Certification For C3

This is an item I found on ebay. My question is coming from a newbie perspective and may be dumb. It is classified as a GEM according to the cert and it may well be but from how I read the guidelines, the subject should be without fault. That said, with the plane flying a bit high as it is, how can it be considered a GEM?

Eagle



http://www.ebay.com/itm/C3-24-1918-...em35d142a49d

A fair question, Eaglebub!

Unfortunately, not all agencies grade on the same criteria. In the case of this stamp, it is grade on the even margins only, not the overall eye-appeal. I must agree - this should not considered Gem 100.

Brian

By the way, the Buy-It-Now price is $3900 <ouch>

KS

This is from the PSE guidelines; Faultless "The stamp is completely sound, free from defects". Extremely Minor Fault "Vignette significantly shifted in bi-color stamps". Perhaps the reason they consider it a GEM is because someone there thought the shift wasn't significant enough.

But although not a Gem 100 (whatever that might be), would it not get a higher price as a colour/print shift variation?

Terry

It can't possibly be worth nearly four large, surely?

Terry

My 2013 Scott Specialized lists the C3 stamp (MNH) at $140 in VF condition ... all the way up to $1200 for Superb 98. Now one must consider if a Superb 98 v. Gem 100 is worth more than 3x that value. (I don't think so.)

In all fairness do keep in mind that the stamp is BIN priced at $3900; not to say that someone could offer substantially less for it at auction and the item could be sold at a much lower price.

I seriously doubt it will get 4K. If it does then I will break up my block of 12, get them graded by PSE then up for sale they go

My understanding is the only color shift (other than the invert) that gets a premium are the "grounded" version.

There is a fast plane, a slow plane, and a grounded plane. The grounded plane is the most valuable by far. However the location of the plane on this stamp should not have any affect on the grade, it is not that high. On the other hand, to me the stamp looks centered slightly to the top, and that should certainly have precluded it from getting a 100. It has been said by some people that the grades can sometimes be influenced by the name of the person who put the item in. A dealer who sends 1000 items a year to PSE is certainly more likely to get the benefit of the doubt on a grade than a dealer who sends in 3 items a year.

Revcollector,

I agree totally. The number PSE assignes can be influenced by the dealer, by the examiner and lastly by the stamp itself. Objectivity and adherences to standards is a moving target and more so by some companies than others.

Then there is the slab. It can hide multiple defects including thins, creases and who knows what else. Some time back I purchased the $2 Trans Mississippi in a slab by PSE. After about a year I decided to remove it from the slab and put it into my album. That's when I discovered the crease. It was not visiable thru the plastic. Since then I won't trust the slab. JMO. Burn me once your fault, burn me twice, my fault. Yes, I'm still pissed.

Art

I would love to see before and after pictures.
I can pull the $2 Trans before picture from PSE site with the cert #.
KL

Alas, I have heard a number of similar stories, and seen some of the stamps as well. Slabs do indeed hide many potential faults.

Thanks for the insights everyone. Sounds like PSE would not be the choice to go with if choosing expertizing services. Just from these comments I get the feeling they're like a "puppy mill" kind of situation.

'Expertizing service' and 'grading service' are two different animals.
don

I thought there were an upside down plane as well?

With due respect to the graders, Anyone can purchase these slabs and with a little (sometimes very little) "know how", someone can very easily manufacture one of these. I would not ever trust a stamp in a slab but that's is purely MY OWN opinion on the matter.