Would like your input on grading services interviews for future CW article

[Prethen]

After the ANA is all but history, I plan on setting up phone interviews with the top tier services (PCGS/NGC/ICG/ANACS) to discuss the overall environment of grading modern coins today. There's a lot of potential ground to cover. I already have a pretty decent list of questions I want to ask the lead graders/finalizers at each company. I don't want to print the list here because I don't want to prejudice anyone as to what I intended to cover and force any line of thinking. However, you folks might very well think of some things that I haven't. The main emphasis on this article are modern coins (in fact, one of the questions for the services is what do they consider a "modern" coin. My initial intention was to focus on the era of coinage where the mint has been minting an essentially, flawless product (1980's+, 90's+, ).

 

This is not a "witch hunt", so I have no intention of asking any hostile or "leading" questions. I'd like to solicit for serious input of potential questions and material to cover by this article. Beth Deisher (Coin World's editor) has already noted that this will probably be a multi-part series due to the amount of potential material. She makes no commitment to picking up the article, but I think this could be quite an interesting one so it's likely she'll want to publish it. Even if you think your question is dumb, put it down, it might make for some great material for the article and/or background information. I do understand there's some decent camaraderie between the services and they tend to share some information. You might want to keep this in mind for various questions.

 

Please separate your questions by a blank line so it's easy for me to understand how to separate the concepts you wish to relay. Plus, it will help me with cutting and pasting to my interview documentation.

 

By the way, I do not have any pre-arranged contacts with any of the graders or the services. If you happen to have an "in" with someone at a service to facilitate getting me the interview, I would appreciate any help in this regard. Otherwise, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that PCGS and NGC will be fairly receptive to this type of article. If they're not, the article will die before it even gets started. I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to talk to either Keith Love or JP Martin at ICG and I have a gut feeling that ANACS shouldn't be too resistant.

 

I have a HUGE amount of work ahead of me in getting this whole thing together, so I have no idea at this point when it will be done. I'll try to keep y'all up-to-date when the interviews are finished and I'm ready (or maybe even done) getting the material into an article.

 

Thanks for help in advance,

Bruce

[midwest]

The number of graders they use besides the verifier for "modern" coins.

 

What percentage of submissions are modern coins.

 

What is the standard for MS70/PR70.

 

I will think of more when I do I will just edit this post.

 

OK bruce

[HaydenTubbs]

Where do they buy their body bags?

[James_OldeTowne]

((( After the ANA is all but history, I plan on setting up phone interviews with the top tier services (PCGS/NGC/ICG/ANACS) to discuss the overall environment of grading modern coins today.)))

 

To be honest with you, I'd be much more interested in interviews with NON- "top-tier" services!

 

No, really, though, I'm serious! I would love to hear what Larry Briggs (SEGS), Alan Hager (ACG), et. al. have to say. I think interviews with the "top tiers" would result in just the same old retread dogma that we have all already heard a million times, and are bored to tears hearing about, since they're all going to just repeat the same old lines.

 

Just me, I guess.

 

James

[Prethen]

James:

 

I beg to differ with you on this. Take a look at some of the responses I got in the PCGS forum. There is some great material in there. It's true that there's a lot of ground we've all heard before but I'm going to attempt to hurdle over that. I cannot promise that I'll accomplish that and, if I utterly fail, I'll scrap the article.

 

Yes, it would be interesting to interview the lower tier services but I can only imagine the resistance and level of defensiveness those companies will have at protecting their businesses. You wouldn't learn a whole lot from them and they likely wouldn't be as candid as you would want them to be. The top-tier services aren't much different in this regard except for the fact they like to present a much more open and candid image. Plus, they already garner a lot of collector/dealer respect and this is what makes such an article more compelling and interesting and possible. I believe if I can get the interviews with the lead graders/finalizers I will hopefully get some pretty interesting information. Like I've noted before, if I'm wrong, there won't be an article.

[James_OldeTowne]

((( Take a look at some of the responses I got in the PCGS forum. )))

 

Can you link, please? I don't browse that "other" forum.

 

James

[midwest]

((( Take a look at some of the responses I got in the PCGS forum. )))

 

Can you link, please? I don't browse that "other" forum.

 

James

 

link

[Prethen]

Sorry, James. Thanks for hooking that up, midwest.

[michael]

what is the minimum amount of graders that look at a coin?

[Oldtrader3]

I was always under the impression that "Modern" to most collectors meant minted in 1950 or after.