C.C. asks:Â I heard there may be a 100 point grading system. Is this true? Isn’t the 70 point system complicated enough?
I’m not sure you could make it stick with an already confused public. There is no tradition or even the necessity to grade coins on such a fine scale. Broader terms make more sense. The difference between an VF and EF coin is measurable. You can teach someone the difference.
The problem has always been with evaluating uncirculated coins. It has become extremely subjective. This is easy to prove. Just send a nice mint state coin into any grading service over and over again. You may be surprised at what grades are assigned each time. Part of the problem is that there are now eleven mint state grades and the grading isn’t evenly divided by quality. There are smaller subjective differences between MS60, MS61, and MS62 than between MS63, MS64 and MS65. What happens when there are 20 or even 30 mint state grades. I don’t think you could show someone the difference. Also, over time, the grading seems to float and evaluations become tighter or looser. Essentially encapsulated grading has become a marketing tool and pricing is by nuance.
Though I don’t see any value in a 100 point scale, there is a positive side to encapsulated grading. The graders are skilled at counterfeit detection and the grading services guarantee that their opinion is correct. Encapsulating the coins is also a fairly good storage method though the containers are not air tight.
If grading is vital to the value of a costly encapsulated collection than you need to have the coins evaluated at least yearly. It is the only way to determine what the market value of your coins has become. Since encapsulated grading is market driven, your coins will often grade higher in an active market and lower in a stagnant market…..or maybe not.
