Trying to find a grading service that likes the small collector.

I have two coins with good value, but getting them slabbed is not as easy as I thought. Nor does it seem like the graders want to mess with small collectors, it only seems like they want to deal with dealers.

PCGS: To send a coin to PCGS, I have to be a member, which costs $50 on top of the grading fees and shipping.
Can't use their economy service, because one of my coins has a retail of over $300.
So I have to use their regular service, $30 per coin. So PCGS would cost $110 to have my coins graded plus shipping back and forth.

NGC: Again, have to be a member. Which costs at the min $40. So that is $40 on top of grading fees and shipping. Unless you have 5 coins, you have to use their early bird service. $30 per coin. So that is $100 to have my coins graded, not including shipping to and shipping back.


ANACS: Can't use their economy service, need at least 5 coins. So I have to use 15 day, which is $19 per coin.

There is $38 plus $20 for return postage and handling. $58.....

No matter how you slice it, it would cost at least $30 each to have these coins graded.

It seems like with the fee structures, and EXUBERANT S&H charges, these graders don't want to mess with the small coin collector, they only want dealers, or people with a lot of coins that need slabbed.

If you think about it, it's only worth slabbing a coin if, in an auction or listing, that $30 you spent will increase the value $30 or more.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

icg there very reasonable an it 15 a COIN PLUS FREE GRADINGING FOR SOME RARITIES. BUT YOU HAVE TO BE AN ANA MEMBER I THINK. WHICH IS ONLY 100 DOLLARS MAY COST NO MORE THAN 200 AT MOST TO GRADE UR COINS

 

I would check with a local (and trustworthy) dealer. A list is available on PCGS website. Ask if you can add your coin to their next submission. Good luck....Mike

 

Yes grading can be pretty expensive, especially with the shipping charges, but if you submit the right coins it's more than worth the fees.

If you're a member of the ANA you can submit your coins directly to NGC without paying for a NGC membership. http://www.ngccoin.com/ana_welcome.aspx

It's also been mentioned that eBay members can submit coins directly to NGC, but I've never been able to find an actual link on eBay or NGC's website that states that.

 

Yes. I've complained about this before too. But I paid it. I had a gold $5 cross over from an old PCGS MS 60 slab to a new NGC slab and was upgraded to a 62. Should have been a 63. That was graded at the show. I dropped it off and picked it up the next morning re-slabbed. That cost $65 to get that one coin re-graded. That's no shipping and handling involved whatsoever. But, it's what I wanted and I'd do it again. Many people were taking advantage of being able to submit stuff at the show.

I think they almost have to put the prices where they are. Can you imagine if they only charged $5 to slab a coin and you could send singles in? The tracking process they use as they go through the system is fairly extensive. It would add a lot more work to staffs that already seem to be a month behind at times. There'd be a huge influx of people sending it in one or two at a time and all would have to go through the process. It just wouldn't be cost effective or profitable I'd imagine.

Once you watch how they track an order as it goes through the process, you would understand.

 

You didn't identify the coins, and we don't have photos to determine if they are worth grading or not. No offense intended, but we've often had people who think their coins are worth more than they actually are.

The better grading services (PCGS & NGC) aren't trying to soak their customers. They charge a fair value for their services, and if you're concerned about the value of your coins after grading, then I would recommend PCGS or NGC before you ever considered ANACS or ICG. Sure, they have lower grading fees, but they're struggling to remain competitive and their slabs just don't command as much value.

It's possible that you may be able to piggyback your coins onto a (local) dealer's submission, but he doesn't work for free either. So, you would have to pay him for his time in addition to the grading fees. You would also be dependent upon how prompt the dealer will be in submitting the coins. It could be a couple weeks or a couple months before his next submission, and this doesn't include the turnaround time for the grading service.

It all boils down to "you get what you pay for".

Chris

 

Simple fact is that if all you are ever going to submit is two coins the grading firms might louse money on your submission.
Think of it this way the mail clerk has to receive and enter your order into the system, then three graders have to determine the grade, them the technician has it slab it. Finalizer has to check them then back to the mail room for out processing and packing and mailing.

Very unlikely any of those people work for minimum wage and in many of the cases the tasks take as long for two coins as for ten or twenty.

 

That's not to mention the insurance, the companies have to pay, let alone the security bills. They are responsible for your coins and they take that seriously.

Like some other people have mentioned I would post some pictures or take them to trustworthy dealer to see if it's worth get them graded. (assuming you want to sell them) If you are just looking to know what grade they are you can save your money and post some pictures or take them to a dealer and see what they say.

 

You can use PCGS's economy service. The $300 limit only refers to what they insure the coin for on its trip back to you. You can submit a $500 coin for economy grading but can only get $300 insurance coverage for it, if you're cool with that.

If you want to save money, I'd wait for one of ANACS' specials. They recently had a 10 coin special for $100 including return FedEx shipping, a great deal. That special's over but I bet they will have another one soon.