I've never sent any coins to PCGS to be graded. However I just got a 1926-S Peace Dollar in MS63 I want to get graded and slabbed. Why do I have to send the coin to a dealer first instead of directly, then pay $16 for shipping. Last year I bought a 1935 Peace Dollar from L&C Coins that had the label incorrect so I called them up and they said I could send it directly. However it took over a month to get it back. I felt they should have sent it back sooner since it was their mistake (was labeled 1935-S). Why is PCGS so picky about their polices regarding submission?
To make more money for their authorized dealers and build a mystique of sorts I guess. I take exception to their new policy that all world coins before 1955 have to be submitted to their "secure plus" service. That's at least an extra $7 per coin even if it's under $300 value. Not sure why they made that rule only for non-US coins. I just can't see any justification for it.
I can, because the regular service can't detect, or misses, the problems often found on them. And those mistakes cost them money when they have to back up their guarantee.
Some people collect slabs that have incorrect labels. Consider leaving the 1935(P) in the 1935-S slab.
Why do you have to follow a business's rules if you want to do business with them? Is that the question? The answer is because it's their business and they know it best. I have no doubt it would be chaotic if the average, unknowledgeable enthusiast were to submit directly. The forms, process, and requirements are very specific. Do you know how many coins PCGS must certify every day? With ultra-tight security controls, handling, tracking, QA, etc. A month is not an outrageous wait for fixing a mechanical error, IMO. I do think PCGS should pick up shipping & insurance both ways, however, when the slip-up is theirs. Lance.
Am I missing something or just confused. You can send coins into PCGS yourself and you don't need to send them to a dealer provided you have, or are willing to get, a membership.
Then it's not so much PCGS's policies you have an issue with, it's the policy of the PCGS member(s) you've contacted that is at the root of your issue. Find a friend or fellow collector w/ a membership. I'm sure if you fine a local coin club it will be filled with PCGS members.
It's simple, really. You come to my house, you obey my rules. If you don't like my rules, don't come to my house. I come to your house, I obey your rules. If I don't like your rules, I don't come to your house.
I don't like PCGS, primarily because I loath Don Willis but in all fairness, it's their business and they can run it any way they see fit. I chose never to do business with them. Join the ANA and you will get submission privileges to NGC + have access to all the other benefits of ANA membership.
You've said that now at least a half dozen times. What did Don do to earn your wrath? Just curious...Mike
PCGS grades roughly 150,000 coins a month. When they started they didn't want to be swamped by hundreds of thousands of coins that had no chance of being slabbed so they established the rule that only authorized dealers could submit. The idea behind this was that the dealers would act as pre-screeners to weed out to obvious problem coins and to try and dissuade the submitters from sending in stuff that wouldn't come back high enough graded to be worthwhile. Later they bowed to public pressure to allow direct submissions but instituted the membership fee to once again chase off the less serious, and to compensate them for having to wade through more chaff. And I am sure Doug is right about why they require the world coins to go through Secure Plus. They just really aren't qualified to do the world material. The higher fee chases some people off and makes sure they don't miss anything on the physical examination since they aren't familiar with how they should look. Just an added insurance policy to cover themselves.
Conder answered it pretty well I think. It's not that the problems aren't found on US coins, they are. But the graders are familiar with them on US coins so they recognize them when they see them, they are not familiar with them on world coins so they often miss them. Doing that can cost them money, something they'd rather avoid. If you think about the differences between Secure Plus and the regular grading tiers, it becomes obvious why more problems are identified, and correctly identified, with the Secure Plus method. But even that is not going to help them with the attribution and authentication issues that they have with world coins. For that they just flat out need different people, more knowledgeable people.
Thanks for the explanation Doug and Conder. it would be nice if there was a reputable TGP that specialized in foreign coins. Like ICCS does with Canadian.
I like ICCS as a grading company, although I think they should get a web site & database and use hard slabs instead of flips. The problem is that they are in Canada, making shipping coins there from the US of A a dicey proposition.
If there was enough call for it, there would be. As it is, any company who tried would likely go broke very quickly.
