I've always been an NGC guy, but I'm realizing I'm becoming part of the minority. Upon a visit to a recent major coin show I was surprised by the dealers attitude towards NGC holders, well at least those offered to them for sale (they didn't find me so funny when I made offers on their NGC coins commensurate with their attitude on NGC). Lets capture the collector and true expert opinion here.
Neither. Waste of money. Paid opinions, which vary from service to service, as well as grader to grader.
I favor PCGS, but far from exclusively. I buy the coin, and not the specific holder--in other words, I don't buy raw coins, but let the coin make the ultimate decision as to which I go with.
They both have their own advantages. Like others, it is coin dependent, but it is also price dependent to me.
I like to search and look at a ton of material before pulling the trigger. NGC or PCGS doesnt matter to me one bit, I like to look at maybe a hundred or so slabbed coins, like im looking through a uncirculated roll. Picking the best example only after seeing many of the same grade, its what i like to call getting a feel for the grade. Great collections are seldom just bought over night but often times takes years to build. I think PCGS brings a premium over NGC.. So all this rambling on brings me to my point, if im intending on buying some coins to resell then i would preferably have a PCGS and if im buying for my personal collection it does not matter to me because a beautiful eye appealing PCGS example could be sitting in an anacs slab or even raw for that matter. If you truly know what your buying then you will not experience buyers remorse.
I have both starting this year and I found out that NGC holders are much more stable when you stack them all together. PCGS holders are thinner though, less space (height) when you stack them. In term of color, I don't mind either. Since I like them both and can't really decide, I buy both NGC and PCGS slabbed coins in same grades from now on. But if I hade to choose one, maybe I'll go with NGC.
I used to ONLY like NGC. Then I realized it is hard and dumb to collect like this. SO I started buying come PCGS slabs for coins I couldnt find in NGC slabs. Then I realized I liked PCGS, but still slightly prefer NGC. I dont buy raw. I dont buy any other TPG. The ANACS slabs are hideous, so I find it hard to even look at ANACS slabs, even though I should be "buying the coin, not the slab".
For the most part i don't care for TPG's. If they would consistently grade coins and not market grade them, I might like them more. The only true benefit i see from them is they do guarantee a coin that they grade
NGC has more market share. PCGS graded coins tend to sell for a bit more at the same grade. If two coins are near equal, I will pick the one in the PCGS holder. I have quite a few ANACS graded coins and will buy them if the price is right (usually slightly lower than NGC/PCGS at the same grade, though for expensive high grade coins the resale value gulf can be much wider, so the discount needs to be bigger.)
I think each category should have a descriptor. How about this: PCGS only (koolaid drinker) NGC only (koolaid hater) PCGS preferred NGC okay (realist) NGC preferred PCGS okay (advanced collector) Both equal (egalitarian) I like ANACS!! (sentimentalist) I hate TPG's (coin slob) this poll is dumb (Forrest Gump) If only the OP had chosen the option to make votes public, then we could have had some real fun. :devil:
I totally regret missing that option but that doesn't take away from the genius that is your annotations!!!! I'll post the results tomorrow. 25 votes thus far and most are "advanced collectors".
It's always about the coin but when it is in non-PCGS plastic I almost always cross it. Their standards are a tighter and the market prefers them. Check Heritage auction results if you doubt this. Or talk to dealers at shows. Yeah, I know. This is a debate that will go nowhere. And everyone has a story or two. My two cents. Lance.
Lately, when I attend a major show, I mostly see dealers that have many more NGC certified coins offered for sale than PCGS certified. I often wonder if NGC is handling more coins or do people tend to buy and hold more PCGS coins and that is why they aren't present. Anyone? Matt
Great question coppermania. I'd like to think your first theory but probably more sales of PCGS material.
I need to catch up with Heritage, been on Teletrade more lately. I'll do the comparison (I doubt you are wrong), but I've been seeing some beautiful toners moving at a huge premium. I bid on both, but the NGC ones tend to leave the impression.