PF Vs PSE Grading Experience

wt and rev: thanks for your input- I'm well aware of all your credentials. You are probably correct grading wise, but you guys are also "tougher" than me when it comes to centering/grades. I guess I look at it as a plus to have you around to educate us and keep us in check on this forum.


rlsny, see previous post on prior page about your nice album stuff and plate #

Rgstamps - I'm with you. I hate to see a good multiple broken for nearly any reason. Those are becoming more and more scarce.

rgstamp: Thanks for the info. I will check out the Kelleher article.

I don't think they are directly causing harm by selling graded stamps but they are not helping either. They are certainly in a position to help by refusing to sell stamps that are known to have come from rare or unique multiples. I make a choice to not engage in that kind of business. It is about choices...

Most of the blame should go to the collectors that buy this stuff but PSE and the PF could also play a role in bringing the practice to an end. I don't think it is acceptable that nothing ever gets done.

Sinclair - I agree with your analysis.

Siegel will keep doing what they are doing until it is no longer profitable. That's the bottom line. I doubt that the pure investors give a whit about the integrity of our hobby.

Another thing that you have to consider is the exhibiting "market". Exhibitors are rewarded for having the highest quality stamps. Now there is nothing that says those stamps have to be graded - to my knowledge, but of course, given that grading exists, and is the accepted way to rate stamps, I'm sure that many exhibitors would want to chase after them.

I'm not advocating changing exhibiting rules about graded stamps, but merely pointing out that exhibiting always is a major factor driving stamp markets.

Alas, grading is a fact of life. As long as PSE is making money grading, then the PF as a non profit has to continue to do so as well. At this point, too many people are making too much money for grading to stop, Siegel is only one of dozens of dealers and auction houses happy about grading.

I recall Bill Weiss telling a story as a beginning exhibitor. If I recall correctly he was exhibiting the 15c large banknote and had cut up some damaged stamps so as to display only the upper left triangle of the stamp. He ended up being scolded for it by a judge...

Fascinating discussion. Thanks to everyone providing input. I personally don't care about grading, but I understand it is a major component in the market/hobby today. I like well balanced stamps...that often doesn't correlate to the grade. And if "faults" are ones I have to pore over the stamp to find (for example--only visible on dipping the stamp in watermark solution), then I don't really care. Of course, I'm not trying to invest or turn my collection around for sale.

My personal grading system goes something like this:
Ugh...meh...decent...nice...oooh!...WOW!!

The issue of stamp albums, and how their spacing affects collectors' choices for cutting stamps, caught my eye. This is one of the reasons my "albums" are completely homemade. I use archival black stock paper in sheet protector sleeves. I can do whatever-the-heck-I-want on each page. I really like the simple look and flexible options it gives me. I'll try to post a picture or scan of one soon. I was wondering if others went the completely non-commercial route like I did or if most go for blank supplemental pages or something else???

Here is my "album" page of 1850s 10c greens. Sorry for the poor image quality; we are in the process of moving and I cannot scan right now.

There are none in the #35 type V spot because I'm trying to plate those. The #34 spot is held by a cutting from a stamp auction catalog.

Nice page, lukusw! Here's a pic from me. As a boy I was a Slave to printed album pages, then as a young man a Purchasing Agent for a bank safe deposit box, and now as an old man a Museum Curator using mainly Vario 7S stock pages. Easy to see I don't value stamp grading very much; more concerned with something being interesting.

Lukusw:

Nice page. What is the bottom stamp. Scott 13,16? Unused????
cannot tell from scan

Rgstamp, it is a proof (don't remember which one off the top of my head). I don't usually go for proofs but I have a particular affinity for this series as I got it for cheap on ebay.

The rest are in numerical order. Just waiting to find my #34 (read: waiting for my bank account) to complete the set.

The stamp on paper with postmark was a misidentified #31 on ebay for $35 . Come to think of it, ebay has been good to me on this page. The #13, #16, and both #31's were all misidentified and snagged at well below Auction House prices for their condition/ centering.

You may yet find a 34 the same way.