I was just wondering everyone's opinion on which TPG is stricter, or which one has highest standards? I noticed that the price tend to be PCGS, NGC, ANACS, and then the other, not as popular grading companies, with PCGS at the highest prices.
PCGS and NGC are the better two. ANACs comes in a distant third. Depends on the coin type on which is better. For example in my opinion PCGS is tougher on older copper and NGC is better on Jeff nickels. Just depends on what you are looking at - then again you buy the coin and not the holder.
I have always found PCGS to be tighter overall, but only marginally so. In terms of certain proofs (Franklins, for example), I have found NGC to be more spot on. On modern stuff and commems, PCGS is definitely tougher. For older coins, I'd say quite equal. Morgans (my greatest love) are pretty equal by both PCGS and NCG. Any other TPG is nowhere near as accurate in my opinion.
IMO the toughest grader is ICCS - they mainly certify Canadian coins and are EXTREMELY strict. To my knowledge they have never graded a circulation strike coin MS70 Rumor has it they've not graded PF70, PL70 or SP70 either.
All is of course personal speculation and results. Mine are that PCGS is on the average -1 pt less than NGC on Licolns up to 1982. I haven't graded any more recent than that, but many earlier. NGC MS-65 = PCGS MS-64. Just my experience.
I mean simply, if you were to submit the same exact coin to all 3 grading services, which would issue it the lowest, and highest grade.
It depends on the series/denomination etc... And that still doesn't even give a straight answer. They all overgrade and undergrade. I prefer PCGS, but will not turn down a coin because of plastic or anything else. I evaluate the coin, determine my own grade and pay accordingly.
There is nothing really wrong with coins in the old, white ANACS slabs, but as with any of the services, buy the coin, not the slab. Chris
Heh, depends on if they are buying or selling! Why would you not buy a coin based on the slab company? I'd buy a coin in a Billy Bob's Certification slab if the price and actual condition were right. Being familiar with the "Strictness" or standards of different companies is important, however, in the end it doesn't really matter. What matters is how consistent the companies are in applying the standards. One might call a particular coin 63 while the other calls it 64, but if they are both consistent with their own standards then you will always know what you are getting.
' I know PCGS and NGC market strategy is to get the most number of coins to grade, so It's my belief they don;t grade quite as tough on dealer submissions. But I have read a study where a guy resubmitted breakouts. He didn;t find any significant difference in grading. BUT PCGS & NGC don;t certify a lot of varieties wnere ANACS does. So if you need a wider knowledge base, ANACS seems to be the top dog. If you are gonna sell a ton of coins, PCGS might be better ? Just sayin
Well, I don't plan on selling a ton of coins, mainly just because I couldn't afford a ton of coins in the first place!
Wow, they are all over the place. Those results are surprising, it's almost like you just have to get lucky (or unlucky) enough to send right coin to the right service on the right day. I really thought that there would be a more consistent ranking from one company to the next.
Scary part is if you waited 6 months and then sent the exact same coins in again - you'd get a whole different set of numbers in most cases.