking for opinions on coin originality, whether or not to break it out and submit to pcgs, or any other advice. Personally, I think it was dipped and retoned. I don't see a natural skin or luster. Don't worry about hurting my feelings. If its a dog, its a dog.
Paesan
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
I have seen waves of Barber collectors come and go,
like the tides on the beach.
I could generalize it and substitute 'forum members' in here also - but I guess that would be more like 'tidal waves'.....
Mike, great post. I agree that there is more to it than the EM Registry. At the fall Baltimore show BCCS meeting, I was surprised how many collectors there did not participate in the boards or the registry, but were hunting the tough coins.
the 96-O XF45 was hideous IMO (Hope I am not offending someone here) .. the 1900-O AU55 had paint or some other foreign substance all over it, I could go on ... But as Lenny and others said .. I watched the coins sale well past my line in the sand .. So I let them sail right into outer space
If it were just the registry, the prices would be very low .. I would say less than 5% of the circulated grade collections are on the registry
Strange prices are so far up as pops of slabbed circulated coins have risen considerably with the rise in prices... Seems to me the amount of certified circulated coins from R1 to R4 dates have tripled in the last year
At Baltimore, I met people on the floor who collected circulated Barbers - And I wasn't pursuing random strangers business .. A few times I overheard people asking for a certain coin at a dealer's table .. On one occasion, a person who was talking to a dealer specifically said he was looking for a PCGS XF40 1904-S Half. I happened to have that exact coin with me (I brought the 20 coins I wanted imaged by Todd and another 10 coins for potential trade/sale etc. .. One of which was the 04-S XF40 Half) .. I approached him after we were a safe distance from the dealer to let him know I had the exact coin he was looking for .. I told him what I would need for the coin but that I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to sell it .. I still have his contact info and still remain undecided
Mike...not sure which 1/2 but I got a couple I wanted!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Mike - Interesting post on the Heritage auction. And great find on the fake 95-O dime. First one of those I've seen, which now that I think about it, is surprising.
Scott - Beautiful '93 half.
Today's pic, a stellar '93 quarter from the Iowa collection.
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
I just found out I got quoted by Rich Uhrich on his website (with my permission) relative to this issue about collectors/buyers and price lists: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs132/1102192543953/archive/1112848028473.html
Yes Mike - similar looking 93 Halves
Heck, I was just glad to find a crusty F15 '93 half at our monthly show in early March.
Great quote and philosophy......and Rich certainly puts his money where his mouth is, too. I quoted crazy 2X+ over sheet prices to him on some better date seated material at FUN, and he didn't quibble a bit, just started writing the check.
Keyman, Agree with you on the 95-O. Don't think pcgs will touch it. Just love the coin for my variety collection though.
That's a great 93 quarter. Anything from the Iowa collection is a keeper for sure.
Mike, thanks for the kind words.
Go Heat!!!
Paesan
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Pic for today, something I don't recall posting here.
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
The dealer insisted I pay full Greysheet Ask, so I went ahead and stretched
On the 00S quarter, looks like AU53 details, but subdued luster likely kept it in a 50 holder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
See attached. ...need to get it in hand for a final "ruling"
__________________
Craig
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Mike, I've been chatting with SAM about plenty of shilling going around on feeBay. I'll let him elaborate. He's smaaahter than me!
As for seated libs, I do halves more than quarters. This one just struck me right and the price stayed low IMO so I'm quite pleased. Since I'm a novice in SL quarters, I'm hoping my friend Doug wouldn't mind inspecting it and giving the verdict. Waddaya say, buddy?
Craig, Love the 11-S. Was watching it all the way. Just picked up a beautiful 58. I'm sending it to my Midwest photo store for proper cataloging and I'll share the pix down the road.
Paesan
One of my customers who is now retired military and just moved back home to Michigan was high bidder right up to the end. He saw that I had listed it the other day, and called and asked about it. I told him the coin was quite nice and he would like it, He has been getting into barbers apparently. But in the last second or two, he got beat out by another buyer. He was upset that he lost out, as he had asked me what I thought the coin was worth and I said about 400.00. I told him well, somebody wanted it more.
Just like this past heritage auction, there was a coin I really wanted , and bid strong about 10k more than it was worth, still lost out, somebody paid in excess of 15k more than "what I though it was worth " Blew prior auction records for that date/grade out of the water. oh well
JIM
I didn't win acquire anything from the recent Heritage auction, looking forward to the Central States auction next month.
Craig - Nice pick up off a date I like very much.
Mike/Jim - The 03-O in 58 brought the same as the MS62, I won a couple of weeks ago.
Paesan - Look forward to the next package, it'll be like Christmas in April.
And here's another coin I don't think I've posted here before, graded 55.
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
I look forward to seeing your goodies April 7th when Vern and I get together!
Doug
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i> Seems as if Gold Beans are literally worth their weight in gold. >>
I pay zero attention to stickers. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nunca. Nadie.
Sorry, but I make my own assessment of eye appeal and quality (and sometimes ask a fellow collector for their opinion) but I don't get swayed by the sticker... In fact, two quarters were recently sent to me for approval - both the same date, same grade, same grading service, PCGS ...One was stickered the other wasn't... the non-stickered coin was far nicer ... and the seller agreed and wanted more money for the non-CAC coin - and I was ecstatic to oblige. I gladly chose to keep the coin without the sticker and returned the coin with the sticker. Granted the non-stickered coin probably hasn't been sent for "certification" ...
To me, one person grading the grade doesn't mean much to me. We all have bad days. We all get sick... And business must go on. Backlogs happen and pressure to keep up happens.
I have maybe 7 or 8 CAC certified coins and ironically many of those are avg. to below avg. as far as the coins I cherish the most in my collection.
Witnessing a common date half, 1908-D AU50 gold sticker sell for $700+ and the same date in AU55 (and IMO a nicer coin by far) sell for $360 30 minutes later in the recent HA is all I have to see to believe people are not buying coins, many are buying stickers; just as they buy old or rare slabs .. which is perfectly fine .. I prefer to concentrate entirely on the coin inside the slab and below the sticker. Yes - cliche as can be, if I knew another way to phrase it I would
Just my opinion - let the hating begin.
<< <i>
<< <i> Seems as if Gold Beans are literally worth their weight in gold. >>
I pay zero attention to stickers. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nunca. Nadie.
Sorry, but I make my own assessment of eye appeal and quality (and sometimes ask a fellow collector for their opinion) but I don't get swayed by the sticker... In fact, two quarters were recently sent to me for approval - both the same date, same grade, same grading service, PCGS ...One was stickered the other wasn't... the non-stickered coin was far nicer ... and the seller agreed and wanted more money for the non-CAC coin - and I was ecstatic to oblige. I gladly chose to keep the coin without the sticker and returned the coin with the sticker. Granted the non-stickered coin probably hasn't been sent for "certification" ...
To me, one person grading the grade doesn't mean much to me. We all have bad days. We all get sick... And business must go on. Backlogs happen and pressure to keep up happens.
I have maybe 7 or 8 CAC certified coins and ironically many of those are avg. to below avg. as far as the coins I cherish the most in my collection.
Witnessing a common date half, 1908-D AU50 gold sticker sell for $700+ and the same date in AU55 (and IMO a nicer coin by far) sell for $360 30 minutes later in the recent HA is all I have to see to believe people are not buying coins, many are buying stickers; just as they buy old or rare slabs .. which is perfectly fine .. I prefer to concentrate entirely on the coin inside the slab and below the sticker. Yes - cliche as can be, if I knew another way to phrase it I would
Just my opinion - let the hating begin. >>
I completely agree with you concerning CAC stickers. There are plenty of below average coins with stickers, just as there are many overgraded coins in slabs. Buy the COIN!
Doug
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
A follow up point, at least in my simple way of thinking, would be if a collector is not able to differentiate a nice coin from one not so nice, and needs said coin to have a sticker to be for consideration, I believe that person to not possess the true passion that is the hobby. I believe that person is more the "investor" who is looking to profit from his "investments". By default, one who collects should have passionate interest. Passionate interest would seem to indicate a desire, time spent reading, learning, asking, mingling, watching, surfing ... And hence, the ability to make one's own decisions as to what to buy (and what not to buy). One who lets the sticker dictate his decision to buy a coin (or to pass on one), would buy default be indicative of one not as passionate, or at the very least, "green" with inexperience (pun intended)
What would help is if the TPGs wrote an explanation as to why a coin was graded a certain number. If people knew their 53 was not a 55 or why a 64 in not a 65 etc. If a coin has been tooled, what's wrong with explaining where the tooling is or how they know. There are lots of example where this would be desirable. It would help them to be more consistent and for us to become better educated.
I will not bash people for wanting CAC or TPGs - they are looking for consistency. CAC would not exist if we had it from the TPGs. Similarly, TPGs would not exist if we had it from coin sellers.
<< <i>I find it interesting that we think CAC can accurately determine whether a coin is solid for the grade or under-graded (gold stickers) when the TPGs can miss the grade by points - not tenths of a point. People are always showing huge difference between NCG and PCGS grades on the same coin OR how the same TPG rejects a coin on re-submission or decides to bump it a grade or two. The variability from day to day of the same grader; the variability among various graders and TPGs is statistically greater than what CAC claims it can measure.
What would help is if the TPGs wrote an explanation as to why a coin was graded a certain number. If people knew their 53 was not a 55 or why a 64 in not a 65 etc. If a coin has been tooled, what's wrong with explaining where the tooling is or how they know. There are lots of example where this would be desirable. It would help them to be more consistent and for us to become better educated.
I will not bash people for wanting CAC or TPGs - they are looking for consistency. CAC would not exist if we had it from the TPGs. Similarly, TPGs would not exist if we had it from coin sellers. >>
The only consistent grader one can rely on is themselves.
Paesan.
PS, Sometimes I get fired up and come across harshly and unrefined, but I really can't blame sellers for cashing in on CAC stickers. If buyers are OK paying a premium for the bean, then beans will be in style. But collectors are running up prices on themselves needlessly IMO. I take pride in right coin at right price. I admire you guys out there who sit back and strike at the right time. I want to emulate those guys.
The current discussion reminds me why, many times, I long for the pre-plastic days of old. There were plenty of thieves but many honest folks too. Best of all you got a real good look and if you did not educate yourself by learning grading distinctions, cleaning, coloring, etc. you lost. The same holds true today. Winners look through the plastic to the coin and know what they like. Usually, such folks are almost always successful in their endeavors. The only difference today is the dollars, big time!
_________
Craig
A pic for today from my raw set.
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.