Coinbuf

No I would not say that, back when the TPG's first setup operations MS65 was a very high grade, I wasn't into slabbed coins then but as I've been told getting an MS67 was almost unheard of.   Today MS67 is a very high grade but it is awarded far more frequently than back in the late 80's early 90's when the TPG's were just starting out.   And over the past 5ish years I have seen many coins that have been cracked and regraded 2 to even 4 MS grades higher than what the original grade was.   I'm not saying those new grades are incorrect or the old grades were correct, but we have seen high profile coins jumping grades with what to me is an alarming frequency.    The photo archives on the PCGS system were basically eliminated overnight several years ago because high profile customers of big dealers ((cough) like Legend (cough)) were complaining to Laura about seeing posts on the PCGS forum that involved regrades of their coins.
Gradeflation has touched every part of the grading scale, we are seeing coins that in the past would max out at VF30 now being graded as XF, even AU at times.   And yes the line between AU and MS has been blurred out of existence, market grading is not about using grading standards it is about pricing coins.   Today a grader looks at a coin and says what should this sell for, not what does this grade.   There is a reason why PCGS did away with its grading sets as grading sets are not needed under market grading, its noteworthy that CACG has grading sets that they expect their graders to use as a reference when grading.   Remember that most graders used to be dealers, so it stands to reason that if you put the foxes in the hen house the eggs may be tampered with.

The seller is known to doctor, alter the ebay photos to portray problem coins as better than they are, look at the background the coin is sitting on, way over saturated.   How many of this sellers raw coins that you have purchased in the past have you had graded by NGC or PCGS?   How did the TPG's grades line up with the price you paid?   I would love to see one of this sellers coins both with the ebay auction photos and the photos from NGC or PCGS, please post one or a few if you have them.
I could not even begin to guess the coin's worth from photos that I know are heavily altered, I would need real unaltered photos to make that determination.

There have always been and are today sellers that attempt to deceive buyers that may not be informed; be it coins or vacum cleaners.   TPG's have helped to level the playing field at first.  But for whatever the reason TPG grading has changed from when they started.  CACG  is simply resetting back to the earlier standards.   So I see is as CACG is a return to the consistency that TPG'S had at inception.   Now will the marketplace like that is the question. 

There have always been and are today sellers that attempt to deceive buyers that may not be informed; be it coins or vacum cleaners.   TPG's have helped to level the playing field at first.  But for whatever the reason TPG grading has changed from when they started.  CACG  is simply resetting back to the earlier standards.   So I see is as CACG is a return to the consistency that TPG'S had at inception.   Now will the marketplace like that is the question. 

Die cracks are a fun find and have developed a somewhat cult like following in the past few years during and after covid.   But that following is more interested in finding them and then selling not so much in buying them, so it's really a one way market and the buying group is a very small population of collectors which keeps the prices to just a bit over face value.

Gerry Fortin has a nice mumps example listed in his inventory/daily blog.

This quote was from a discussion on the PCGS forum back in Nov of 2021, they were going by the name Canyon City Coins then.   From that discussion:
"Beautiful raw coins - they have a really cool way of taking pictures and have a seemingly unlimited supply of cool silver dollars and other coins - even key dates!
However, I have now received another coin back from grading and once again - came back cleaned...!!
Even their 1921 peace dollars - which are fetching big bucks - have had 2 come back cleaned...! On one coin I saw what I thought were die polishing lines but I guess were hairlines..."
And here we can see just how much they juice the photos, first the PCGS TV then the CC or Denver coin photo, it not just the raw coins they manipulate the images of.
 

See my post below yours.  

I doubt it's fake, just that the photos are juiced and taken in a way to hide any flaws or issues. 

That’s the guy. The fields on his Morgan’s always look almost black, with that orange streak through them.

I had to click the links several times to see the coin, whose photos were still very small.
    I would be very reluctant to bid on this coin, which superficially appears to be a cameo proof 1878 Liberty Seated quarter, sight-unseen and uncertified on the basis of these photos.  It looks too good to be true, and I am puzzled as to why a legitimate coin dealer would offer such a coin uncertified nowadays. It could be a counterfeit or alteration. Does this seller have a return privilege that would extend to the amount of time it would take to have the coin certified?  

Yes Denver Coins, aka (or may still be used) Canyon City Coins, and I think there may have been another name this seller has used in the past on ebay.

The seller is known to doctor, alter the ebay photos to portray problem coins as better than they are, look at the background the coin is sitting on, way over saturated.   How many of this sellers raw coins that you have purchased in the past have you had graded by NGC or PCGS?   How did the TPG's grades line up with the price you paid?   I would love to see one of this sellers coins both with the ebay auction photos and the photos from NGC or PCGS, please post one or a few if you have them.
I could not even begin to guess the coin's worth from photos that I know are heavily altered, I would need real unaltered photos to make that determination.

That would be a lucky break for you.

I know the seller, I very much doubt it will look like that in hand.

The extra metal in the numeral 5 is a die chip.   Technically it is an error but so minor that it has no or very limited value, die chips are extremely common on the mid 50's cents here is a definition of a die chip.
"Definition:  A small piece (less than 4 square millimeters) that falls out of the die face and has no direct connection to the design rim.  The missing piece leaves a void in the die face into which coin metal flows.  As a result, the coin shows a featureless lump in the affected area.
A die chip can be connected to a die crack or it can be freestanding.  Die chips frequently develop within narrow interstices in the design, such as the gap between the letters of LIBERTY.  Hence the so-called “BIE” errors."

The seller is known to doctor, alter the ebay photos to portray problem coins as better than they are, look at the background the coin is sitting on, way over saturated.   How many of this sellers raw coins that you have purchased in the past have you had graded by NGC or PCGS?   How did the TPG's grades line up with the price you paid?   I would love to see one of this sellers coins both with the ebay auction photos and the photos from NGC or PCGS, please post one or a few if you have them.
I could not even begin to guess the coin's worth from photos that I know are heavily altered, I would need real unaltered photos to make that determination.

The extra metal in the numeral 5 is a die chip.   Technically it is an error but so minor that it has no or very limited value, die chips are extremely common on the mid 50's cents here is a definition of a die chip.
"Definition:  A small piece (less than 4 square millimeters) that falls out of the die face and has no direct connection to the design rim.  The missing piece leaves a void in the die face into which coin metal flows.  As a result, the coin shows a featureless lump in the affected area.
A die chip can be connected to a die crack or it can be freestanding.  Die chips frequently develop within narrow interstices in the design, such as the gap between the letters of LIBERTY.  Hence the so-called “BIE” errors."

I know the seller, I very much doubt it will look like that in hand.

The extra metal in the numeral 5 is a die chip.   Technically it is an error but so minor that it has no or very limited value, die chips are extremely common on the mid 50's cents here is a definition of a die chip.
"Definition:  A small piece (less than 4 square millimeters) that falls out of the die face and has no direct connection to the design rim.  The missing piece leaves a void in the die face into which coin metal flows.  As a result, the coin shows a featureless lump in the affected area.
A die chip can be connected to a die crack or it can be freestanding.  Die chips frequently develop within narrow interstices in the design, such as the gap between the letters of LIBERTY.  Hence the so-called “BIE” errors."

Yes Denver Coins, aka (or may still be used) Canyon City Coins, and I think there may have been another name this seller has used in the past on ebay.

If I win this coin, I will do a complete thread that follows the journey of this coin from raw to graded. That would be interesting for people to follow. Good idea. 

That would be a lucky break for you.

I know the seller, I very much doubt it will look like that in hand.

I’m gonna help you out my man. Seeing as we both as so new at this, I’ll tell ya what helps me to pinpoint certain possibilities. Download an app called PCGS CoinFacts. You won’t regret it. It will tel you all you need to know.