Allow me to begin by saying that I'm assembling the Liberty nickel series in grades of AU, maybe lower mint state. (My personal criteria tend to be stricter than the graders based on comparison) Down to the final four (1885, 1886, 1894 and 1912s) I'm looking at graded specimes only, and for the obvious reasons, with the intent of freeing them from a plastic tomb. The question is, would you buy one of the top two graders to do so? Part of me feels that it would be wrong as the chances increase of it coming back with a like grade should I ever chose to have it regraded. Which is something I've heard but not done. The only one I have cracked out thus far is an 1890 ICG MS63 which in my honest opinion would be an AU55/58. Which is more or less what I expected from a minor grading firm. Am I better off staying with the less used graders for this purpose?
Here, here. Buy the coin, not the holder. Good stuff to be had in any holder indeed, be it top tier or basement bottom. The final judgement rests on you, the collector.
My personal experience with doing the same is ICG and ANACS were right in line with how I graded, and prices were overall less than the top two. I did not do MS but AU or in some cases XF45.
If you are looking for the best deal, it is more likely that you will find value in an ICG or Anacs slab. With PCGS or NGC you will be paying a premium in most cases and you are correct that it could always come back a lower grade if you decide to send it back in. In the end, I would go with what some of the others said, find the nicest coin that you can regardless of slab but I will also add that the dollar value of the coin matters too. The more expensive it is, the more risk there is in cracking. Now if the amount fits into your budget and you enjoy the coin (and completeness of your set), then don't worry too much about a potential grade downgrade in the future.
Thanks all. To address some of the replies, first it just seems wrong somehow to take one from the top firms out of the population. As for the others, with their grades some what off I assume it's one lower respectfully and bid/buy accordingly. Which even within the grade they are certainly lower than PCGS or NGC. Finally, although I'm in the AU range, for the three key dates I'd absolutely settle for a nice extra-fine if the price were enough of a difference between the two. From what I'm seeing currently, they are not that far apart. The series gaining in popularity? Or some other bidder simply driving it up because they gotta have it? I've seen some real head scratchers at auction close.
Well I do not know if the series it is picking up, but when I sold my two raw sets the dealer told me anything in good shape(not cleaned and original looking) flies off their shelf. He said the AU - MS set he expected to have resold within a few weeks. So maybe it is picking up.
This is a hot topic for most, though allot of people say buy the coin not the holder is true to a point depending on what your going to do with your collection me for example, I want to maximize my resale value so I only collectivist / invest in PCGS slabbed coins, they just go for more money, and for me thats my end game
I hear you and I don't like to crack stuff out either, but I have a few times. Sometimes just to re-submit. Sometimes to put in an album. It really depends on what the material is. Most crack outs don't really matter. I have buffalo nickel set going and I finally have it on the ropes this year. It's not a graded set but it is quality with a handful of graded coins in the album. I just put the labels in a 2x2 flip and tape that on the inside in line with where the coin is, similar to how hardware is labeled in boxes. I've actually got a couple semi keys to crack out tonight with one more left. I have not done this for most of the set but for a handful of semi key/key dates in low grades which are scarce but not that rare. I wanted them graded and authenticated. The common ones are common and easy to acquire in high grades. The set is neat for comparing grading purposes for the series because I have some MS, some AU, all the way down to G and everything in between. The 13-S type 2 is a F details which is still a pricey piece but it'll be cracked out too. I don't see it as a big loss to crack that one and it will look better than a totally slick one in the set. It's known the population numbers can be way off to re-submits already. Depends on series and value. You can figure on a decent percentage in the census reports that don't really exist. Some day maybe they'll create a system that scans coins to the atomic/molecular level and logs them all so unique coins can be submitted 10x and not affect the reports but until then, it's already an imperfect system. ICG and ANACs shouldn't be looked down upon. People have submitted nice coins to them just because they like them or they may have been a cheaper, quicker, service to use. That doesn't take away from the coins. Not universal of course but there are some gems out there in those slabs. I have cracked ICG coins and had them cross or upgrade at NGC. I'm going to try it with a key date ANACs one soon that will be interesting but won't post results til I have them. I think it's going to be good.
I have cracked out a few coins also, but I was advised by our town dealer if you crack out a coin take out the TPG's grade sticker and save it, it may be an asset to you later. Good luck.
