I'm a noobie, the whole virus thing got me thinking about a hobby, and now it seems I'm hooked. No doubt I'm dumber than dirt than most on the hobby, but I'm learning (had a hard lesson or two about live bidding, ouch, lol). I do find the two primary rating services interesting - I've joined both teams; I'm focused on Ikes, Peace Dollars, Pandas and Silver Eagles, and for bullion I do the gold Buffalo thing. Of the 200 graded coins I've acquired, it seems I'm about 50-50 on the slab sources. I tend to look at the coin, and using my own inexperience make a determination.
i do appreciate the open source of NGC. if in fact coins are consistently graded inconsistently, I do like the idea someone mentioned above about having a points adjustment - super reasonable suggestion. but maybe because requires human judgment, this will be too elusive, and this debate will rage on and on?