It’s silly debate Pcgs vs Ngc. They are both pretty much well equivalent. one can always take a c coin of one and compare it to an a or b coin of the other and have show n tell remember it’s the coin and making generalizations about the 2 major TPG useless Not a koolaid drinker nor crossover fanatic- buy / sell coins both tpg.
In addition to that, wasted money. All you get for being #1 most times is a citation on the site and a piece of paper. I did get a plaque one year for the best presented set.
What does it mean “best presented set”? Did you have the nicest coin pictures? PS: found it https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/awards/
When you post a coin on the registry, you can also post two pictures and a write-up about each coin. I won "best presented set" the first time for my early half dimes set (1792 - 1805). I presented a history of the series with pictures and a write-up for each coin. It is one of things that makes the registry worthwhile for collectors. Some of the top sets have nothing but a list of what they have. There are no pictures and no write-ups. To me those listings are useless. It even leaves open the possibility that the person who posts the coins does not own them.
Some times the buyers don't care about the coin, they want the plastic. Watched an NGC coin languish on ebay for months. Seller continually dropped the price until I pulled the trigger at $99. free ship. I cracked it, PCGS same grade, sold in a few days at $850.
While I stand behind my post I'd like to clarify things. Owning quite a few NGC graded coins along side a greater majority of PCGS my case is based on a much higher percentage of like graded coins examined side by side. Which PCGS has the advantage. Yes, the posted coin is being examined and compared based on a photograph. That said, if following Photograde's written description, the coin in question falls short of an MS66. I suppose my point would be, if you are willing to acquire any coin in a grade above MS65 both strike and eye appeal matter.
Is it me? If not, then you know two people. And my PCGS coins were grandfathered in and I still crossed them.
The photo is so bad how are you able to make a decision on grade. They are distorted blurry and in disernible. The photographer tried to capture the toning before the details of the coin. Maybe it has some sharp luster and a good strike?
Also, I think some of the earlier NGC slabs didn't do justice to the coins....the ones that were all-white interior that surrounded the coin and prevented edge viewing weren't aethetically appealing.
I think the older NGC slabs look rather nice with larger ($20) gold coins, and toned (S$1) size silver coins. The color contrast along with the unobstructed rims are quite attractive. For smaller coins, not so much, and tiny coins like T1/T2 gold dollars, trimes, etc. just get completely swallowed up in the older holders and look terrible.
OP, I highly suggest you not even use PCGS true view pictures to help with your decision to buy a coin.....I've owned and seen true views that LOOK nowhere close to what the coin looks like. If a seller has a coin I need and they just post a true view, I ask for a slab shot as I don't trust the true view pictures.
Excellent advice. A TrueView is a glamour shot, and sometimes is way better than the coin typically will look in hand. I've bought coins where only the TrueView was posted that looked absolutely dead on accurate to the coin in hand, but also one where the coin in hand looked so bad I returned it. I prefer NGCs default cert verification images. Those are not glamour shots, and are far better tools for assessing a coin before a purchase, because the coin almost always looks better in hand.
I know one dealer who has had a customer return a coin because it didn't look like the TrueView, even though the dealer never posted TrueViews, instead using his own, more representative pictures. He then banned that customer from future purchases.
The NGC default pics, though they aren't the best also allow me to verify if a coin from a seller in another country is the actual coin or a bait and switch as I will look at the sellers pic and compare it to NGCs pictures. Those that just post the true view, you have nothing to compare it to. I've seen some NGC photo vision and they look great honestly.