I would just like say the obvious and say it loud!

The population reports published by NGC and PCGS are skewed and for the most part irrelevant.  Many collectors and even dealers turn to these publications for guidance in their over valuation of a slabbed coin. 

The most common situation being the title of; finest known.  People will go after coins they believe to be finest knowns or in a small group of finest knowns.  A finest known being a coin that is graded in the highest grade for all known coins sent for third party grading.  Essentially, bragging rights. 

My point is proven by several authors of guides here on Ebay.  Writing that they have sent in the same coin several times over and over, in hopes of a higher grade or with the intent of experimenting.  This practice is done by amateurs and experts in the numismatic community.  The strategy of cracking a slab and getting a more valuable coin by removing it from a less valuable holder is commonplace and has been practiced for years now.  I commonly do this with ANACS coins, but only if the coin is valuable enough to cover grading fees. 

While enthusiasts will send in ONE single coin repetitively this will vastly distort the figures puplished in population reports.  While these grading services publish these reports to offer more information for collectors/dealers/investors, they only create hype and a false sense of worth. 

ICG, a relatively new service, refuses to publish there numbers out of respect to their independence and role in the numis community.  They have been created as an alternative to numismatists that provide a sense of security and reliability that no other service can offer.  While this doesnt show in actual prices, there goals and mission statement say a lot.

This also creates problems because most coins sold by the mint are never sent into grading.  Most coins never see the light of day !  One could state being finest known or in a class of a rare grading level for that type when in fact there very well could be many coins at that level or higher! 

Or an even better example.  A coin that is very rare or even doesn't exist because all coinage was melted in a Mint recall in the early years.  All the while the grading reports show 4, 5 or even 15 coins in a certain grade of one type coin.  A coin that may be priceless or invaluable is now worth something, a figure much lower.  Now, while most examples of coins that exist in less than 100 are usually identified individually due to their popularity but this exageration illustrates my view on modern coins that some consider "rare" or "uncommon" coins.  In attempt to obtain a higher grade of a modern rarity, one may actually hurt the value of the coin simply because it's increasing the number in that specific column of the population report.  It's not a perfect world but we try very hard!

While I do understand that these reports serve an excellent purpose and provide much needed information to the market, I see them as highly flawed and a tack on marketing tool for obtaining extra revenue.   I praise the grading companies for  their innovations in the industry but there must be an alternative.

Now only if I could come up with a helpful suggestion!