Anyone here ever get a great deal in a lower tier company slab?

I know it happens quite frequently. I recently picked up a 1944 walker graded ms-64 by PCI. I am happy to report after a quick dip, it now resides in a ngc ms-67 holder : ) I personally would call it a 66, but this I'm definitely not going to argue : )

If anyone else has any stories, I'd love to hear them.

 

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Hey Zane
Why don't you send coins to PCGS???

I've gotten a few---1926-S Buff nickel--PCI F15 ($105)--NGC VF20 ($25) for a total cost of $130--sold it to DLRC for $250!
I've also gotten a few Buff nickels in PCI slabs and my 1909-S VDB in a PCI slab----I think I got them all cheaper than if they had been graded by NGC or PCGS.
My dealer is really good about priceing the COIN and not adding or lower the price because of the slab it is in.

As for other coins---I've gotten lots of good deals but most of them are either still raw or something...

Speedy

 

I haven't gotten it yet, but I have high hopes that I won't be returning it ...

1901 Indian in an NNC slab graded MS64 Red for... $31

-now I can't say (yet) as I don't have it in hand, but as I said I have high hopes that it will be decent and if it's even close I think it will be have been OK. We shall see.

I'm one of those that isn't too big on slabs from any company, but I will look at certain coins (such as ancients and older proofs) as I trust them more than myself in determining if the coin is authentic (or actually a proof). I'm sure they've been wrong, but that percentage is lower than the percentage of me being wrong.

Aside from looking closely at the coin (ignoring the grade), I think they probably aren't as good at identifying cleaned coins, but that seems iffy all around (boddy bagging uncleaned coins as cleaned etc.) anyhow so I try to use my best judgement.

I'm hoping the one above makes up for the last auction I won where I was looking at the RD row and pricing (but buying a RB coin). DOH! I spent too much on that one (no wonder I won it).

 

As I've often said, even a broken clock is right twice a day, so of course the lower tier TPGs get some coins right. If you happen to spot one of those and you are capable of accurate grading yourself and recognize what has happened you will, of course, get a great deal - unless the seller happens to be a competent grader too, and is selling the coin, not the holder.

 

I just don't understand the "broken clock is right twice a day" and "even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut" analogies that are frequently repeated when describing second tier TPG grading abilities. It almost sounds as if 75%+ of the coins they grade are wrong. Do these companies intentionally employ completely incompetent dumbells to do the grading, or are they just flat-out dishonest crooks preying on the unsuspected hobbyist? It must be one or the other. I can't imagine that the average hobbyist or even the average dealer would have such superior skills over a full time professional grader that they can make this statement with confidence without some insider knowledge about what is going on inside these TPGs. Is there some dirty little industry secret that the rest of us should know that substantiates these claims? Or is there just some sort of collusion among the top tier graders and their supporters to deceitfully badmouth the competition to maintain their top tier exclusivity?

 

Okay, thanks for the honest answer. That's what I wanted to know. I know I'm one of the easiest people to fool sometimes on things like this, and I could never quite grasp why and how a second tier TPG could remain second tier so consistently.

 

like 50% of statistics are made up. :goofer:

 

A broken clock my be right twice a day, but a clock set a half hour fast is always off.

Anyhow, if you buy the coin, not the slab, you can pick up some decent deals. People who don't trust the no-name grading companies often simply pass right over those coins without a looking. Sure, the coin is not the MS66 on the label, but it might be a solid MS63 going for MS60 money because of this.

 

I got a pretty good deal. I picked up a NNC MS65 1928S Peace dollar for 375.00. sent it to pcgs and got it back as MS 64.
So based on the redbook priceing i saved 1,625. Thats of course based o the redbook value of course. Which i should add i have had trust in and followed as my price guide for the past 20 years. I just saw a guy pay 2,200 on ebay for the same year and grade by pcgs on ebay. If I sold it and got 2,200. I would have made out pretty nicely. But you know im not going to. lol

 

Crossing my fingers

I recently purchased a coin off of eBay that I hope will grade within 5 points of its MS-63 grading. Based on Red Book, even if it's a lot worse than the current grade, it's still priced reasonably.

Yes, it's somewhat of a gamble, but I will post the results here nevertheless.

 

Lower tiers have not ventured into exonumia, but I have picked up three cwt rarities (2 R-7s and an R-9) that NGC had incorrectly id'd (and seller sold) as commons (R-1s to 3s).