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I take very little notice of the CGS valuation, and never quote it when selling a CGS slabbed coin. IF their attribution, authentication and grading is consistent and accurate that is sufficient for me.

Rob, I get the brain, eyes and heart bit. But in fairness to CGS I don't think they have told us we must like it. Isn't the whole idea to present a consistent numerical grading system. Now that's where I think it falls down in terms of eye appeal etc. For my liking it's just a little to clinical. I would like to know do others think it's working? In other words are three graders or whatever achieving the consistency they are aiming for? Mark Ahhhhh but, CGS are trying to dictate price. Look at their pop reports for a specific (anything really) high graded CGS coin, a Viccie for instance in say CGS 80+ grade, then check several auction house realised prices and a couple of book guide prices and see what you come back with

Rob, I get the brain, eyes and heart bit. But in fairness to CGS I don't think they have told us we must like it. Isn't the whole idea to present a consistent numerical grading system. Now that's where I think it falls down in terms of eye appeal etc. For my liking it's just a little to clinical. I would like to know do others think it's working? In other words are three graders or whatever achieving the consistency they are aiming for? Mark I was being sarcastic about Wings. The very existence of Wings is testament to the inadequacies of the TPGs in my opinion. I wouldn't buy a coin unless someone had stamped unc on it at one point, even though it could well be an ugly little thing with hairlines and allsorts. And I've bought slabbed coins pretty much on grade alone. Probably why I'm a bit of a cynical b* now. Technically Wings exist to validate the grade except there's this implicit "oh it's Wings so I'll buy it". It's all a bit impersonal. Putting coins that are 1000+ years old in a slab of plastic and then saying it's worth X is all a bit contrived for me. The rarities, the gems, yeah they're going to do even better in a slab but I do wonder if for many coins it's worth it. What is the point of reference for these guys? Sheldon's original scale says that any 'mint state' coin should so absolutely no signs of wear, but there are tonnes of mint state coins showing wear. And I mentioned that people will continually re-submit coins to the TPGs in the hope it comes back higher, so they're obviously not that consistent. You can't beat a good description I find some dealers will be honest in their descriptions, even if the photo doesn't reveal faults they may still mention them. Not always the case though, although if the coin actually makes it past CGS (I'm sure lots do) they aren't going to tell you that it looks a bit shit in hand or has an unsightly edge knock they they felt didn't detract.

Rob, I get the brain, eyes and heart bit. But in fairness to CGS I don't think they have told us we must like it. Isn't the whole idea to present a consistent numerical grading system. Now that's where I think it falls down in terms of eye appeal etc. For my liking it's just a little to clinical. I would like to know do others think it's working? In other words are three graders or whatever achieving the consistency they are aiming for? Mark Mark I visited CGS in Kent last year and they were very accommodating. One of their graders (who was not a dealer) spent 2 hours with me going through their grading process and answering my many questions. The detail is in the TPG... sub-forum. If anyone fancies doing the same I believe you would be welcomed, their 'benchmark' coins are a joy to hold/behold. I have submitted around 50 coins to CGS over the last 2 years (I did say 70 the other day but I was wrong), mainly either for authentication or in the hope of realising a higher price when selling (which I believe I have, although it is impossible to be certain). The only coins I have bought slabbed are those that I have deemed to be under-priced for various reasons, including under-graded, mis-attributed, or rejected for too-harsh reasons. With only 30-something thousand coins graded, their population reports are worthless for many years/denominations/varieties, but their database is a valuable resource (you don't have to have submitted a coin for grading to access this). Their pics in the early years are poor (or their grading was lax, or both) but on the whole I have found them to be strict but consistent. Their invention of a 1-100 grading scale was/is a risky strategy, and they don't assign two-thirds of the available numbers to any coins they assess. They have done me 2 massive favours over the years in rejecting expensive suspected fake coins I then could send back to the dealers/auction houses for a refund, without that backing I would have struggled. I agree there is a real and present conflict of interest between CGS and their major shareholder London Coins, the conflict does not go away just because they declare it or the same people work for both businesses. I have many more pros and cons comments from my experience with them, I think I know how and when to use them/buy/sell CGS coins, or not! Edit - eye appeal and strike are both taken in to account in their grading process

I was reorganizing my florin collection and noticed I have an 1892 jubilee head florin. I checked the value with the Value of UK Coins of Great Britain and England site where it is listed as F 30 GBP, VF GBP 100 GBP & EF GBP 325. The first question is are these realistic values and the second is what is the grade of this coin? My grading of the coin is VF+ to EF-. Any comments please.

I slabbed a coin to sell and I don't think it made a jot of difference to what I got. So overall not impressed with the hype.

Mine points straight downwards, but then it's not a DSLR. Do you need one? Probably not. Macro on a point and click does me just fine...

I haven't slabbed a coin with them, but couldn't resist the temptation to look, despite your instructions. I would like to congratulate them on providing the easiest slab to open of all the TPGs, thus reducing the risk of damage to the coin.