PCGS submissions, Grading Opinions

[stevo1962]

true
I am in my 16th year with this job but I have worked in various roles and based from 8 different locations across  the services, during this time so at least I get environmental changes which does make a difference - even having to drive to work a new way makes a difference

sounds like you need a change
if you can afford it - take a break then start looking around for something different

oh dear off topics - think we'll be evicted!! ha ha

Nice coin spraggdean23.

I really admire you and RG's staying power. Longest job I ever had was 6 years. That was waaaaay too long for me. A change of environment is always good. My current job is 3 years - feel like it's too long already.

Looks like about AU53 - AU55 in my opinion

Would you believe it graded MS63 by PCGS?!? :shock:

http://www.noble.com.au/auctions/lot?id=333889

Looks like a lot of wear in places.

 Yikes it is a very weak obverse strike that looks like heavy wear in places and not easy to grade from the photos especially when comparing it to this one  http://www.pcgs.com/Cert/31343962/

[robbiegal]

Nice coin spraggdean23.

I really admire you and RG's staying power. Longest job I ever had was 6 years. That was waaaaay too long for me. A change of environment is always good. My current job is 3 years - feel like it's too long already.

I admire someone who can take risks and change jobs/employers
I always feel too nervous to change employers - a sort of security
maybe if I was more comfortable i'd take the plunge ... gotta get the house paid off first!

ps - that florin is darn nice - must be worth a packet

[emu666]

http://www.noble.com.au/auctions/lot?id=333889
I had no problem with the MS63 grade when I viewed it last Wednesday. It has relatively little chatter in the fields, strike is weak even for a 1910 florin (which are almost always a little weak), eye appeal was OK. Just an unc.
It sold for over $2K tonight, which is an unc price.

[kchan1111]

You shouldn't second-guess the PCGS grade on images alone. At least two graders have seen the coin in the flesh and independently arrived at that grade. We, however, have only seen the images. It's not reasonable to expect us to grade the coins through an image more accurately than two professionals have by seeing the coin in the flesh.

I actually went to viewing at Noble. It didn't look like it was a MS63 on the obverse in the flesh either - at least to me. Now... obviously the chances are I am wrong and PCGS is justified in giving it a MS63. So I just want to find out why - what they are seeing that I am not.

How do you distinguish a weak strike from wear? Another question is... what happens when the condition on one side differs a lot from the other.

[emu666]

1. First, don't look at the high spots as they are the most likely to be affected by a weak strike. I place my thumb (without touching the coin of course) so that it cover the high point. This is quite easy for Australian George V, Vi and QEII coins.
2. Check for a drop of intensity of the lustre between the fields and the lettering (the lettering protects the surface of the coin in that region). If the lustre appears to flow out from the lettering to the fields, then the coin is unc. If there is a definite dividing line at the base of the lettering then the coin is definitely not unc. (This works best for silver coins).  There will of course be borderline cases.

Do this for both sides. It is common for Australian coins to show wear on one side (due to a lower rim affording less protection to the coin) and not the other side.

[kchan1111]

I admire someone who can take risks and change jobs/employers
I always feel too nervous to change employers - a sort of security
maybe if I was more comfortable i'd take the plunge ... gotta get the house paid off first!

Changing job is quite common for my industry. I once work for a start-up for only 4 weeks and then got retrenched because they ran out of cash. They paid me 4 weeks of redundancy pay! Those morons deserves to go broke.

1. First, don't look at the high spots as they are the most likely to be affected by a weak strike. I place my thumb (without touching the coin of course) so that it cover the high point. This is quite easy for Australian George V, Vi and QEII coins.
2. Check for a drop of intensity of the lustre between the fields and the lettering (the lettering protects the surface of the coin in that region). If the lustre appears to flow out from the lettering to the fields, then the coin is unc. If there is a definite dividing line at the base of the lettering then the coin is definitely not unc. (This works best for silver coins).  There will of course be borderline cases.

Do this for both sides. It is common for Australian coins to show wear on one side (due to a lower rim affording less protection to the coin) and not the other side.

Ah I gotcha. Thanks emu. The change in lustre makes sense. Will keep that in mind.

[robbiegal]

Well khan you might call them morons but it is good to know that there are some companies around with a sense of social responsibility. Many big companies do not show any care for their employees.they just transform the business and wipe their hands of the sacked employees while banking enormous profits

[kchan1111]

Well khan you might call them morons but it is good to know that there are some companies around with a sense of social responsibility. Many big companies do not show any care for their employees.they just transform the business and wipe their hands of the sacked employees while banking enormous profits

Well... yes and no. They should have known the company only has the funding to last for a month or so, that extra funding is not a sure thing. People who have left their old jobs to join them are out of a job. If the extra funding comes through I win, if it doesn't the new guy lose. Stuff him!

But you are right - moron is not the right word.

[robbiegal]

cheers - I think I get it
just noticed the comment that is all

I am always fully responsible and if I offer a temporary contract I inform the incoming staff member that is all it is - no promises of extension - permanent positions are different and the employer should know their salaries budget and funding projections before making such offers.

[trout]

WTF
PCGS "Insisted" that I had to pay the extra $5 per coin for the "Secure" images instead of not taking that option and saving $5 per coin on the submissions and this is the quality I got for the extra $5 .
This is Beyond ridicules :dash1:
Arsholes :dodgy:

http://www.pcgs.com/Cert/31865823.html

[autocoupler]

What in the hell is that? Surely not a top secret micro dot (do they still dabble in these) pic of the inner workings of the space station?

[trout]

What in the hell is that? Surely not a top secret micro dot (do they still dabble in these) pic of the inner workings of the space station?

This sort of thing is the very reason I stopped getting the "Secure" option in the first place.
PCGS calls it "Mechanical damage", I call it for what it is "A Stuff Up" .
This happens far to frequently lately.
I haven't had the time yet to go through every coin in the submissions to check if the images are any good yet But I would safely bet a Penny to a Pound that this isn't an isolated instance.

[robbiegal]

it is a serious consumer issue Trout
so they dig the coin out before they post and take another snap or are you stuck with that image as a reference photo?

[wwwww]

it is a serious consumer issue Trout
so they dig the coin out before they post and take another snap or are you stuck with that image as a reference photo?

They take a photo of a large area including the coin and their software crops the coin (or in many cases a circle looking area far away from the coin).

As the coin is in the original photo they don't need to retake it to fix the image but it would be nice if they could proactively check instead of waiting for the consumer to complain.

[trout]

I have just about given up complaining about this to PCGS as it happens just about every time I send a submission with the "Secure" option.
The trouble is that when I go to sell a coin that has this problem the potential buyer looks up the cert number and sees this crap and walks away :dash1:
that's why I far prefer to NOT have the crappy images in the first place :ok:
Over the last year alone I have sent nearly 500 coins away to be graded, It may only be a small amount by other peoples standards but it is still quite a chunk of change spent for me  and I expect a better standard of service with the Q and A from this company.