To all you most excellent members of Coin Talk, I'm ready to join PCGS or NGC as a member to take advantage of their submission offers (as well as expanding my coin hunting experience) and would appreciate any or all input. What is a PCGS submission voucher and how does it work and does NGC have a similar membership program ? TIA all and have a great day!
PCGS vouchers are good for a quantity of coins. NGC vouchers are good for a dollar amount of grading fees. There may be rules about what level of grading they are good for. It should show that on their sites.
PCGS gives you a certain number of vouchers depending on the level you choose. I think the lowest level doesn't get any. When you submit, make sure you check the box saying you want to use the vouchers. They will then discount your grading fees. One voucher=one coin. But there are rules, so make sure the coin you send is is for the voucher. NGC gives you $150 in credit, but not with the lowest tier. They simply discount the orders grading fees until you've used the credit.
Just got hosed by PCGS on this. The vouchers are good for Regular submissions only. They wouldn’t apply them to economy submissions even though it would benefit them. Also they gave a coin a details grade for a planchet flaw because I didn’t indicate - and pay - that I wanted it graded as a mint error. I caught it when it was posted and the coin was still in quality check but to correct it they said I’d have to resubmit it - and pay - for a regrade. There’s a pattern with them and it’s all about the money. In short, PCGS sucks since they were bought out. If you call customer service and don’t request a callback, you will be on hold for literally an hour before they answer the phone. I tested it. DO NOT JOIN PCGS!
To be fair, both companies have a lot of rules that can trip you up but I do hear about more folks having problems with PCGS. I don't have any problems with either but have been using them for many years. I think part of the problem are the submission forms. They are really long and can be hard to understand. You have to really study every line.
@chrissy1955 . I would like to know a few things before giving advice. Have you checked with anyone whether or not the coins you are thinking of slabbing are worth the cost? I ask because in my collecting career I once thought getting coins slabbed was an important step but quickly learned i did not have the expertice to select coins that would have straight graded or made sense to slab. I have purchased many coins at this point in my collecting experience but will admit; I have not sent a coin in for grading in over 5 years. i have just had coins stickered by VSS to denote varieties. i may not be your most useful person for advice but will offer any help I can give. james
Thanks so far, I was a little put off by the business aspect of both, knowing they're going to maximize their profits, but thought maybe, just maybe there are a few considerate cells in their otherwise cold, commercial hearts.
I'm thinking of submitting 4 or 5 gold coins with the possibility of reselling them. I'm relying on PCGS Photograde to approximate their grade, but that, of course is not overly reliable. These coins were purchased at an auction several years ago from an estate of a verified and well regarded collector from the area so their authenticity is pretty certain.
I just renewed my membership. I went with the lowest tier because I don't submit that many. It was $69.00. I just submitted three coins last week (1916-D Merc Dime, 1895-O Barber Dime, & 1973 Canadian Quarter, Large Motto) and it cost me around $200.00. So, I didn't think it was that bad.
