In your opinion, are collectors much better at self grading now because
gtstang
Posts: 1,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
Of the capability to view thousands of coins in hi res online?
I think yes.
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Comments
Imo a little yes, and a lot no. So many images tweaked out then a lot of people expect it to look like that when in reality they should learn in person what is reality. Sometimes we can nail a coin by images or. Come close for fun. Some people believe they are correct all the time.
Some nail it b,y images as they go by what the poster usually buys. You feel comfortable buying 5 figure coins from the Internet raw. Or for that matter even in person? Not you the Op but a heck of a lot of people imagine they can
Almost always you can not see surfaces, hairlines etc. I have seen folks go nuts over a coin with culla and give high fives. When I have actually seen it it in person and it barked with secondary toning and full of hairlines. Had I said something everybody would say Iam full of crap because they cannot see all that from the tweaked out image. But Insay folks do what hey want they are gonna do it anyway.
From what I have seen on this forum ... no. There is a core of veterans that are very good at grading but a much larger group remain far too liberal and/or unable to spot problems.
I don't think they help a lot of times. Some photos are so large and enable micrograding due to tiny tics standing out like sore thumbs. Luster is often difficult to judge from photos as well so all you can really tell from photos is strike and surfaces so you often have to interpret luster.
Trueviews I find especially difficult to estimate grades.
No because there are still as many as ever that do not take the time to learn. There are lots of resources online, however you can only learn so much by looking at pics on the internet. Reading a good old fashioned book is also very helpful and that information is not always on the internet. Real learning comes with hands on experience, and this is one of the reasons that I am a big advocate of telling collectors, especially new collectors to get out and go to the shows that are near them if they have the ability.
There is always a question of what you have seen no matter how many images you see. Coin in hand is the only true way to evaluate a coin. Returns are a very good equalizer. Buying a coin that has a cost over $500.00 going by a image is foolish IMO.
Ken
No, unless you mean being able to read the TPG grade on the slab, then yes.
My thinking on this topic was seeing thousands of coins that have been actually graded by a top grading service and then comparing what you have seen to purchasing raw based on the knowledge the collector has hopefully gained.
I have bought from dealer sites where I was completely surprised based on the images, so knowing how favorite dealers photograph is very important.
I think there are many who think they are better graders because of high resolution on line images
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I just let CAC tell me what is good.
Right?????
I think people are getting better at grading images.... perhaps. Unless you photograph coins, you probably don't have an intuitive understanding of how easy it is to accentuate or hide flaws. I can make some MS63s look like 68s and some 68s look like 63s without too much trouble.
They might be better at grading themselves, but they are, overall, terrible at grading US coins.
I would think so but as one who took the ANA grading course at seminar in Cali in 1988 some professional instruction helps. I would suggest a grading set for ones series of interest. PCGS online grading site excellent. I am still no grading expert and more inclined be swayed from bright and shiny than technical aspects I should be looking at. My current eBay searches are PCGS / CAC.
When I see some the "guess the grade" estimates, I wish that some people would buy a good grading guide and study it. That's what I did when I was in high school and college. I went from Brown and Dunn to "Photegrade" and looked at thousands of coins. Grading guide + looking at as many peices as possible is the way to learn to grade.
There is a world of difference between grading from pictures and grading in hand.... and both are opinions that may or may not be shared by others... Cheers, RickO
I believe there are far more similarities than differences between buying a coin from an image and from buying a coin from an old Coin World ad. In both cases, you are buying a coin sight unseen. Caveat emptor.
Two or three years ago, I got a sight unseen offer to buy one of my coins. It was a properly graded MS 66 coin and was attractive for the grade. The person who made the offer just saw the images from the auction company (when I bought the coin), and they did not show the grade limiting small tick mark above and below the eye which limited the grade to MS 66.
The person who made the offer didn't see these grade limiting contact marks and thought the coin had a shot at getting into an MS 67 holder, which it clearly did not. I got $720 for a $300 coin. The buyer was SOL, and I hope learned a lesson.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
A little better in terms of how a given coin may or may not fit into the grading curve. With superior lighting, tilting the coin at angles, working with images and definitions/descriptions on where the grading lines get drawn you can get close. But you will never be as good as the real experts.
It is hard to rotate the iPad in hand to see luster and minor hairlines.
Great point.
I am guessing when I see an image; judging the quality of the image more than the quality of the coin.
I think I can "read" images fairly well and then estimate coin's quality.
But nothing can replace rotating the coin and examining it in hand.
There is much more to look at now. That is obvious. And every one above has valid reasons why grading from images is flawed.
I also agree with that, but what I like today is the chance to see many more specimens of a certain date and mintmark.
I don't go overboard with trying to guess color or luster on the coins, though.
What I do is judge the coin on its' merit regarding strike first, then try to sort out all the plus and minus that follows.
Pete