DANIEL WEBSTER | COINS 'World Series' event lets fans test grading skills

Coin grading is the reef on which many dreams of wealth founder. The intriguing old coin found in Grandpa's desk turns out to be worth peanuts because it is graded low by dealers.
Grading is the single most controversial aspect of collecting because, even after microscopic examination, two specialists can come up with different grading numbers for a coin.
Professional grading services, which were born and expanded during the 1990s, have made grading quicker, more standardized and a little less subjective. The coins themselves, packaged and labeled after grading, have become less subject to damage and atmospheric scarring. Those improvements have left collectors more secure about their investments.
'World Series'
But still, a belief lingers that the collector can grade as well as the professional. And so the Professional Coin Graders Service, a leading authority in the field, is holding a "World Series" of coin grading, open to anyone with the $50 registration fee.
Contestants will match wits against PCGS graders as they examine 40 coins in 30 minutes in preliminary rounds.
Finalists will grade 100 coins in an hour.
Winners in professional and collector categories will split the entry money plus $5,000 when the finals are held in Pittsburgh in August at the meeting of the American Numismatic Association.
Remaining qualifying rounds will be March 12-14 at the Baltimore Coin Show and June 3-6 in Long Beach, Calif. Details at (800) 447-8848 or www.pcgs.com on the Web.
Comic book coin
Anyone can aspire to be immortalized on commemorative coins. The caprice of history and, more recently, pop culture have made it even more likely that rock stars or TV personalities, environmentalists, presidents and peons will have their turn.
For instance, the Royal Mint in Brussels is producing a 10-euro silver proof coin bearing the image of Tintin, a comic-book hero who is marking his 75th anniversary. Tintin first appeared in 1929 as a boy reporter in the Soviet Union. With his dog, he turned up in the Balkans, the Sino-Japanese war and anywhere there were wars and political storms. The 23 books of tales of Tintin sold more than 200 million copies.
The proof coin will be available from the end of February for $42.50 (plus $4.50 for shipping) from the Coin & amp; Currency Institute, Box 1057, Clifton, N.J. 07014; at (800) 421-1866, or mailcoin-currency.com on the Web.
XDaniel Webster is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.