PCGS: http://www.pcgs.com/grading_list.chtml You also need to be a member to send coins in: http://www.pcgs.com/join/index.html
ok let me understand this if i can. you buy a coin for 25 dollars and then spend $30 to get it graded? that makes no sense to me. please explain how a 25 dollar coin is worth 55 dollars now. confused jfa
That is where learning to grade coins,identifying problems,knowing varieties & learning your market all come into play. You do not make money on how much you sell the coin for but what you paid for it to begin with. Lets say you buy a nice roll of common date Morgan dollars & you pay $600 for them. $30 a coin. 20 coins submitted at $13.50 a coin added to your cost now $43.50 Lets say that (1) is a no grade, (9) grade MS63 they are worth about $38 each , (6) grade MS64 about $48 each & you get lucky & have (4) grade MS65 about $115 each . no grade $22+ms63 $342+ms64 $288+ms65 $460=$1112 in value. Subtract your initial cost of $870 = a profit of about $242 ... was it worth it ? Well ,there are still may be selling fees or table fees ect & this was just a rough way to look at it but it can be profitable if done correctly.It doesnt always work out for people but if its your job to make money this way you learn what to send in & what not too. Now if you are not buying a coin to have it certified to try to get a higher grade that would make it more valuable to sell in the future than yes it doesn't make sense. Buy the coins raw be satisfied with your assement of its quality & be happy with what you paid for it & dont worry about TPG's :smile
this seems like a very big gamble to me. not worth the trouble or so it seems. what if you did not get such good marks on the coins. ouch that could hurt. thank you. jfa
That is why it is important to have some measure of knowledge about grading. You don't have to be an expert, but it is important to be able to arrive at a ballpark estimate to know whether or not it will be worthwhile submitting a coin for grading. Even if you pay $100 or $200 for a raw coin, you won't realize it's true value until it comes time to actually sell it. Chris
It is a form of gambling and many have fun at it. It's not an easy game for new folks to the hobby. Coins get slabbed for many reasons. Some want it that way for a set they are working on. For others it may just be a really special coin. Maybe it came from dad and price is not a factor.
You have to be good in pre-grading the coin or note first, But most of the time when it,s graded By a reputiable grader you will get more for it!
I've done well at PCGS. Probably spent $500 total with them in the last 2 years to have about 20 coins graded. I increased the market value (realistic not retail) over $2000 on these pieces. Some were big winners and others were "genuine" but it averaged out to about +$100 per coin submitted. Some luck IS involved but if you know what you're doing, it is worthwhile.
Many of the slabbed, low value coins you see were probably sent in by dealers. From what I understand, they get cheaper, bulk rates and will sometimes send a bunch of stuff in, in hopes of getting a 70 or two. NGC has different tiers for different coins and values. For $30, they will grade a higher value gold coin and send it back within 5 days. Which is relatively fast compared to the cheaper tiers. It still isn't cheap to do when you have a five coin minimum. I've thought about submitting but never have yet. Most of the good stuff I buy is already slabbed so it avoids the hassle.