HERITAGE AUCTIONS

The grading of quality and rare coins is a highly specialised skill which can impact tremendously on coin values.

There are 2 main international grading companies - NGC and PCGS both primarily based in the USA.

As they both claim to work according to the Sheldon Scale of grading , one imagines that there should be a high degree of uniformity and consistency in the grading of coins, notwithstanding that sometimes human objectivity may sometimes be compromised if a grader is having an " off " day, for instance.

However, levels of consistency can be compared when coins are submitted for " cross-over " grading which is where one of the 2 main companies undertakes to grade the coins at the same existing or other specified grade and will only encapsulate that coin in it's own plastic slab if the coin meets the minimum grade specified by the person submitting the coin. Otherwise the coin is returned intact in the original plastic slab and the submitter is told that the coin did not " grade ".

My own experience of crossover is one where the great majority of my PCGS graded coins have failed to cross-over into a NGC slab at the same or a higher grade.

I will be providing statistics as time permits.

This surely is disturbing?

This is why I buy as many NGC graded coins as possible from Heritage Auctions in Dallas, USA.

It will be seen by looking at any of their coin auctions that a large proportion of the slabbed coins that they sell are in NGC holders, and given that they are the largest Auction house in the world that must surely say something!

24th May 2015