Should I play the population reports to get the highest grade on my coins?

I have often wondered whether it would be in my best interest to be a member of both NGC?s Collectors Society and PCGS?s Collectors Club. With submission privileges for both services, I wonder if I could use the large samplings in both population reports to predict which service might give the highest grade on a particular coin. Case in point, I have written in the past of the tendency of PCGS to grade Queen Wilhelmina 10 Gulden coins higher than NGC. However, there is one point I did not mention, and its why there are so many more of these coins graded with PCGS than NGC? Could it be in part that people recognize which service will give the higher grade and send their coins there? With the intense competition for grading between NGC and PCGS there must be a constant pressure on both to grade coins higher.

Naturally, the coin buying public, me included, wants the highest grade possible on my submissions because one grade point could mean hundreds or even thousands more dollars on the open market. Both grading services know this, and it increases the pressure on them to grade coins less conservatively. The danger comes when the loosening of grading standards gets to a point where the market looses confidence in the grading services and prices begin to plummet accordingly. This is where grading services such as NTC have graded coins higher to compete with NGC and PCGS, but later failed because the buying public recognized that their coins were over graded. Just As dross is skimmed off the top in refining gold, so too are third party graders skimmed from the market place leaving pure gold in its place.

This disparity between grading services has given rise to second opinion services like CAC. While I do not currently own a CAC coin, their effect on the market keeps the existing services honest. This in turn keeps confidence high in slabbed coins throughout the collecting market place.

All grading services, CAC included, are subject to the human element of a professional grader. As in all human ventures, mistakes are made and a second opinion helps to minimize this factor. However, with all this, there will always be disparities. If I were a dealer, I would be sending my raw coins to the service I thought would grade me the highest, because after all it is my livelihood on the line. Nevertheless, as a collector with most of my raw coins certified, I have thrown my lot with NGC. With that, I will not be crossing over either NGC or PCGS slabs for a higher grade. All other slabs though are fair game. Thanks NGC for the inclusive registry that allows PCGS slabs. This is one of the primary reasons I have thrown my lot with you. Sorry Society, no pictures this time, but as always, happy collecting.

Gary