"CGS comes of age"

[TomGoodheart]

coin collectors have long aspired to buying items from notable collections with great provenance when theyre sold on, you dont need a slabbed coin to get your name in lights.....a best known slabbed coin is still only a best known slabbed coin, and not neccasarily a best known coin ever.

Perhaps what we really need is an authentication and slabbing service, forget the grade leaving that to the collector.

See, I could see the benefits of a service that researches the provenance of coins. Sure, it's a bit specialised. But for a few of my coins I'd be curious to know more about where they were bought or sold over the last 100 years and who owned them. Doesn't even need someone to sit with a pile of books any more. Nowadays it should be possible to scan pictures from auction catalogues and sales lists and design software that will compare a coin to those images. Trouble is, I can't see that being a service that could be offered at £11 or whatever per coin!