I'll bet I'm not the first to ask this question, but could you please advise me which coin grading services you consider reliable, which you don't consider reliable, and perhaps rank them from best to worst?
The top two are PCGS and NGC , which are the best . The next level would be ANACS , ICG and SEGS . These are for American coins . I would use ANACS for more common coins or for authentication services which they are quite good at . Stay away from the rest .
There are only two services that have fairly universal market acceptance for US coins; NGC and PCGS. All the others are generally viewed with suspicion to one level or another and coins in their holders are generally not as liquid or valuable. In today's market it would be difficult to recommend any service other than NGC or PCGS for US coin certification.
I remember another member trying to sell of an early capped bust half in a coin show and he went to one table, the coin was graded XF45 Anacs, and he told him he couldn't buy it because it is in the wrong holder. For resale PCGS is the way to go although I prefer NGC's labeling. PCGS is also more strict on their grading Sent from my Iphone6 using TAPTALK ^lol
Definitely PCGS or NGC for US coins for resale or for the correct grade . What I meant by saying I would use ANACS for authentication services is if I had a couple of coins like Trade dollars or 1/4 eagle Indian gold that I wanted to make sure weren't counterfeit and wasn't interested in selling . Also don't be scared away from buying coins from ANACS as you can find some great deals in their holders . The most important thing is to learn to grade for yourself and to buy the coin not the slab .
And neither PCGS nor NGC are as accurate on varieties/attributions as ANACS and SEGS are, and SEGS is better than ANACS except possibly on VAM's.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned from participating on this forum is that TPG's other than PCGS/NGC are often seen as being more lenient not just on grading points (i.e. MS64 vs. 65), but also on their standards for slabbing coins as "problem free". For example, if a coin is graded MS63 by ANACS or SEGS, and there is only a small price difference between a 60 and a 63, one may think that there is very little downside risk even if the coin was overgraded by a point or two. However, if this coin was cleaned and deserving of a "details" grade but was slabbed problem free based on more lenient standards, than its true status is "not gradable" which just kills its market value. This does not only apply to uncirculated coins, as even circulated coins can have cleaning or other problems that are toned over or otherwise not visible to the untrained eye. Therefore, since I don't always feel confident in my own abilities to determine if a coin was cleaned, I would rather rely on the best professional experience money can buy. Based on the CDN bid prices for PCGS/NGC compared with other TPG's, I think it's obvious whose experience the market values the most...
Now that raises a question. Would you submit a coin you thought maybe it had been cleaned? I have been debating that for sometime with a beautiful Overton 101 half. I know it is at least a 40, but the luster isn't there. <Yes, I believe it is genuine.> I suspect it is AU, but long ago (decades I suspect) some clown cleaned it. No damage, just a lusterless gray (grey?). Since I have seen some 'cleaned' slabbed coins move at prices several grades below the assigned grade condition, I worry this one will move at a better price as a raw circulated XF40 (42?) than if I submitted it and it came back as a slabbed MS63 but 'cleaned'.
I have another follow up question to this one. Which of the following 3 scenarios would make the Overton 101 most likely to sell for a higher price? 1. Raw 2. In a PCGS/NGC "details" holder 3. In an ANACS/ICG problem free holder This is assuming that it is a "borderline" problem coin and would be bagged by PCGS/NGC but accepted by the others. Also, how would the 4 TPG's I just mentioned rank strictly in regards to cleaning? Who is the most lenient and who is the strictest?
Well I have seen some PCGS/NGC slabs that just say 'cleaned' or 'genuine' and give no grade. I would really hate to spend my own money to have it graded and get back something like that. Agreed if it came back MS 65 cleaned, that probably wouldn't be too bad, but what if it comes back XF 42 cleaned? Ow, in that case I was better off not submitting it. I believe an ICG holder that just gave a number, i.e., XF 42 would give me a good price if I sold it. Better than a raw coin. Beyond those 3 rating services, I would be careful. Some of them are almost the same as not having the coin slabbed, maybe worse. There have been reports of counterfeit coins being certified by some of the 'looser' sevices, so having your coin slabbed by one of them could cause a buyer to just walk on by.
The only TPGs that are really worth anything are PCGS and NGC. They have set the third party grading standard since they started doing business and are universally considered the best options. Depending on the series...one might be slightly better than the other as far as strict grading but they are both pretty close. There was a time when ANACS and ICG were considered a decent next tier...but in reality they have really slipped in quality over the last several years. They have both changed ownership and with that change came a decrease in grading quality. I personally wouldn't use either and I wouldn't be supremely confident in either companies grade being correct. Bottom line, always evaluate the coin inside the holder and determine for yourself if the grade is accurate (and if so, where the coin stands in the spectrum of that grade)...no matter who slabbed the coin.
I was a past partner in NGC for six years and a Finazlier for seven years. That being said I only use PCGS or NGC. I also use CAC.
I understand that PCGS/NGC have the tightest standards and that the coins graded by the lower tier PCG's consequently trade for less. However, superc's statement still raises an interesting question. Is an ANAC's or ICG slab truly "worthless" or does it still provide at least some indication of a coin's acceptability? For example, if a coin has been cleaned but the cleaning isn't blatantly obvious, and it is slabbed problem free by ANACS/ICG, will it still trade for more than "problem" money, or more than it would if the coin was raw? It seems to me that if I had a coin that was lightly cleaned and I knew it wouldn't pass at PCGS/NCG, but had a shot at a "problem free" grade from the other TPG's, then it would still sell for more in one of those slabs than if it were raw or in a "details" holder?
There are plastic buyers out there, both collectors and dealers; and there are coin buyers out there, both collectors and dealers. But experienced collectors and dealers alike will ignore the slab, regardless of whose slab it is, and yes that includes NGC and PCGS, and base their decisions on the coin itself and their own knowledge. If you are smart you ignore the grade on the slab, you ignore the name on the slab, you ignore the slab completely and only pay attention to the coin inside it. You can find harshly cleaned and problem coins in NGC and PCGS slabs. You can find over-graded coins in NGC and PCGS slabs. And you can find coins that are labeled as problem coins in NGC and PCGS slabs that should be in problem free slabs. The TPGs are not infallible - none of them ! And to trust them as if they are is a mistake. One you should not make.
