Buy the Coin, Not the Holder... 1 1

[VKurtB]

On 8/23/2021 at 7:12 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

[Unsolicited editorial comment]:

Someday, preferably before rigor mortis sets in, I would like to chime in on this somewhat derogatory tune: "Buy the coin, etc.

I am in New York City. To my admittedly limited knowledge, I must depend on experts with experience relying on what that are able to see in an encapsulated coin. One, upon confidently taking possession after bestowing a bribe, wrote me, "She is beautiful," the assumption being her reference was to the obv-  verse of an NGC MS-67 graded Rooster. I wired her for that coin, and three others, sight unseen. I never saw her, spoke to her or her coin emporium -- in fact, in her haste, she neglected to give me an order number, etc. proceeding strictly on faith. Upon receipt, I beheld  something I had never set eyes upon -- near perfection, with none graded finer. Granted, I had to cross-grade it because all my top-tier coins reside in my PCGS Set Registry.

I understand my revered colleague's admonition, @Coinbuf, but unfortunately demand provided by the likes of me, greatly outstrips supply. If my gem lies in an encapsulation, there is a simple procedure one can utilize to achieve uniformity. I am not risk-averse. If it does not measure up, all I have to do is my darndest to make sure our resident critic, @VKurtB doesn't get wind of it.  Easy-peasy.

Would he have done what I did?  Not on your life!)

Yes well, we used to say “buy the book before the coin” too, and that now seems out of fashion too. The best advice gets chewed up and spit out when the Internet gets its grubby mitts on people’s brains.

[jtryka]

I am not sure I agree that coin grading by TPGs follow a normal distribution.  I think for a variety of reasons they tend to err on the higher grade side vs. an equivalent number of over or undergrades.

[MarkFeld]

On 8/24/2021 at 8:07 AM, jtryka said:

I am not sure I agree that coin grading by TPGs follow a normal distribution.  I think for a variety of reasons they tend to err on the higher grade side vs. an equivalent number of over or undergrades.

Even if that's not the case initially, things end up that way over time, due to resubmissions.

[Henri Charriere]

On 8/23/2021 at 9:00 PM, 124Spider said:

This has become a bit far-reaching, which is fun, but I'm not sure what you're referring to.

Not for nothing, but I bought two Roosters. Both were PCGS-graded at MS-63 and MS-64 and neither could be further from a legitimate opinion. The former was gorgeous, catter-free example with a suggestion of original mint luster I was happy to own it.  The latter was eligible for Federal Disaster Aid and appeared to be actively involved in a drunken bar room brawl.  All the legends bore well-placed Haymarket shots incurred during an extended brawl.

What to make of this? After all, these are Mint State graded coins. They lie encapsulated in my loose-leaf slab album as a testament to the art -- not science, of grading.