PCGS Coinfacts good or bad ??

Oh, OK. Never mind.

 

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Ha is great for past sale prices tho they can sometimes be out of whack due to a bidding war. Coinfacts is fare more useful to me for pertinent info such as weight mintage and especially population per grade and survival rate and it's easy to use for someone as tech inept as me

 

I use HA. Great site. I use Coinfacts more just because it brings lots of info. on one screen. I have wondered how they pick the auction results they show.

 

Don't get me wrong I love ha too I just use coinfacts more. I use both a lot tho biggest problem with ha is all the pretty coins I wanna buy

 

Now that CF is free dropped CDN Greysheet (with its raised subscription prices). I have CF app in my phone and use it frequently.

 

Isn't the App for smartphones free ? Is there something more I am not getting ? Ditto for the PC.....

 

It's free now, it wasn't fee when the post you quoted was made. Old thread that was resurrected

 

This one isn't actually a "bad" bump, now that Coinfacts is free. Worth the re-reads. Who needs an app when a Bookmark will do?

 

They just made it for Android; I think the iPhones had it 2 years ago. It's VERY useful -- the price guide isn't bad (not as good as recent Ebay or HA auctions, but a good reference point) and the commentary on coins (i.e., Saints) can be pretty in-depth. Also has categories for prices and populations like PL, DMPL, etc.

 

GeekPride: <<Agree with you the HA is extremely valuable>>

There are many auction results listed on PCGS CoinFacts and elsewhere on the PCGS web site that are very helpful. When doing research or attempting to learn about the past and present market values of coins, there is a need to consider information from multiple sources, not just HA.

For the most part, PCGS CoinFacts is 'good' in the sense that it is helpful and valuable.

In many cases, a reader can get a feel for auction trends in some areas or, more often, be provided with information for further research. Ron Guth and David Hall should be congratulated. The coin community benefits from PCGS CoinFacts and many collectors are more knowledgeable than they would otherwise be. Even so, the thrust of CoinFacts involves implications that certified grades are more consistent and accurate than they are in actuality. There are many people who make a living by submitting the same coins over and over again. A coin that graded 64 in the past may be graded 66 now.

In an article on 1927-D Saints, I note that one coin was NGC graded AU-58, later PCGS graded MS-62 and still later PCGS graded MS-63. I personally saw the coin in at least three different holders with three different grades!

The Rarest 20th Century, Regular U.S. Coins: 1927-D Saint Gaudens Double Eagles

Also, the images on PCGS CoinFacts are fantastic! The main PCGS photographer is extremely talented. Even if there was no rarity or pricing information, the images would be educational, entertaining and helpful in many ways.

How will Coin Collectors Interpret Certified Coin Grades in the Future?

 

Still need the greysheet. It's my wholesale buy sell guide with other dealers at a show. I just love buying a nice eye appealing original raw coin at bid and submitting it and making a nice profit to people who only buy holdered coins

 

Isn't Coinfacts free now anyway?

 

it is

 

Why did it go from pay to free -- anybody know ? Usually it's the other way around.

 

They did say something about wanting to make information available that would help people avoid fraud. However, marketing-wise, I think it's smart. I use it more now and I'm actually considering taking out a PCGS membership - something I wasn't all that interested in previously. I've had an NGC membership for years but I never liked the pay to view component of PCGS - now I have a more favorable opinion of them. I'm thinking of sending in some NGC graded coins that might benefit from PCGS certification - to see if they will cross.

 

I agree. And if anybody from PCGS -- or NGC -- is listening/reading this, with fraud even hitting bullion coins now, I would not be averse to joining them or ANA with a membership.....or better yet, paying for PCGS Coin Facts (on my smartphone) or similar Apps from others in the coin industry with the stated specification that part of the proceeds are going to fight fraud.

You want something that is going to get the casual/semi-casual coin buyer to fork over a few $$$ ? Telling me that part of a membersip or App is going to fight FRAUD and knowing that PCGS/NGC have dedicated folks scouring Ebay/HA/Craigslist/Dealers/Coin Shows would make a big impact on me.

I don't give a rat's ass (excuse my language) about being part of 115,000 dedicated coin collectors or the longest group dedicated to numismatics...blah blah blah. I'm being serious now. But I do spend pretty big $$$ on coins, bullion and numismatic. Telling me you are catching dirt-bags like that guy in CT selling fake Morgans or whoever is selling SLABBED counterfeit American Eagle gold coins -- now THAT is a needle-mover for me that would get me to say "You know what.....let me buy the subscription. I've got some $$$ in PayPal."

I know many of you are more serious and dedicated coin collectors. I'm a guy who goes in-and-out (in now ! ) but I think with more bullion buyers being part of the 'coin collecting' group and now potentially at risk from fraud, this is something that I think can motivate people to pay for protection and a useful service.

I believe in paying up for quality, with coin services, HDTVs, or cars.

Rant off...........

 

My only disagreement with your rant - which was otherwise kinda pleasurable to read - is that the only way to get numismatics wholly onboard with the fight against fraud is to make it easier to fight. That means making the resources available to identify fakes more accessible. Free. Widely disseminated, widely discussed.

The point to all this - and mind, it's been a personal vendetta of mine for ten years & more - is that there isn't really much effort being expended to actually fight the flow of counterfeits. Heck, there are laws in place to force Ebay into a far stronger effort against them, and nobody in numismatics with a large enough voice to be heard (which apparently ain't me, Heaven knows I've tried) has yet managed to get the FTC involved to enforce what's on their books.

 

In a lot of ways it resembles the cold war intelligence struggle, no one wants to release what they know for fear it would help the other. The question seems to be how much can you expose without actually giving them a guide on what to fix.

 

I think we sell them short by thinking they don't study coins with as much intelligence and dedication as we do, at least the best among them. Further, it's not like we don't beat varieties to death both optically and in writing as our life's purpose around here.

I believe that only the willingness/ability to invest in superior technology and metallurgy allows us to differentiate counterfeits at_all these days - the vast majority of counterfeiters are "cottage businesses," and Heaven help us if someone with real financial muscle ever decides that counterfeiting rare coins meets their risk/reward math. Although I'll adhere to your worry by not discussing the methodology necessary, ways to make near-flawless copies of a given coin exist today (subject only to the necessary tech investment) and would be immediately obvious to someone devoting in-depth thought to the topic.

We need to start planning today for the day when counterfeits are near-perfect. In fact, I sincerely hope that the TPG's, at least, have already been on this track for a long time. I believe it's prudent to expect it; from a technology standpoint, how far are we away from being able to 3D print or otherwise deliberately arrange things at the molecular level?. That is, in fact, a specific goal of the data storage industry.