100 point system

[Jeff S]

Has anyone seen or heard of the 100 point system to grade coins . There seems to be talk it will go this. Just wondering?

[Beijim]

I believe this ridiculous proposal issued from the massive cerebrums over at the PCGS brain trust. More likely the idea came from a late night meeting in the PCGS marketing department.

 

Since I'm fairly adept at concealing my true feelings, let me just say it's my fervent hope that this concept meets a violent end, preferably in an industrial shredder operating at 240 Volts AC. To my knowledge, no serious numismatists have donned the cheerleader outfits and pompoms for this one.

 

Not looking for my first PF 100 ULTRA CAMEO,

Beijim

[James_OldeTowne]

It isn't nearly as new an idea as a lot of people think. I know collectors and dealers have been complaining about a so-called "70 point" system for years, probably since before I started collecting coins in 1980. It's just in the last couple of years that the argument resurfaced - no doubt because of a perceived lack of future revenues for grading companies (did I really just write that?).

 

It didn't happen 25 years ago, and I don't expect it to happen now.

 

James

[EZ_E]

It's just in the last couple of years that the argument resurfaced - no doubt because of a perceived lack of future revenues for grading companies (did I really just write that?).

 

Good point. How do you create/sustain revenue in a saturated market?

 

1) Create a new grading system.

 

2) Occasionally undergrade coins to encourage resubmissions.

 

3) Create competition i.e. a registry scored upon a point system.

 

4) Create a theoritically impossible coin i.e. MS & PR 70 to encourage submissions.

 

5) Occasionally reward bigtime submitters. (Oops, this one got Michael into hot water on the PCGS side).

 

6) Be endorsed by various numismatic organizations such as the ANA.

 

7) Not honor grade guarantees.

[RWB]

My personal opinion is that numeric grading promotes the fallacy that there is some objective measure of the wear on a coin, and that this number simultaneously considers damage, cleaning, relative luster and "average" striking. People like numbers because they interpret them as absolute values, yet for coin grading they are nearly without meaning.

 

I find it very humorous to see the grading services busily adding stars and colored labels and other drivel to numbers, and selling the idea of "registry sets" based on their meaningless numbers.

 

Coins can be graded objectively by high resolution scanners and computer software. I've seen very accurate and repeatable beta systems when limited to wear and surface marks. But the results were not very satisfying to collectors who generally though the computer grading was too tough or didn't consider other factors such as relative strike and luster, etc., etc.

 

The true value of grading services is in counterfeit detection and weeding out of altered and badly cleaned coins.

 

As so many posters to this and other forums have said before: buy the coin not the slab. Much as in poker, the coin grades itself - it is what it is.

[just carl]

I thought it was already here. I'm old and lost every time I see this crazy VF40 or VF50 or EX 27 or MS62.953, etc. There are so many grades used today I would think there is already a 1,000 point system. Everytime I pick up a coin in a slab or 2x2 it has a grade of something like that VG08 or VG20 or whatever. Way to many. Making nuts out of lots of people with to many grades. At coin shows and on these forums you'll hear somebody arguing about whether a coin is MS60 or MS62.

I'm just to old I guess. I am from the era where the Red Book was the only price guide in the world and the only grades were G, F, Unc and Pr. I liked that better. It either is or isn't one or the other.

[Coin]

OMG , PLEASE ,,,I wish the powers that be would simply STOP screwing with a system that has taken me forever to learn and still learn....and just leave what is working alone. It is not broke : don't fix it. Seems like the computer grading programs can not market grade and can not grade subjectively...I seriously doubt a 100 point system is gonna help.

I agree with Viktor and James on this completely.

BTW ,this question/topic was brought up and the NGC Brunch during the Jan '

06 FUN show and NGC stated that they have no plans for going to a 100 pt system at this time. It seems that a certain person in more than one article to coin papers wants this kept alive and it also seems, IMHO (disclaimer for the great power that promotes this board) , that there is another TPG that is drooling over the possible revenues -be it good or bad for the hobby - that such a change would only bring.

tedssupply , I can appreciate your concern in wanting some definition or explanation on what point this system has developed to up to the present , but as you can probably guess , I am not for it - and more importantly- there are a lot of hobbyist against it as well...yet the big businesses , with the exception of NGC , seem to be keeping mum on the topic , possibly hoping it will change and open up a cash cow of sorts , if I may speculate.-John