Does Grading Matter???

Looks like a guideline on a 122. That is a stamp where guidelines show frequently.

Position 95, the bottom rightmost stamp on the left pane.

Here is another image of that position. Note the right hand margin vertical guidelines, with the inner one extending fully upwards but the outer one not doing so.

Douglas, love that stamp!! what an interesting 90 c

Thanks!

The offset centering is a plus insofar as it shows both vertical guidelines, the rightmost (outer) one being only partial.

If only these stamps were perfed to be slightly taller so what's barely visible at the lower left would be moreso.

Even though that 90c technically has horrific centering, I absolutely love it! It showcases other aspects of the stamp's production that you normally never see.

Guidelines show up on the 119 a lot too.

To wrap this up, I did get a nice reply from PSE yesterday explaining this particular stamp/cert:



In the end I'm going to keep it - nice centering for this stamp. Thanks for everyone's input.

Excellent discussion...very informative.

I have yet to see any certifying body define or describe the 'shelf life' of a cert or other opinion. With the changing landscape of technology used to cert stamps, the constant forward movement of knowledge, and 'standards changing'; just how long is a certification or grading opinion good for?

I assume they don't tell us this because it would hurt their sales, better to let people think they last for decades.

My opinion, they are good for a year or two. What do you guys think?
Don

I think that certs should be good for more than a year or two ... but certainly not for a couple of decades. Perhaps for one decade. The longevity of a cert depends, to some extent, on the particular issue itself. If it's a flat-plate WF coil, make it at most 5 years.

I believe that the current auction house standard (generally speaking) is that any item with a cert older than 5 years can be put on extension, which seems like a reasonable timeframe.

cert life all depends on whether you are relying on the cert for condition or for genuineness. The technology for doctoring stamps continues to improve as does the technology for detecting alterations. If you are looking to the cert for an opinion on gum (NH) or whether the stamp was reperfed the shelf life is much shorter than if you are just looking at identification (is it a Scott #5). Plus, a stamp can be damaged after the cert was issued.

Back to topic... grading does matter!!: Scott 591 perf 10.



This one graded at "100".

This just sold for 4000$.

at grade 95- 98 probably goes for 200-400$. At a grade of Very fine ("80") the dealers are selling them for 30$ or less on eBay and there are many, many for sale that cannot be unloaded to the stamp collecting hobbyists because there are just too many of them.

Grading may matter with respect to auction house results, but fankly as has been seen in the past, it's a potential bubble just waiting to burst. Sure, that stamp may garner a zillion times cat today, but all it takes is 1 or 2 more examples at the same level to see that premium plummet. It's a (comparatively) modern stamp, so who knows how many are out there that could be submitted? When you cannot visibly see the difference between a 100 and a 98, is the former really worth 10x to 20x the latter?

Another problem is that PSE seems to focus almost exclusively upon centering when it comes to their grading. I've seen entirely too many 90+ graded PSE items with short perfs or subpar color or paper. Additionally, I've seen examples side by side where I prefer the aesthetics or "freshness" of the lower graded example, despite the other stamp(s) being numerically superior.

I'm content to let "investors" and/or people with more money than sense pay these insane premiums and am pleased that the grading phenomenon hasn't intruded too far into my area of collecting. Yes, there are high-grade revenues out there, but they are relatively few and far between, as the majority of the revenue collecting base (and the dealers who cater to it) tend to eschew professionally graded items.

I don't know, $4,000 for that one or $115 for this one. I'll take the one I have...