Skip to main content

Viewpoint: New grading might bring in investors

By Dominc Cicio

I wasn’t going to respond but decided hey, I can give an opinion. I am sure Mr. Guth has the hobby interest at heart and will be honored to have a grading scale be referred to as the “Guth scale” for the next 50 years or so. There is certainly merit in going to a 100-point scale! Everyone knows 100, 100 percent.

That being said, with the hobby losing collectors every day and Mint sales declining every week, perhaps this is the shot in the arm we need? Or is it?

Now, I have always suspected that there are too many Perfect MS70 and PR70 graded coins out there. Not that I could tell the difference between an MS69 to an MS70. I doubt that more than 1 percent of coin collectors could distinguish between MS69 and MS70 grades. But should we go to this new 100-point scale?

How many MS70 or PR70 coins will become MS98 or 99? Or MS96 or 97? Because today they round up. So now we know for certain that it is possible and probable that coins graded as perfect coins are not perfect.

Mathematically, 80 percent of the perfect MS70 coins are possibly not perfect. Going to the 100-point scale will certainly clear that up. Or will it ? Remember when a 4.0 average in high school was tops? Now they go higher for tougher classes.

Make no mistake about it. Professional grading companies are important in today’s coin market. You can buy/trade with confidence that the coin is genuine and graded correctly. Especially when many sales are done over the Internet.

But let’s call it what it is: Coin Investing. It is hard to be a collector if all you ever did is hold a slabbed coin with a specially designed label.

True collectors like my buddy Marty in New Jersey who specializes in large cents are few and far between. He can recite the large cent variations from year to year. Me, I accumulate. But with the metal composition of coins today, even accumulators are losing interest.

The hobby is certainly changing. So if improving the grading scale brings in new investors, so be it. But I still have my 1892-O Morgan that I will continue to flip. The days of the 2×2 paper coin holder may be numbered but still works for me.

This “Viewpoint” was written by Dominic Cicio, a hobbyist from Groveland, Fla.

 

To have your opinion considered for Viewpoint, write to David C. Harper, Editor, Numismatic News, 5225 Joerns Drive, Suite 2, Stevens Point WI, 54481. Send email to david.harper@fwmedia.com.

 

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News. >> Subscribe today.

 


 SCWC 1901-2000
If you like what you’ve read here, we invite you to visit our online bookstore to learn more about Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000.

Learn more >>>


The post Viewpoint: New grading might bring in investors appeared first on Numismatic News.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Mint Partners with NGC to Offer Certified UK Coins

The Royal Mint, the official mint of the United Kingdom, has partnered with Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), the world's largest third-party coin grading service. For the first time, The Royal... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Record High Gold Price?

This week, the price of gold reached an all-time high price against the U.S. dollar. It closed Wednesday this week on the COMEX at $1,953.50 per troy ounce, well above even intraday gold prices during the previous peak in September 2011. Gold had previously set all-time high record prices against almost every other world currency last week. However, this record-high gold price needs to be noted with an asterisk. The reason the asterisk is needed is that the value of the U.S. dollar itself has declined over the years. As a consequence, the price of gold this week, if compared to a U.S. dollar of consistent purchasing power, is lower than the previous peak price in September 2011 of about $1,924 and even further below the January 1980 peak of about $850. To give you some idea of the instability of the value of the U.S. dollar, just compare the M2 definition of the U.S. money supply, courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: January 1980:      ...

Community Voice Response: Jan. 1, 2020

From the Dec. 13 Numismatic News E-NewsLetter What are your numismatic resolutions for the new year? Here are some answers sent in from our E-Newsletter readers.   One of my numismatic resolutions is to do what I can to make sure coin collector’s concerns are represented and NOT deep-pocket businesses. Ron Brown Address Withheld   My resolution is to encourage everyone in the world to never again buy from the U.S. Mint, considering the 2019-S Enhanced Reverse Proof fiasco. Steve McGowan Algonac, Mich.   First, I want to pay for the coins I purchased in 2019. Secondly, I want to pre-order my 2020 silver eagles graded. Merry Christmas to all! Timothy Kenyon Mechanicsburg, Pa.   One of my resolutions is not to end up with 20 2020 ASE’s in different holders/OGP/signatures as I did in 2019. Donovan Hamilton Address Withheld   We want to bring the enjoyment of the hobby to as many young people as possible and to keep the future of numismatics brig...