PCGS Overpriced vs NGC

I'm noticing the gap between TPG's has increased further, as far as prices are concerned. PCGS seems to be consistently fetching more money in auctions than NGC. If you ask me, NGC coins are at a better value now since I see the coins are graded consistently similar. As a result I have purchased more NGC lately (by about 5/1 ratio). People are basically paying more for plastic. I think PCGS premiums are a bubble now and once the market corrects they will meet NGC premiums, in my opinion. I mean the coins are virtually identical in grade so it's only a matter of time.

Anyone else notice the recent further increase in gap?

 

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I think that PCGS overall will be preferred by collectors over NGC. One of the main reasons why is that there branding is impeccable. They've established themselves as the gold standard in numismatic grading. Another point is there slabs are a lot nicer. I hate taking photos of NGC coins and cropping them only to see a white piece of plastic cover up the coin. it makes the whole picture less attractive which could be a subliminal message that turns others away from NGC coins and leading them to pay more for PCGS coins.

 

The whole to-do regarding "Who is better" between NGC and PCGS is ridiculous. It reminds me of the latest commercial that Ice-T has on TV. A person on the street walks by kids selling lemonade and asks, "Iced Tea?", and gets the answer from Ice-T, "Read the sign! It's lemonade."

Chris

 

The biggest issue b/t the two is that NGC accepts PCGS coins for their version of the Registry, while PCGS only accepts PCGS coins into their Registry. As such, the market for high end PCGS coins is wider (PCGS & NGC registry chasers) than for NGC coins (NGC only registry chasers). This affects the highest graded examples in auctions, which *also* leads to a perception that "the best coins end up in PCGS slabs," since there's an inherent premium for such. The corollary of this ends up being that non-PGCS slabbed coins are in non-PCGS holders for a reason.

People can defend either TPG, but that's the reality of the market. If NGC wanted to boost their coin prices, they'd kick PCGS coins out of the registry and offer significantly better "prizes" than PCGS does. The risk, of course, is that those with primarily PCGS collections may abandon NGC altogether.

NGC chose to accept PCGS coins into their registry, because they realize that for high-end US coins, PCGS defines the market. The hope was (and still is, I suppose) that PCGS users would migrate to NGC if they saw the value NGC offers by participating in their registry. I'm not sure if the plan has worked or not, as I'm not a registry chaser.

Now, the question I have for OP is:

Are PCGS coins overpriced or are NGC coins overgraded?

 

Or perhaps pour one bourbon into a glass, pour another bourbon into a glass, have someone taste both, then tell you which one has the "better" label.

 

Don't get 9ball started on "shots" he got the shot glasses........

 

Well, for me, the phrase "gold standard" connotes "dumb as a bag of hammers", so I guess that's one reason I prefer NGC. I don't shoot "coin porn" so I don't give a rip about that, and I GREATLY prefer the NGC "look and feel".

 

Yeah? So what! Arby's has got the meats!

Chris

 

Here comes @Insider with a burger king slogan joke referencing icg

 

Have you tried BK's "Bacon King"? It put's Wendy's Baconator to shame!

Chris

 

I agree with your observation. However there is much more to the puzzle than just the registry sets. But I certainly think this is a large part of how people perceive PCGS as superior to NGC. While my preference leans towards PCGS for reasons mentioned above, the reality is that both are more or less the same when it comes to consistent grading. Personally I would not pay more for a PCGS coin over an NGC coin as the first rule of Numismatics is buy the coin, not the slab.

 

FWIW, a few years ago, NGC announced that it would no longer allow PCGS coins in their foreign coin registries because too many of their attributions were incorrect.

Chris

 

This. The slab is nicer. That's why I said people are paying for plastic. As far as I can tell the grading is about the same. In the long run I think people will realize this and NGC prices will get a boost and PCGS will stay or drop and the gap will close.

I noticed this recent increase from my win percentage increasing for ngc auctions and declining for pcgs, aside from final sale prices.

 

I think that had more to do with the fact that PCGS' foreign grading sucks, and it is widely ridiculed. Why would anyone submit foreign coins to PCGS? And why would anyone buy them? Every single foreign coin I've seen in PCGS holders has been off by at least a point (and often 3 or 4). NGC is far more highly regarded in the foreign coin realms, to the point that PCGS is an afterthought.

As for domestic material, each has their strong points. Any time we are talking about a designation (FS, FBL, *, PL, etc.) NGC is miles ahead of PCGS. No competition, in my opinion. PCGS is vastly more popular with modern coins because of the registry. PCGS is currently looser on toned coins as well (I've seen more that I would consider questionable toning in PCGS than NGC). Early US is better in NGC (they are more conservative, especially with coins with surface issues). It all depends on what you collect and what you are looking at.

*this post, even more than others, is largely my biased opinion, and should be taken as such*

 

I'm looking at auction results everyday and not seeing the gap changing. PCGS coins do bring higher prices but it's always been that way on many coin types.

 

Many would disagree with you on this point. I know I am not alone in that I much prefer the white background of an NGC slab as it contrasts very nicely with circulated silver coins compared to the translucent PCGS slabs. It makes for a very nice aesthetic when holding the coin in hand.

And in a perfect world, I do think that at some point the price gap between the 2 grading companies will narrow. I'm not sure how perfect this world is because people can be subject to perceptions. But I think despite this that at some point the gap will close at least a bit.

 

I think a lot of dealers feed into the MYTH of the superiority of PCGS because they cater to dealers far more than anyone else does. I also think dealers like to BUY NGC coins because they can lowball the owner by denigrating NGC, then cross them to PCGS and spin some garbage about PCGS plastic making them worth more, enhancing their markup.

Well, they can keep denigrating NGC all they want, and I'll keep denigrating dealers for doing it; denigrating them and their trusty stooges at PCGS.

 

IMO, NGC is #1 overall.

 

They sure are in terms of coins done, by almost 5 million over PCGS. 38 million + to 33 million +.

 

I buy coins, not plastic. If there's a nice coin available that I want, at a price I'm ok paying, I don't care if it's raw or in a PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ICG, or whatever holder. If the coin is worth a premium, I pay the premium. If it's not, I don't. The one exception would be sample or unusual slabs, in which case I would be mostly buying the plastic, but the coin is typically nothing special anyway.

This does effectively mean that I end up not buying NGC slabbed ancients, because the markup is usually pretty absurd. Their grading on ancients is also pretty stupid. I mean, really, who uses AU as a grade for ancient coins? That doesn't even mean anything.