The recent rash of bad grade threads ......

[Rookiemonster]

Originally Posted by steve B

It's more about expectations and the specifics of the issue. I'm not totally up on large cents, but as with most coins there's a standard that most graders follow. And especially at the lower end, there's a lot of interpreting.


If a card is mostly ok, has typical corner wear, and a small crease, is it VG, or only G. I was always taught that a crease equaled G and no better. The grading companies sometimes give a creased card a VG grade.


With many coins, it's things like How many letters of the word Liberty are still showing on the headband, or something like that. It's different depending on the exact design, and probably differs a bit for years where the coins were usually not struck well leading to ones that lacked some detail when they were new.


One of the long time dealers wrote a column on how the standards had been allowed to slide over the years. Possibly to keep collectors and dealers happy with the grades they got. So a Grade of fine today might have been only VG 10 or more years ago.

I like this thanks . I mention this a while back but I don’t think all cards should be graded under the same standards. There are conditions sensitive sets. Sets made on stock the are very thin. Some sets that the color fades easily. But all that taken into account. Maybe it makes sense to grade them the same and just know what’s see have these issues. But maybe a condition sensitive qualifier makes sense.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

I like this thanks . I mention this a while back but I don’t think all cards should be graded under the same standards. There are conditions sensitive sets. Sets made on stock the are very thin. Some sets that the color fades easily. But all that taken into account. Maybe it makes sense to grade them the same and just know what’s see have these issues. But maybe a condition sensitive qualifier makes sense.

That's sort of handled by pop reports, and to me should be. A quick check will tell you that some stuff just isn't out there in top condition. Grading it on a curve of sorts leaves no room for the outliers like the Black Swamp cards. It would also cause confusion in the expectation of what you get for a certain grade.

On the other hand, at least one company allows a bit of leeway for traits that are just part of the card as issued. Like how tobacco stains on Polar Bear T206s aren't considered to be as bad as a similar stain on other brands.