Certified grading companies

Been searching the forums for some insight. My question is concerning all the grading companies out there and the price it has on the coin (premium). I have bought a few coins in PCGS, NGC, and a few in IGC. The Certified Coin dealer newsletter only recognizes PCGS, and NGC graded coins and not the later. Most books I read favor these two as well (the coin collectors survival manual, etc).What's the reason? Most articles and post on this forum seem to concur these two are the top. Just trying to figure out is there a criteria that they conform to compared to others. Should I not pay a premium for a graded coin over raw if it is not PCGS or NGC? Hope these questions aren't to "Newbie". If so I apologize, just a lot to take in with this hobby.
thanks,
Dave

 

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It's all about standards, the consistent application of those standards and reputation in the market. Oh, and some marketing.

Personally, I built my Peace Dollar collection with PCGS graded coins only.

 

Let me get the first, obvious reply out of the way: you should buy the coin, not the slab. Learn to grade, and you'll find there are coins not worth their grade in all companies' slabs, and some gems out there that are undergraded. All are worthy of purchase, at the right price.

That said, PCGS and NGC have better reputations in the market, so you're likely to get more out of them than IGC and ANACS coins. I wouldn't consider many other grading companies' holders to be worth more than raw, except maybe old PCI green label holders.

That said, for key date coins, I would trust IGC and ANACS to authenticate them. I don't think they make more mistakes than PCGS and NGC in that respect. For key dates, authenticity is the most important thing. It's much easier to grade a coin you have confidence is authentic than it is to authenticate and grade the same coin.

 

Plastic holders are nothing more than a marketing ploy by TPG's to create a sense of security for coin collectors albeit at a price. All of the major and certainly all of the lesser TPG's have certified counterfeits, especially the Micro-O Morgan Dollars.

 

I don't hold that against them. Those are contemporary counterfeits that fooled literally everybody for ~100 years.

 

I never pay a premium for a company label. Many dealers in my area are the same way. A raw coin may sell for far under retail because the buyer is unsure, but a certified coin is more likely to actually hit full retail. This is especially true with key date coins...in my market anyway. Every market is different.

 

You can use TPG grades as a first step in determining whether you want a coin and how much you are willing to pay. But you need to be able to determine for yourself whether the coin is average for the grade or low or high for the grade. In short, all MS63s are not the same, etc.

 

That's a good point. My thought process when I have a slabbed coin in my hand (say MS63) is more along the lines of "Is this MS63 or better?" than "What grade is this?". It's similar, but I tend to start out thinking that a top 4 TPG coin is MS if it says so.

 

I do, for crying out loud look at the price of the TPG'd counterfeits- through the roof. And I want one for my black cabinet collection. I have several of them that aren't TPG'd.

 

First of all, welcome to the show! 2nd, read and heed what PaulM said...then repeat.

 

Like them or not (and I do, because I don't have enough confidence in my grading skills) the slabbed coin will almost always command a higher price...

 

Well, the authorities in the Morgan world told them the Micro O's were legitimate, and they're pretty good copies right down to the composition.

 

Not quite, owing to technical difficulties at the time they were made most of them test out at approximately 93% silver - obviously they were monetary counterfeits made to make money by depositing them into the system at a time when silver was averaging 25-30 cents an ounce. That is what makes them so fascinating, they were not made to fool unsuspecting collectors, they were made to be used as money and they stayed that way for about 30-40 years or so. I really do wonder where and when they were made and if perhaps a foreign government that at a similar time was cranking out very good forgeries of large sized US paper money might have been involved, since they were also cranking out copies of earlier coinage from their own realm to spend into the western European economy.

 

You also have the fact that at least one years micro O's are legitimate.

 

Another newbie question. Way back in the 1970'S Ilived in Colo Springs. At that time the ANACS was located there in fact I used to drive by it going to work. Back in those days it could take a couple of months to get your coin returned. Does it still take that long.
Also my memory with age has forgotten the address. Would someone please post the address.
Thanks

 

NGC/PCGS are considered top tier, so an NGC/PCGS coin of a certain grade usually sells for more than a similar coin (same type, year, mm, variety etc.) graded by another company at the same grade.

NGC is a good choice for non-US coins, I have many German coins and coins from the German Reich in NGC slabs.

ANACS is known for attributing many varieties so they're often preferred by Morgan collectors who are looking for VAMs.

ICG coins may sell for less money, but that doesn't mean those coins are worse or all overgraded. That's why somebody else wrote "buy the coin, not the holder".

-Michael

 

NEVER be afraid to ask questions as in this game or the rest of life ignorance is NOT bliss but very expensive. Each service has it's own following and will appeal to a "market"

 

Welcome to the hobby. There is a lot to learn and IMO, it's part of the fun.

There is an ANA Grading Standards book. I suggest buying the latest edition and read it.

According to many, none of the TPG's actually strictly follow the established ANA grading standards. Each has their own twist. PCGS and NGC are recognized as the top two because of their grading consistency. Some prefer only PCGS, others NGC.

ANACS has changed hands many times which has led to doubt among collectors. Same for ICG.

Many, like myself, try to judge the coin in the holder and then make a buying decision based on our own grading skills. I do not consider myself an expert in this area by any stretch of the imagination; however, I'm comfortable enough in my current knowledge to make good buying decisions.

Once you learn grading, you'll start to form your own opinions of these companies. Like I said, there's so much to learn in the hobby, so it's impossible to cover all aspects of this in one short message board thread.

If I can share a few things though, it would be to educate yourself before making any big buying decisions. Be patient. There are usually many examples to choose from, so you can afford to be picky. Buy a few lower price coins in the series you want to collect so you can familiarize yourself with the coin in hand. Nothing beats seeing a coin in hand. Again, these are just some of my beliefs.

Don't be afraid to ask questions and have fun.

 

What should matter to a collector is a decent amount of knowledge and a formative opinion about eye appeal. Real grading companies are more for investors, in the grading companies and in coins. They don't really have purist collectors.

Now of course I am very well aware that there are particular bottom feeder grading companies that are milking the system. But even PCGS and NGC blow it occasionally. I have an NGC graded 19th century coin that will attest to that.

 

ANACS is now located in Denver near the Centennial airport. I've used them a number of times for my coin roll finds. Their prices are great and its an easy drive from where I live.