Glad you are planning to write something on the subject of chip grading, Gene.

However, I hope you will separate these two subjects:

1. A defined set of terms to represent the condition of a particular chip.

2. A set of price guidelines that relate to condition for a particular chip .

I think we need the former, mainly for transactions between chippers where the chip is not present for inspection by both parties. On-line trades, on-line auctions, mail auctions, fixed price lists... all these would benefit from a set of terms understood by all.

I've seen comments on the board that you can always send the chip back if you don't like it; that doesn't apply to most auctions though, where the only reasons for a return for refund are misdescripton and authenticity. Without a common set of terms for condition, the first criterion is very hard to invoke.

I've always used descriptions in my eBay auctions where I think it is important to the value of the chip. I try to use a combined set of terms from TCR and from Howdy's writings.

Unused,
Slight use,
Used, EXC
Used, VGD
Worn

And I supplement them with any words necessary to describe damage (as opposed to wear). For example:

80% gold in hotstamp
Few small edge nicks
Small chip at 5 o'clock
Drilled

and so on. Not to say these particular terms need to be the ones adopted by the hobby. I picked them because they were meaningful to me and 5 categories seemed to provide about the right amount of gradation in condition.

The "grading system" proposed in the new book by James and Steve may be more complex than most of us need, but SOMETHING is needed! Again... separate the definition of standard terms in "the grading system" with the tables that attempt to show what several grades of each chip might be worth. Each chipper can put his own value for condition into the equation once the chip is properly described.

Finally, I've seen objections to the "grading services" in the coin hobby, and the encapsulated package they came up with to prevent fraud associated with their product. The chip hobby may never find the need for these services or for the 'slabs' that the coin hobby has. This should not prevent us from trying to define our terms when talking about the condition of our expensive pieces of clay. Grading services and slabbing are not, in themselves, a "Grading System".

In sum, I'm for defining a set of grading terms that can be used by chippers if they find them useful. I suggest others who may have reacted negatively at first may also be in favor after thinking about it a bit.

DonL