What Do You think of PCI?

Thats putting it pretty mildly.

 

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In the early days of PCI (10 digit green label) they did a great job for a small price. They were actually really tough on some coin types.
I used them a lot in those days. A nice holder for the money.
They even holdered problem coins but they had a red label and a net grade.

 

For most people it is very difficult to pat themselves on the back.

 

I have a cpl of the Stanton signature PCI slabs, rpm's that I guess he attributed then signed the slab.

My avatar coin, the 22-d, was in a PCI MS-65 90% red slab ( old red label) , I crossed it cracked into a NGC 65RB holder.........it is now gone, long sold.

 

The is a great post, and very factual overall. I did buy the assets of PCI last February and decided quickly that the reputation could not be salvaged. While there are many decent coins in holders, there are more that are inaccurately graded...and worse yet...many counterfeit coins in holders, or incorrectly attributed (MS as Proof, etc). There are so many traps in improperly graded coins out there and we are genuinely worried that many collectors are not aware of the dangers.

Anyway, we decided to rebrand the company completely because it was always my intention to start from scratch with a brand new grading company -- based on the censervative standards of the 1970s-era Photograde books that I was raised on.

After about 6 full months in operation, we have graded over 6000 coins and only about 10% of those were submitted by DLRC. We have hired one the best variety experts in the country in Mike Ellis (our Senior grader) who spent over a decade at ANACS and ICG before joining us. He is excellent at his job and loves coins! It's really been a lot of fun for us so far...

Our buggest hurdle remains eBay acceptance which is inexplicably hard to negotiate. So far I have found noone home at eBay to help us understand what measures need to be taken for acceptance, but I am working on that. In the meantime, DLRC (and DLRC Auctions) is the primary marketmaker for DGS coins and I can tell you our customers have been aggressive buyers of DGS-graded coins becuase the quality is there. I would venture that 50% of our coins listed with problems on the holders might slip through other services without notation. But we are not interested in glossing over the details. If a coin has been lightly cleaned, we will say so. There's nothing wrong with a lightly cleaned coin, but one can't ignore the reality as a grading service.

I could ramble on forever, so I'll stop now. Thank you all who support us. I think if you give DGS a try (whether grading or as a buyer) you'll be very pleased with the service level and quality of the coins.

Happy Holidays to everyone in the numismatic community. I look forward to seeing you all at the FUN show!

Sincerely,
John Feigenbaum

p.s. our blogs and press releases are posted at www.stellacoinnews.com.

 

p.s. we just made a small but important design change to the holder. As of this week we changed the color of the "problem" line to blue (was red). Feedback thus far has been very positive. Here's an example:

 

Merry Christmas, John and thanks for the posting and update!

 

Mike Ellis brings you credibility as a grading service. I have met Mike and spoken to him at ANA Summer Seminar. I was very impressed with his knowledge and enthusiasm.

 

That you John! Little notices like that about changes in the slabs makes my life a lot easier.

 

I'm not a big fan of slabbed coins, but that was a nice post. I believe DGS is definitely heading in the right direction. Thanks John!

 

Will CAC evaluate a DGS slabbed coin?

I also believe that DGS is moving in a good direction. As stated previously, I look at PCI slabs as a serious buyer and I will look at DGS slabbed coins going forward.

I don't know much about CAC's process & am curious how many little stickers they have already placed on slabs. Will CAC evaluate a DGS slabbed coin? I didn't notice any DGS-CAC Approved Lots in DLRC auction 313. Of course, there are currently only 6,000 DGS slabs amongst bazillions of other brand slabs.

I personally do not have any CAC stickers on any of my slabs.

Very best regards,
collect89

 

John, thanks for taking the time to post, I have confidence that DGS will become well established and respected even more than now. I really hope you are successful in having DGS accepted as an "approved" tpg by eBay.

 

And John seems to have what so many others are lacking..... integrity.

 

DGS sounds like an up and coming force at least I hope they will bring stability in their grading but I'm not particulary found of Photograde , Wish them well and will certainlly check out their company .
rzage

 

In my opinion, DGS will be successful if they (1) grade consistently and (2) grade conservatively. I sincerely hope the business is wildly successful. The hobby needs another top tier grading company.

I like the PCI-style holders a lot and I like the fact that problem coins are graded.

 

In addition to eBay, I am lobbying for CAC to review our coins for acceptance. I have gotten very good feedback from Mr. Albanese (CAC President/founder) but they currently restrict the stickers to PCGS and NGC. He told me that CAC is currently working on a standard by which other services could gain approval. (i.e. online population report). Also, he'd like to see us in business for over a year which makes good sense to me, as well. Our first anniversary is about 5 months off and we're still refining all our processes. I'm very optimistic that they will accept us soon.

As to your questions on CAC, I would say the same thing I tell my other clients. CAC has collectors' interests at their basic premise. The idea is that they only certify coins they feel are very solid to PQ for the grade. No matter where you stand on CAC's significance in the industry, it simply cannot hurt to have a "second" opinion on your coin from an additional source. And that's what it is. You should still make sure you like the coin for quality and eye appeal yourself.

-John

 

I agree. Very well said.

 

Very true. And I appreciate your input. But paying a premium for stickered slabs just doesn't make sense to me.

 

Old Photo Certified Slabs.

All the talk about old PCI slabs I have read no mention about the old style Photo Certified Institute slabs that had a photo of your coin along with the grade. I sent in a 1875H Canadian dime that was in MHO graded correctly. This company was owned by other parties so I would like to hear what others think about these slabs. The thing I liked about PCI was that they were easy to submit to as anybody could directly send to. I hope DL will be as easy to send to. I hope someone chimes in about the old photo slabs. Thanks