ICG - I’m A Believer

It is not. Though I will admit that I had a moment of pause as well….. The rare date is open three with no arrows.

 

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Darn. I could not see the arrows. Still a really nice coin.

 

I've submitted to ICG, ANACS and NGC and bought and sold coins in slabs by all four (and SEGS, ICCS, etc) and my experience has been that ICG is as good as NGC or PCGS on SLQs (which I have focused on) and maybe more consistent than ANACS. NGC is more generous (but fair), I would say, on early American Colonials - I think that ICG is sometimes overly conservative there. ANACS and PCGS are also very good, in my view on early American Colonials (another area I collect in) but I like NGC by a hair. Here's a secret though (or something I didn't know prior to submission) - ICG spends the time / effort needed to give you the specifics on early American coinage, without the exorbitant cost, and when you've got an environmentally damaged / poor condition Fugio Cent, New Jersey copper, Connecticut copper, or whatever, it's really appreciated that they'll come back with the Maris or Breen number, nailing down the variety / type. I've also been able to directly speak with graders at ICG which is something I don't know if you can do at other grading services. I think ICG customer service is top notch and their grading service is a tremendous bargain (especially with the CoinTalk special!) (and the turnaround time is nice too!). I love the fact that some folks turn up their noses at ICG slabs (and ANACS) as has provided me with some bargain opportunities that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten.

 

When I look at coins for my sets, I don't draw a snubbed nose at ICG. Overall, I am pleased with the grade and feel they are consistent not only with the TTGs, but also with how I would grade or see the coin. The only exception I would place out there would be Lincoln cents. When I was collecting that series, I felt ICG was a little more hit/miss, but then again, that was based on internet pictures and not in hand, so my opinion may be slightly biased.