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Has PCGS influenced you as a collector?

Since you purchased a PCGS slab, submitted a coin to PCGS, or became aware of this website, in what way has the hobby changed for you?
Developing theory is what we are meant to do as academic researchers
and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor

Comments

  • So much for the better since I found this forum. So much learned here that it has definitely helped my collecting. So many knowledegable people here that a person can't help but learn and effectively help their collecting.....Ken
  • The website has had by far the greatest influence on me. I've learned more about the coin business in my interactions here than I could have ever possibly known without this place. It's been invaluable in my education.
    We are finite beings, limited in all our powers, and, hence, our conclusions are not only relative, but they should ever be held subject to correction. Positive assurance is unattainable. The dogmatist is the only one who claims to possess absolute certainty.

    First POTD 9/19/05!!

  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,732 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Night and day. Since I came here I've learned a great deal about grading coins
    and the way the grading services work and their interactions with their customers
    and users.

    Primarily though is the percieved ability to talk to more people and get input on
    the availability and desirability of modern US coins. There's so much fun in these
    discussions that I even get a lot of my news here. I spend less time studying the
    coins and much more time forgeting what I knew.

    Someday I hope to be able to use a computer and to learn how to type.
    tempus fugit extra philosophiam.
  • ManorcourtmanManorcourtman Posts: 8,191 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have discovered how weak my grading skills are!!image

    M.
  • clw54clw54 Posts: 3,815 ✭✭✭
    It's taught me to be more discerning in the coins I look at. Now I use a loupe when I look at coins at shows and see the hairlines, sandpaper scratches, all kinds of things people did to ruin an otherwise nice coin.
  • jdimmickjdimmick Posts: 9,780 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have learned a great deal more about coins, especailly areas that I was weak in.

  • without this forum, the price guide, and the set registry - it wouldn't be nearly as fun.
  • ShamikaShamika Posts: 18,785 ✭✭✭✭
    I've learned that there are a lot of coin geeks spending a lot of time at their computers. image
    Buyer and seller of vintage coin boards!
  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 24,694 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There is much good info to be gleaned from this site. There is also a good deal to be ignored. A wise collector learns how to distinguish the good from the bad.
    All glory is fleeting.
  • 1. Met some really nice folks thru this forum....both in person and "cyberly"
    2. There will always be general and violent disagreement as to which of the grading services is the better.
    3. I will NEVER buy mail order raw thru the big advertisers any more.
  • PCGS has made me a more disciplined collector. I can also grade alot better after looking at literally thousands of slabs. Easier to pick out the impaired/cleaned/whizzed etc. in other slabs.

    The CU boards have also been a super learning tool. I thought I knew alot but many here have probably forgotten more than I will ever know.

    The new found knowledge has also allowed me to judge good value by grade, series and even color!

    PCGS also influenced me to buy more "marketable" coins and stop buying coins for which there is no ready market! I only wish others could be as educated consumers!
  • I have learned a lot of information and data about collecting. As far as the slabs themselves I have also learned that there is no clear leader between NGC and PCGS, just a lot of personal preferences.

    I do find this board has much more activity (and probably a larger membership) than the NGC board so many more newbie topics get covered here.
    image

    I can think of a dozen reasons not to have high capacity magazines, but it's the reasons I haven't thought about that I need them.
  • nwcsnwcs Posts: 13,386 ✭✭✭
    It changed my collecting in many ways. It made me aware of all the tricks, encouraged me to learn to grade better, encouraged me to spend too much money, and opened my eyes to all the possibilities out there.


  • << <i>It's taught me to be more discerning in the coins I look at. >>



    Same here. What I use to think was " good " or " acceptable " ( both being fairily relative terms to an extent ) are either mediocre or poor. As well as things that I wasn`t aware of. Like I know more about Franklins from Frank and LucyBop then I knew before and would of taken a much longer time to find out on my own. Then Coinguy1 and Laura giving there time here is a great bonus ( oops I`m kissing up for a discount on their coins. imageimage ) So I`m a somewhat better collector because of these forums as oppose to not being around.
  • wingedlibertywingedliberty Posts: 4,805 ✭✭✭
    The social aspect of this forum cannot be measured. It has enhanced by hobby experience substantially and I have had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people in person that I would have otherwise not had the chance to meet, and many are very local.
  • PCGS, ANACS & NGC have all provided valuable information on my road to collecting. The main influence
    has been the people who post on this board. Without their expertise, kindness and patience this
    collector would have made some really dumb mistakes. So, to all of you - Thanks for help and guidance,

    Alex


    image


    Collecting Morgan Dollars in Alaska!
    Alex in Alaska
    Collecting Morgans in Any Grade
  • This site has taught me a lot, about the coin business and grading. I've also met some great people through this site. PCGS slabs have made me refocus and appreciate raw coins. Strange, I only look at my plastic coins briefly 2 or 3 times a year, but I look at my raw coins all the time.
    Scott M

    Everything is linear if plotted log-log with a fat magic marker
  • Like anything involving large groups of people from different backgrounds, it's a slice of life with both the good & the bad present.

    People should try to keep in mind though that when your dealing with other people that not everyone is going to agree and we should all learn to except that. But if you want to be treated well then the name calling stuff & the putdowns has no buisness on the coin forums because you don't like what someone else has to say. Corny though it might be "the golden rule" pun partly intended, should apply here especiially for those that consider themselves as adults.

    The best advice I've ever heard on these forums is "if you don't like what someone else thinks, ignore it and move on.

    Still the interaction with most dealers and collectors I've had here has been both enjoyable and educational, and the crapola stuff inbetween doesn't really matter.

    Les
    The President claims he didn't lie about taxes for those earning less then $250,000 a year with public mandated health insurance yet his own justice department has said they will use the right of the government to tax when the states appeals go to court.
  • mgoodm3mgoodm3 Posts: 17,497 ✭✭✭
    I have a taste for more expensive coins.
    coinimaging.com/my photography articles Check out the new macro lens testing section
  • It has definately added more knowledge to my coin grading skills (which still need work)
    I suppose that I have succumed to the temptation of some of the registry sets: I have
    bought some coins and focused on some PCGS coins that I would not have without the
    set registry. (Proof commemorative gold is nice to have, but I never would have bought
    a PR69DCAM $10 gold olympic without needing it to get 100% complete on the modern proof)
    Robert Getty - Lifetime project to complete the finest collection of 1872 dated coins.
  • Watching the plastic runaround over the years has provided me with a lot of entertainment over the years.
  • dorkkarldorkkarl Posts: 12,691 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Since you purchased a PCGS slab, submitted a coin to PCGS, or became aware of this website, in what way has the hobby changed for you? >>

    neither of the 1st 2 things you mentioned applies to me, ie. never submitted a coin to pcgs, never bought a pcgs slab (although many coins i've bought happened to be stuck in pcgs holders). but the 3d thing, this website, has has slight influence. for example, i'm now working on a set of ike's, which i probably wouldn't have bothered w/ prior to seeing enjoyment others got out of that series. however, "pcgs" specifically hasn't had any influence on my perception of the hobby (though my perception of the business has changed drastically - for the worse)

    K S

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