From the Graders Desk As a professional grader, I handle two specific areas of grading, Early 20th century through current day bulk submissions and Modern Tier submissions. Each have their own criteria based on what the customer wants from the submission. Bulk submissions generally have a higher number of coins, but will be limited to a certain minimum grade such as MS-65 for earlier coins or MS or PF 69 for ultra-modern submissions. Tier submissions do not have the same minimum grade requirements, but we do have the option on whether or not the submitter wants problem or no-grade coins to be put into a Details grade holder or not. In both cases, as a bulk grader and initial tier grader, it is my job to attempt to max out the grade of each coin by giving it the highest possible grade that still retains the objective standards of the company. This means I must personally push myself to grade a bit looser than I may personally grade. For a coin like a Silver Eagle, I may attempt to try the coin for a 70 grade even though I can spot a small mark or struck through that is hiding in a part of the design. It is then up to the post-encapsulation grader (the Quality Control or QC grader) to double check to see if the minor mark is reasonably easily seen or if it could be considered market acceptable to be allowed to remain a 70. For Tier, my position is to first base each box which means I am the primary grader and the first to put a number on each coin. like bulk grading, this position requires a more aggressive grading position. Again, I am trying to max out the possible grade of a coin while retaining the objective standards of the company. After I finish with each submission, they are passed to the finalizing grader who checks each grade and either agrees or adjusts accordingly. My goal in this case is to again push the grade while still being as accurate as possible to the standard. The finalizers job is to make sure that in the process of grading I did not miss anything detrimental to the grade of the coin such as a wipe or wheelmark that may be light enough that I failed to see it when I graded the coin initially. In each case, a constant stream of communication is maintained so they we can each help the other become better graders overall. Throughout my career talking to collectors, dealers, and others, I have heard some rather interesting theories on exactly how we handle submissions. Many times these theories are more negative in nature. We do not actively set out to harm any of our submitters as that would be bad for business obviously, however, we can only grade the coin as it appears in front of us. What I want to put forward today is that we would rather have each coin grade and grade well, but not all coins will do so. In that case, those coins can and should be seen as learning tools to help each collector and dealer become a better numismatist. That is also my goal of providing the examples each week in these articles.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:48:31 +0000
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