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What is the oldest age a professional grader should be allowed to work before they are retired?
Insider2
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I had some sad news from a professional coin grader today. He is in his fifties and was a loyal employee for over a decade.
While I hope to die at my desk at 100+, when is someone too old? Is there such a thing as too young to grade coins?
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I would think as long as their eyesight and their mental faculties hold out, they should be allowed to work as long as they want to.
Like any profession, I'm not sure a single age would apply to anyone. Some age more gracefully than others.
One guy/gal might start making serious errors at 50, while another might be as sharp as a tack until they are 80+.
(As for me....I'm looking to retire soon from my engineering job, and I just turned 55. Being honest with myself, I'm just not as good as I used to be. Time to leave the work to the younger minds.....)
21!
Like a fine wine, wouldn't they just get better with age(experience)?
I don’t think there should be a mandatory age. experience in u derstanding cleaning, doctoring, types of toning,etc, can’t be taught overnight...As long as the performance and will to work is their, let them work...
Along the lines of tommy type comment, I would say I am as good or better at what I do today, then 20 years ago, Howe ver, I am more focused on retirement then reaching quotas or meeting useless metrics.
Rather than grading day to day stuff, perhaps a reduced role on specialties or high dollar coins could be an option.
Well it certainly is a demanding job, sitting on one's butt all day deciding which submitters will smile and which will look for a skyscraper window that still opens.
As an employer I would be loath to publicly commit to an arbitrary number. So long as the visual acuity, desire, mental and physical capacity remain, I cannot think of an age maximum that would reasonably apply.
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No particular age. It would vary by individual. Certainly gets tougher on the eyes as you get older, but I am sure some can handle it. When work quality falls then it’s time to move on.
In the words of Toby Keith - I may not be as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.
In the words of Toby Keith - I may not be as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.
In the words of Toby Keith - I may not be as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.
More importantly, what careers are available after being a grader?
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I would take an experienced grader that is well versed in a lot of different series any day over a newbie that only grades modern day coins such as eagles, gold bullion, and the like. It seems to me that the modern coinage is more about the planchet quality and luster versus weak strike, etc, especially when they should grade in the MS 69 area.
What was the bad news?
If skills and physical attributes are present and up to standards, no reason to retire unless one is tired of the workaday routine. Cheers, RickO
Well, since the "grade" of any given coin is a fixed constant, and one simply looks at the amount of remaining detail and matches it to a photo or drawing in a book or on line, as soon as the person gets one coin WRONG! ... they should be fired.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
There should not be any age limit for a grading position if the person can perform the duties, tasks, and skills required for the job.
Once you get put out to pasture and you are at an age that is considered old for the job, it can be very difficult to find another job in the same field.
Well, if you can only grade 1 coin per day you ain't gonna make it anyway.
PS, the fact that you want to die at your desk at 100 is not how I envision my final day. I am thinking more like the dude in the Bond movie after Onatopp (Famke Janssen) was done with him.
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Probably retire or go to a different department before firing would happen IMO.
Age discrimination alive and well in other businesses why should the coin grading business be exempt?
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
The total number of coins he/she has graded divided by the number of years as a graded X pie + square root of 2019 - the % of salary increase the last 10 years less bonus the last fiscal year.....
I would think a professional grader could get a job with a major coin dealer or auction company.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Grading coins at a TPG is not like bringing in jets at LAX where they retire air traffic controllers before age 40. Now, if the old grader is caught napping and drooling on coins he is supposed to be grading maybe he should be let go.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
But it depends on who you are, what you know, and the coin market. This isn't going to happen but let's say a Rick Montgomery or a David Hall would have more luck than Joe the long-time coin grader getting a job with a major dealer. I'll bet "the Captain" had no problem getting hired when he left a TPGS.
You can probably figure it out in this coin market.
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When I graded coins I was not on the clock! I got paid per coin. Maybe that is the answer to grade consistency! That would also remove the degradation of age as a grader.
Paid by the coin? The speediest graders make the big bucks?
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
I spend 5 figures a month with our hosts. I think the grading "feedback" from them will tell me when it's time to quit...
Unless you value your reputation!
I'll approach it from my non-coin hobby: aviation. Airline pilots and air traffic controllers both have mandatory retirement ages, yet to reach them, they've gained immense experience which has incredible value. The idea behind mandatory retirement is that some may lose their abilities (how quickly they can react to situations, etc.), but many are perfectly competent well beyond retirement, and some stick around to work in training departments.
With coins, no one's life is on the line (I hope), so the effects of a bad day at work are far less dramatic. Similarly, there are more checks in the system--a coin isn't just graded by one person, but by multiple graders. It should be obvious when a specific grader is losing his ability to perform his job, and that could be at any age. That said, a loss in performance in some areas may not indicate the grader no longer has value. Suppose a grader's eyesight drops just a bit to the extent that they are missing certain marks, or can't work quickly enough to keep up with the pace of the work. They may still be a valuable resource to double-check coins of questionable authenticity or other coins where they can have more time to sit down and study the coin. Maybe they're really good at attributions, and can still do that.
In short, if there's really a problem as a grader ages, it should be easy to catch. No need for a one size fits all approach.
I think the question should probably be the other way around. At what age can someone gain enough experience to become a grader. Yes you can read the books and know the break points but it takes some time under the belt (or through the glass) to really grade well. Maybe 30 for some, maybe 40+ for others.... Kinda like being a doctor. Do you want one that's just out of school or someone with some gray (or no) hair on their head. Age doesn't make a good grader or doctor but experience usually does.
I know back in the day when I still worked my company valued experience and paid through the nose to get and keep it. As far as the top end age, I'd say in this area of specialty, as long as your mind and eyes stay reasonably sharp, you are good to go.
Age and gile beat youth and a bad haircut every time. P J O.
I can't imagine a grader getting fired because he's too old. Plenty of other possible reasons, but not his age.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Not enough info made available yet to know why they were let go.
If competent and let go because of age, hire an attorney.
Arbitrary age limits are inefficient, wasteful of knowledgeable resources and demeaning to those employed. So long as quality and productivity standards are met, it doesn't matter the computer's age or operating system.
When I was 20 I would have said 50.
Now that I’m in my 50’s I will say 80
Change in Perspective
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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......
There are other considerations, of course. Probably all of which boil down to the employee's compensation and the employer's ROI.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I worked for a company once that fired a percentage of senior staff every 5-10 years to keep average salaries low, not age discrimination, pay discrimination.
The graders actually get "graded" on how accurate they are, specifically what percentage of coins go out the door at their specific grade. If their numbers are not up to snuff, they will know it, and if bad enough, probably will be looking for alternative work.
I don't believe this has anything to do with age. The other possibility is that the business model can't support the number of graders and their pay structure. This may also come into play as management decides who to keep and who to let go.
The graders actually get "graded" on how accurate they are, specifically what percentage of coins go out the door at their specific grade. If their numbers are not up to snuff, they will know it, and if bad enough, probably will be looking for alternative work.
I don't believe this has anything to do with age. The other possibility is that the business model can't support the number of graders and their pay structure. This may also come into play as management decides who to keep and who to let go.
no age limit as long as the vision can be corrected.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
No age limit - why even this conversation. Do you care? I dont. Linking age to competence is idiotic!
Our society is so infected with ageism, age bias, and disrespect of working people especially people over 50 it’s disgusting, and a national embarrassment.
Just have a milestone birthday??
I could see the stress of having to grade so many coins having a negative effect on the rest of people's lives. Maybe transitioning some elderly workers to less hours would make some sense.
As a grader gets older and more seasoned it might be that his salary had been going up to reflect.
It could be that it got to the point that what they paid the particular grader was more than they wanted to spend, and rather than asking him/her to take a major pay cut, just asked them to leave.
Sad- but it happens in every field
Yeah, but now that you're old, we know better than to trust your ability to think through this important matter.
I think many graders leave voluntarily. I used to know someone who worked at a top tier grading service who just got sick of looking at uber grade moderns all day long, week after week, month after month.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
When they start grading bottle caps for quarters
may be a time for a chat.:)
The older the better when grading my coins.😉