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You're missing one key thing about the NGC grade guarantee vs. the PCGS guarantee though. Unless they've changed their policy in the last year or so, NGC only guarantees the color of copper for 10 years, PCGS guarantees it for life.
So, if you paid a huge premium for that RD coin vs. that RB coin and 11 years later your coin turns a little dark in the holder, you better hope that it's in a PCGS slab. While I really don't know how often copper colors change like that, having my high dollar RD copper coins in a PCGS slab gives me some comfort given their guarantee, regardless of whether my fear of them changing to RB or BN coins someday is real or imagined.
That said I give the PCGS guarantee the edge when it comes to copper coins at least.
Of course, the guarantee by any company is really in their own hands as Mark suggests. If the company is cash tight and admitting to a downgrade would cost them big bucks, would they really do so??? Especially a company like PCGS who has to answer to their shareholders?? And even if they acknowledge a coin needs to be downgraded, they will not reimburse you based on their own price guides!!! I would like to think all of the companies would grade the coins honestly, regardless of any financial consequences, but that is probably naive to think that.
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