Wikipedia article on coin grading

logger7

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_grading



I have a question on the current law on coin grading through certification services; has the answer to questionable grading been more a practical one than expecting the legal authorities to back challenges to questionable grading with ebay putting limits on "certified" coins that are not in the four "accepted" company holders?

ricko

With no certifiable standards (grading is still an opinion), it is doubtful much legal precedent has been developed - or will likely be developed. It is still 'He said' vs. 'He said'....Cheers, RickO

logger7

Mr. Hall has said there is a high correlation among the top graders; of course there are exceptions and coins that fake out the graders. Netted down, graded conservatively, especially with sliders, certain types like 3c nickels, branch mint gold, Bust coins. Yes there is some variability or an evolving standard. But probably 80% agreement among the real top market graders.

TopographicOceans

TPG's are not a regulated industry.

Those outside the big four accepted by eBay have challenged eBay and some have won a seat at the table (Originally it was just PCGS and NGC).

TPG is really just a holder and a label with an opinion printed on it.
Only NGC and PCGS back their grades with money, so consumers should know that before getting into buying coins.

BStrauss3

Unless you commit fraud (e.g. PCI in 2010/2011) there is nothing illegal in putting anything you want on the label. Caveat Emptor.

Even then it's rarely prosecuted. The PCI case was a civil action where the judge found fraud in representing a grade by the seller as a TPG [independent] grade. No criminal case (that I'm aware of) was filed even though 100s or 1000s of people were defrauded beyond just the plaintif.

logger7

The pros at PCGS at NGC don't overgrade much because their guarantees would be invoked if they undermined their standards too much; Anacs is pretty strict, with Mike Fahey and JP Martin maintaining standards. Icg is the loosest of the four and could run into problems with their guarantee if ebay started seeing too many returns, they sell at a discount anyway, I see Great Collections stopped offering Icg certification. http://www.greatcollections.com/forms/raw_coins.pdf Grading is evolving, there need to be economic and even legal counterbalances to bad grading.