I want to start getting some old gold. Which one of these slabs looks better in your hand? The case...showing the whole coin...the surface material of the case etc. Opinions welcome. Pictures welcome. This is not about resale or accuracy of the grade but rather the desire to buy a coin.....look at.....die. Hopefully I will get to do the middle step several times over several years.
That is again person preference, some people love the look of NGC slabs and some love the look of pcgs !!
As far as just looks goes, I used to clearly prefer PCGS but since NGC started doing the edge view holders, it is a toss-up. I actually love the small old white ANACS holders though.
I think this is totally a matter of personal preference. Me, I prefer the look of the PCGS slab verses the NGC. Other people feel the opposite.
In general, the PCGS slabs allow more light to hit the surface of the coin, which can be important with smaller coins.
I would buy the nicest coin you can afford and not care too much about the holder (as long as the coin is certified by one of the big three...) my personal preference is NGC's white EdgeView holder which has a nice contrast to the gold coin.
I definitely love the way the NGC edge view holders "display" the coins they contain. Especially coins of color such as gold, copper, or darker toning silver. I do not like the NGC holders that are not the edge view holders.
I personally prefer the older PCGS slabs. Easier to photograph in my opinion. I think the all white makes the colors harder to capture on NGC coins. I do not like the tabs on the new holder - NGC or PCGS, but at the same time I like being able to at least see most of the edge. Having said all that - buy the best coin you can. And then sometime in the future you could always cross them to your slab of preference. And when I am cracking them out - I do not care which holder they are in.
I like the pcgs slabs better especially the older ones I love the black NGC slabs tho I wish that was an option
I like PCGS because it is easier to see the mirrors of proof coins without too much reflection from the slab, but the old small ANACS slabs are the easiest to crack by far.
Interesting comment. I've never really considered one holder getting more light to the coin surface, but it makes sense, as they are different slabs. A few weeks ago I tried my very first NGC "scratch-resistant" holder. Seems really nice, and JA (CAC) is on the records saying they are optically superior. I wonder Tom, have you compared one of these special holders on smaller coins, versus the normal holder, and versus PCGS plastic? I would be eager to hear your opinion on them. I have so many destroyed holders, I think at some point I will re-holder my entire collection in them. For others here who don't know what I am talking about, check here: http://www.ngccoin.com/coin-grading/holders/scratch-resistant.aspx They cost $5 more per coin.
Some of my older NGC slabs are looking unattractive and are impairing the view of the coins. I've been considering sending them all in to re-holder with the scratch-resistant holders as well. I've heard good things about their clarity, but also that if they do get scratched they are impossible to buff out. Then again, if it's the same scratch resistant coating they put on glasses I think that would be pretty tough to scratch through regular use. I'm interested in hearing what people think of them. The thing that really turns me off about PCGS slabs are the labels. They are wholly unappealing and so ugly as to be a distraction. The background looks bad. The font and text spacing (both vertical and horizontal) look bad. The mixed font sizes look just awful. How hard is it to make an attractive looking label? NGC has been doing it for a while.