Opinions on SEGS seated quarters?

What is the overall confidence level of purchasing SEGS graded seated quarters in comparison to PCGS and NGC.

I would imagine they would be quite liquid and available, but surprisingly I don't come across that many of them.

What are your thoughts on this? After all Larry Briggs is the accepted authority on seated quarters.

Any comments?

 

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Treat anything graded by SEGS as raw. Sure, Larry Briggs is knowledgeable on Seated material, but his grading is.... less so.

 

Like Jason said, treat it as raw.

Chris

 

Ouch !!

 

I wouldn't buy anything in a SEGS holder unless I saw it in hand and was confident in my abilities to grade it myself. CT has lots of threads on this topic and the consensus is that there is little to no market acceptance of SEGS. Seated and other older type coins would make me especially nervous, as they may have gotten detailed by PCGS/NGC and later got slabbed problem free by SEGS.

 

I was concerned with just the seated quarter series myself. I know the overall market feelings of SEGS, but this guy also wrote the generally accepted resource on this series. I figured his opinion would be valued, at least on the quarters, and that the grading would be relatively accurate.

So far I am being told to steer clear, which I intended to do anyway (sort of a gut feeling). I guess that's why we don't see more of the better seated quarters in his slabs and why we don't talk about adding premiums to those coins.

I was also curious if there was a good value to be had there if others just blindly dissed all SEGS no matter what and never considered why this series -might-, key word there being -might-, be graded accurately and consistently, since ya know, he wrote the book that everyone refers to on a regular basis.

So what would be going on then? He risks his reputation by purposely assigning egregious grades? I would have figured his knowledge would be reflected in his grade assignments, and that would be accurate at least for this particular series.

Anyone have any opinions on why logic seems to be at ends here?

Why do we point people to his book for the best reference, but steer people away from coins that he has graded? See why logic is failing me?

 

I think they are reliable for authentication which suggests better than raw.

 

To me it is simple. If you are going to buy a decent coin you will be selling out a decent amount of money. When you want to get rid of a $300+ coin the right slab can make all the difference in the world. If you are shooting for a coin of $50 or less it is kind of irrelevant. So, to me, anything but an NGC or PCGS slab (or maybe ANACS) is good for little except personal peace of mind.

 

Attribution skills being different than grading skills?

 

Sight-seen and you're okay with SEGS.

 

SEGS is often pretty accurate, in my experience.

 

Segs+Pci I have seen both come back same grade and One Grade lower or Rarely a Higher.
I think it the Coin you need to really look at Before you do anything.
But most will treat Holder as a Raw Coin.

 

This doesnt make sense in the realm of what I am speaking of.

If we as Seated Quarter collectors use and recognize Larry Briggs as the current authority, then why isnt that translating into the same collectors valuing his graded seated quarters as premium examples?

Better yet, what is causing the disconnect between him being the authority on the subject and yet his slabs being viewed as a basement tier dweller?

 

i understand this principle in the majority of the market, but I am having trouble on seated quarters specifically.

quick related question. Is Larry the finalizer of the coins graded at SEGS? If his eyeballs arent the ones assessing the coins, then I understand how his opinion on the matter would be inconsequential.

 

Ok !!!
I am out of the thread.Just My2C

 

I think SEGS is fairly consistent which is useful. Typically, the SEGS grade is within a certain range around the market grade as per the top TPGs. If you can grade (and that isn't targeted at you), SEGS is just fine.

 

Im looking for optimal ways to collect. The way that I view that is by purchasing undervalued coins, and seeking out niche markets that may have not caught on. I also factor my age into the equation and try to think about trends that will change and the evolution of this hobby in general.

So, right now I am buying up eye appealing coins in the old white ANACS holders. Typically these coins are on par with the top 2 BUT they trade at a consistent discount to PCGS and NGC. That is my advantage right now. I am buying solid coins (often 10-30% cheaper than similar coins in NGC or PCGS plastic) and just ignoring the market perception of these top 2 grading companies. What happens if one day either of them slip and loose trust to the point where they become a basement slabber? (think gradeflation) Ive got 50 years of collecting ahead of me (i hope) and just dont feel confident that folks like PCGS and NGC can hold on that long with all of the changes we will experience in my time frame.

So thats how I ended up focused on SEGS yesterday, same principle. To buy under-appreciated or shunned coins at a market discount, and just wait for some years, all the while holding onto a good coin (not concerning myself with worthless plastic), and then whenever I want to sell, i have secured a nice margin by purchasing coins at a discount (assuming i pick strong coins) and will be able to realize a great return.

This whole process is basically just trying to figure out why no one else is picking up on this, or if there is a good reason why his coins are avoided.

So far no one has presented a real reason on why anyone should steer clear of SEGS graded Seated Quarter material. The only answer so far is that SEGS isnt PCGS or NGC, but I am trying to figure out the relevance of that in the context of Larry Briggs being the authority on this series.

 

Being able to grade coins and choosing what numerical value to put on the slab are different things. Being able to accurately attribute coins to their various die states and with their various markers is something else. A given individual may have zero, one, two or all three skills.

Standards too vary - you see this defined a lot of different ways, "we grade to strict ANA but the market is different" is a common refrain. Grade-flation is another. 75 is the new 70 is my crack. About one individual it was once said "X can grade - you have to be able to grade to always be able to put a number 2 points higher on the slab"

What is really interesting is that the very people accused of inflating grades 20 years ago? Well those coin grades are now considered market grades!

 

Now going back to your previous question. You're not really a collector you're an investor looking for the long term. And what you're asking us is the forecast whether a particular individuals grading that is not well received in the market today may prove in the future to have been prescient.

Alas my crystal ball is foggy - I have trouble predicting next week let alone 40 years from now.

I will however go out on a limb (not very far) and predict that 10 years from now, 20 years from now and certainly 40 years from now people will still be arguing about coin grading standards and opinions.

 

SEGS is virtually worthless for serious collectors in terms of grading accuracy. They are essentially raw coins, that are not even guaranteed genuine. If one can grade that particular series, there may be nice coins in SEGS plastic, but the reliability of the grade is almost meaningless. They are NOT PCGS or NGC in any way.