Topic: [FYI] So, ANACS is certainly grading Cas brass higher these days... (Read 554 times)

ANACS was grading them too low and fixed their mistake. The grades now reflect the condition of the coins.  I remember sending coins over the last few years and feeling they were graded way low. Stabbed coins are always better since they seal the coins better than a capsule.

I still prefer coins in their original capsules to a graded slab.  For example, my 10 BTC Casascius coins have never been out of the airtites they were shipped in.  Surely that is better than knowing their original capsules were discarded and the coin was no longer last handled by Casascius himself.

 
I didn't say they are mutually exclusive, I said that high quality pictures are reliable and ANACS grades are not, nothing more.  In context it is me disagreeing with monkeynuts who asserted that ANACS grades are the best guide to arriving at a coins condition.  I strongly disagree with that.

Oh, and there have been times when low quality pictures were posted of an ANACS graded coin and when I asked for high quality pictures I was essentially told to go fuck myself.  Meaning that I should rely on the ANACS grade to determine the quality.

That's very bad movement from ANACS, i suppose that its difficult to see if one coin has to be graded more 1 or less 1, but 4 grades is crazy. In may opinion, if now they changed its scale they need to change the codes to avoid problems. Or they want that users resend and pay another time to get an higher grade?

I don't know why you seem to think that the two are mutually exclusive. I have yet to see a for sale thread that just had an ANACS grade and no pictures. I would rather purchase a coin that has an ANACS grade as well as high quality pictures of it than purchase a coin based on pictures alone.

Use your own eyes to confirm the grade given, and if you don't agree then don't buy it. Obviously buy the coin, not the grade. Differences in lighting, the angle the picture is taken at etc. can make it very difficult to accurately gauge the patina, if it has been cleaned, very small scratches or any number of potential issues. I'm not sure why you wouldn't want a second opinion from an impartial expert. 

 
I disagree.  High quality pictures are the best gauge for coin condition and proper pictures do convey the 'full picture'.  Relying on ANACS grades is unreliable.

Made me smile. I should point out that all my coins have a particularly fine bouquet 

From what I have seen of ANACS, around June last year, a shift happened in the way they graded. Previously low end graded coins had the potential to jump +2 grades (although +4 is pretty significant, and exceptional). The higher end graded coins really only had the potential to jump +1 (+2 on very very rare occasions, as they have less room to be jumping into).

So the effect has been that the minimum grade has effectively increased by a couple. The maximum grade has seen a smaller increase. Thus all grades in between have been squeezed a little.

Even without the noticeable step change that happened in June with ANACS. Inconsistency is a problem that can affect all grading companies. The same coin recieving different grades when submitted multiple times is common place for the other big graders, as well as ANACS. But this realistically should only be +/- 1, and only then for those coins that are borderline, and the decision becomes subjective (and may depend on the kind of day the grader is having, what the weather is like, how busy they are etc). I am not saying that this is actually the case, just how it should be. The fact is coins are judged by humans, and humans are fallible.

Ultimately, while not perfect, grading is the best gauge we have for coin condition. Pictures rarely convey the full picture, and for a globally distributed group of people, a third party independant opinion is the next best thing to having the coin to hand (which generally isnt possible), even if its isnt consistent 100% of the time. Alongside that, always judge the coin not the slab, wherever possible (given the stated limitations of pictures, versus holding a coin and changing the angle of view to see the coin from all angles).

Maybe the coins are like a fine wine..

A good example of why I couldn't care less about having my coins graded.

Same here, the coin doesn't even look that good.

That's a huge difference in grades, I'm shocked .

This was my first time getting anything re-graded!

These were originally graded several years ago.

They were cracked (by me) before being sent back in.

MS-63 ---> MS-65 (+2)
MS-63 ---> MS-67 (+4)

These coins aren't for sale, I just thought it was interesting (especially the 4 point bump).

Also intersting to see how they've changed the slab labels since then too.

So, did I just get lucky here, or is this something to be expected?