The Philatelic Foundation Grading Upgrade

It would have made more sense from the get go if it was specified that a 100 Jumbo would not be awarded to any imperf stamp that had large unnatural portions of other stamps adjoining or something to that affect.

Agree with @rogcam and @51studebaker on the regrettable grading standards on imperfs. I think that is the one "ethical" issue with grading. I would never buy an imperf surrounded by 8 damaged stamps. I think the breaking up of multiples, generally, has more to do with the popularity of collecting singles vs. multiples, though.

There is no question but that grading accelerated the rate of breakup of multiples.

Classic multiples are becoming rarer and rarer than ever, and in a sense, becoming even more "exotic". Possibly over time that will slightly increase their appeal, although they will likely always occupy a niche market.

I hope that most items sold in the Gross sale earlier this year survive intact.

Just look at these stamps. ..they are stunning. And nobody has to argue or debate the quality. Every one of these is graded. https://siegelauctions.com/2012/1032/1032.pdf On any particular stamp, you could argue 95 vs 98, but you can trust that these are high-quality stamps because they have been graded by PSE (or PF or PSAG). And you can find them - you don't have to wade through dealer after dealer who calls their average stamps "GEMs."

Sales to 'investors' & speculators help the auction houses keep the lights on, and that is good for everyone.

Unlike bequests to a museum, items sold to 'investors' & speculators are not lost to the collecting public, as they will find their way back to the market ... perhaps even a bit more quickly than items sold to Genuine Collectors.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

But they were gems for many decades without grading, and any serious collector would have recognized it. Giving them a number does not change what they are. Nor did it change the number of collectors who would like to own them. All it did was make the number of people who can actually afford to own them smaller by driving up the prices artificially. But he still lost $3 million selling them.

Did the Kirke collection lose money in the long run? The thing that worries me is you have a company that issues a publication with inflated values on items they make money on as a service. Is it driven by those that want to enjoy the beauty of the rarity? Or by the love of money?

"With pre-internet transactions the information about availability was way more opaque to collectors, particularly based on region".

That is really far from true. There was Linns, Stamps Magazine, Mekeels Weekly, plus the APS magazine. Besides a lot of info all had lots of ads; many dealers did a huge mail order and phone business. Also local mags, local clubs, and national shows. Go to a major philatelic library some time and see how much info was available back in the day.

Re collector: it's outside my area, but I recall reading an article about US #1/2 being pushed a glorified rarity by many dealers back in the day. Now you see them everywhere.

Rev - Far from true. Look for data right now on a Scott 573. ebay = 581 results with scans. Used, unused, graded, not graded. In one place. With pictures. Sortable. And that is just ebay. I can bid in so many auctions around the World on SAN it is ridiculous. Some such as Siegel, Kelleher, Harmer etc. in real time. I can see the stamp, I can email Siegel with a question and get a reply the same day. I bid live via the internet, get my bid list within an hour of auction end, request extensions right away by email and on and on. Ever utilized Siegel PowerSearch? Your comparing all of this and so, so much more to magazines? Really?

It's faster and easier now, but it's not as big a difference as you think. Everyone was used to dealing that way, and trusted collectors might get multiple examples to choose from. Dealers had price lists with photos they sent around. And those were national magazines.
Remember, auctions used to send hard copy catalogs to everyone who wanted one, so people got to see auctions anyway. And people actually went to auctions by the dozen for the ordinary sale, and possibly as many as a hundred for a really major sale. They were events. And without computers sales went very quickly, 200+ lots an hour.

How are the prices "artificially" high? In my experience SMQ values are pretty close to what graded items sell for (or even ungraded items that are of the same quality) - same for dealer prices and for auctions which are often less since the high-end dealers often get their stuff from auctions and then mark them up. Some stamps go for higher and some go for less - I'm only paying attention to classic stamps for the most part, though. Perhaps the modern stuff have inflated SMQ prices.And what is different about PSE putting out pricing guides vs. Scott/Amos? They have been doing it for a hundred years, AND they price graded stamps now too. You know there were collectors a hundred years ago complaining about Scott putting out a catalog and claiming to be an authority on stamps when they were perfectly fine without some greedy stamp seller coming out with a standard catalog. Some folks are uncomfortable with progress.

Regarding the Kirke collection - it was sold 7 years ago. Look at any auction now. Most of the higher-end stuff have graded certs. The Kirke collection was just one of the first to prominently feature stamps with graded certs. Grading isn't making the higher end items sell for more - the market is doing that, and that's good for all of us.

Mick Kirke posted much of his experiences with graded certs, as well as his interactions with PSE & PF,
on Frajola's site. It's a great read.

If they did not have a grade they would not sell for nearly as much, so the grade itself makes the prices artificially higher. And those prices do nothing for non graded stamps, they do not change the market for non graded stamps in the least. It is certainly NOT progress, it is destruction and ego which cause a tiny percentage of the stamps sold in the hobby to be wildly inflated because a relatively very few collectors are willing to participate. Do you really think that a used 226 selling for 160 times catalog does anything for the rest of the used 226's out there????? Or a used 250 selling for 183 times cat????? Or a used 273 for 100 times cat????? Not to mention the 371 which sold for 16 times cat and can be created by finding a block of four with a plate number that has hinged stamps at the top and NH at the bottom with the number and just cutting it out. Which is probably what happened here. Old time collections have similar blocks on a fairly regular basis.

There is nothing artificial about it.

If you think those prices do nothing for non-graded stamps you are out of touch.

The Siegel sale that just wrapped up is proof of that. I know. I bid on both graded and non-graded stamps and non-graded stamps that were truly XF/Superb went for far beyond cv because the common cv is not for XF/Superb stamps as you well know. I will have the non-graded stamps graded when recieve additional certification.

You seem to be advocating for doing away with power tools in favor of hand tools. You are on a computer. Why not communicate via snail mail.