Recently spotted on the big friendly auction site is the 1911 $1 note shown below. I have blurred out the serial number deliberately.
I'm not a big fan of "net grading" which, by my definition, is the practice of assigning a lower grade to a note based on the presence of defects. The purpose of net grading is to "roll" the defects into the technical grade. For instance, a note that is VF but has a couple of pairs of staple holes might be net graded Fine by some people. I would much rather grade the balance of the note and mention the defects separately. In the case of the note shown below, the ratty edges are not a defect as much as they are damage done to the note as the result of intense circulation. In other words, the edge damage is not incidental in the same way tears and pinholes would be. Assuming the technical grade is accurate (meaning the note has the firmness of a comparable problem-free VG-10 note), I don't know if I can accept what BCS has done by grading the balance of the note (i.e., the printed area) and describing the edges separately. In other words, I find that being told the note is VG-10 kind of misleading. Am I wrong or is this another example of a grading company assessing the grade based on the inner 95% of the note while treating the outer 5% like a separate entity from the printed portion?
What do you think?
{http://www.give-a-buck.com/special/BCS-vg10.JPG}