Are the 3rd party grading companies getting tougher on grades or......

[coinsarefun]

.........is it getting harder to find nice higher grade material

It appears to me that both are shying away even more from any coins that have color on them and
preferring white coins.......maybe its just me?


What are the other possible reasons they are tightening up?

Is it just me or are other people seeing this as well?

[regandon]

.........is it getting harder to find nice higher grade material

It appears to me that both are shying away even more from any coins that have color on them and
preferring white coins.......maybe its just me?


What are the other possible reasons they are tightening up?

Is it just me or are other people seeing this as well?

Coin Doctors have gotten so good at toning coins, that I think the top TPGS want to play it safe. NGC and PCGS I believe are starting to move the collectors away from toned coins, because its even getting hard for them to tell an AT from an NT coin. Myself I think the prices on toned coins have gone way out of hand.

[coinsarefun]

I would tend to agree with you on that one.
But, what about numerical grades?
It seems like they have tightened their belts on this also.

[Conderluva]

I don't deal with slabs too much so I can't say too much on the numerical grades.  Tightening standards should be a good thing though.  Then again, you would think they would want to continue to loosen their standards to expand the size of their market.   

This is my understanding of applying and removing toning from silver. 
It is even easier to remove toning than it is to apply.  If it is overdone, then it's blast white surfaces are a bit dull looking due to the chemical etching microscopic nooks into the surface of the coin.  But provided it is done right and not done too many times it should be difficult to tell.  There are those that are obviously doctored and there must be a number of pieces that are expertly modified and go undetected. Right?

[regandon]

When comes to grading I think the NGC and PCGS have to come up with a grading standard and stick to it. They need to have graders that understand each series of coinage they grade. They say they do, but to what level of knowledge the graders have, we will never know. We just take their word for it. At times I feel the graders need to go and have their eyes checked by an eye doctor. Ok, I need to get back on topic.

I think NGC and PCGS know that their grading has not been consistent over the last few years. I think both have spent some time latey on their forums listening to the members. I also think both are trying to tighten up and go back to the days when people did not question their grading as much. I think they were looking at things in the wrong way as they began to grow big. Money was the root of the problem, as they believed that just because their name was on the slab, that no one would qustion the grade. But, they did not think of the collectors educating themself's on the series of coinage they collected. It is at a point that collectors have better knowledge on knowing that the PCGS AU-58, is really an MS-62 do to a weak strike. So, now the money making part begains for NGC and PCGS. They know that collectors will bust the coin out and resubmit. With what I collect, I use the TPGS to make sure my coin is not a fake, and not for the grade on it.
Sorry if no one understands what I'm trying to get across here.

[FilthyBroke]

I don't use TPGs often, but from what I've read lately, the grading standards could well have tightened.  This is unfortunate, because it looks like a move to help the TPGs rather than the collector. Lower grades will mean lower payout if the guarantee is needed.  If this is the case, then the system becomes suspect.

I'm with Regandon in that I submit coins for authentication and coin protection alone, and the grade is often trivial to me. Eye appeal has become a main issue in choosing a coin, and while that includes grade, it doesn't limit my purchase merely because of a number. 

[walmann]

I believe Regandon has hit the nail on the head regarding that the TPGs were under the notion that collectors would not educate themselves on the series they collect. Thinking back to when I first collected some 35 years ago (there was a 25 years break from collecting in between) versus collecting today, I believe a greater number of collectors more closely examine coins than they did years back.

Remembering the shows I attended back in the 70's I don't recall collectors pulling out loupes and giving such close inspections to coins than can be seen today. Most coins may not be so inspected prior to purchase, but a far greater number of them are today. I believe this is the natural result of the TPG's, perhaps driven in part due the number of coins that have received lofty grades.

The modern coins grading at MS or PF 70 may have assisted in this questioning. Both the major TPGs even today grade coins as 70's that clearly do not fit the bill. It would be foolish not to question an company or graders opinion just due to a "name brand" label on the slab.