It is assumed that anyone who purchases an item that is in a 3rd party holder is NOT a collector, and that only "real" collectors purchase items in the raw!

Markets come and go, regardless of if there are 3rd party grading services or not. While they may influense the market, they in and of themselfs do NOT make a market!

Will some items go up in value - of course they will!

Will some items go down in value - of course they will!

If there were 3rd party services involved in there hobby, would people have things serviced by these compaines that make little or no sense in terms of there value compared to the price involved - yes! Is this the fault of the companies providing the services? NO!

I do not believe that I own a high coin, token, chip, strike, bank note, etc. I doubt that I will ever purchase a high end item of any of the above. Have I used these services in the past? Yes!

Why? I had a consignment of gold US coins. The market being what it is today, the best way to sell them was to have them 3rd party handled. They sold for good prices, and I got my 15% cut.

Should I ever win the lotter (fat chance), even if I could afford it, I would not buy a high end anything unless it was first handled by a 3rd party service. There is just too many bad things out there waiting for the collecto to help them part with there money!

There is Car Fax for used cars. There is 3rd party services for most collectibles EXCPET the casino colletible hobby. There are acknowledge 'chip doctors'. In the end, the person who is harmed the most are those who draw a samll circle with a closed mind and say "Never" and "Let's not talk about it anymore - maybe it will go away."

One of two things will happen. Either it will get worse as more and more collectors come in to our hobby and force prices up. With higher prices come more people altering items. Or, one big mess will hit the hobby and you will see a large number of people leave the hobby because measures were NOT taken to protect it.

As much as some people would like this subject to go away, it will not!

If there were 3rd party services in the hbby, those people who do not like it would NOT have to buy, sell, or bid on such items. However, those that do, could. The only difference between then and now is that the second group does not currently have that option.

The first and most inportant part of any such serive is the determination IF the item in question is real, has it been altered, or otherwise changed to increase its value.

The secon step is atribution - is it the first issue or the 3rd issue? Does it have a linen finish or satin finsh, etc?

And finally, then it is given a grade. I can recall at a time when some members in the club wanted NO grading system at all! Now it is part and parcell of the club. No doubt, at some point in the future, the prsent grading system endorsed by the club will be changed and hopefully enhanced beyond what it is today.

Other changes likewise will happen in our hobby.

JOhn