How much does a PCGS grade add to a coins value?

I use the NumisMedia FMV charts to help me determine the approx. value of a coin I am interested in when buying. My question is, how much does one already graded by the PCGS increase it's value? Thanks!

 

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None.

But sometimes it makes the coin easier to sell at a price point.

 

Buy the coin not the slab!
No slab or sticker adds any value to a coin....what does ?.....educating yourself to knowing the series, and researching the series to be able to make smart decisions on if one should purchase or pass.

 

I do tend towards that response Paddy. I totally do my research and also know what I like before I buy (and am probably a much harder grader). The prices seem inflated with a legitimate grader such as PCGS, but I am looking at my purchases as a 20 year investment and am thinking about a resell value.

 

Short said: It depends on the coin.
Generally spoken: Coins priced more than 150 Dollars are expected to be graded by a third party grader like PCGS or another reputated source.

 

I have raw coins that go way over the price point you mentioned, Again what should be expected is to educate ones self to know what they are buying.
Secondly coins don't always hold value over the years!
Coin collecting it a hobby....not an investment 10,20 30 years down the line.
Yes some do ho.d their values,as well as go up....some also loose.
That said buy smart.....and research your purchases to make sound decisions.

 

1) Numismedia is inaccurate imo. If you want a good price guide, use NGC or PCGS price guide. Better yet, get a copy of the CDN. (Grey Sheet) This lists the most current bid/ask prices.

2) Coin collecting is not an “investment” by any means. It is a hobby to enjoy. There are far better, far more viable investments than rare coins, one being the stock market and another being real estate. Just look at the bid/ask spread of many rare coins. Dealers typically love to rip people off with the excuse “I gotta make money on it”, and will offer far below a coin’s value when you go to sell. This is just an axiom of the coin hobby. Of course, always try to get the best price, but even if you buy at a “good” price, when trying to sell, you will always get an offer far below what a coin is worth. Even in 20 years, you may only break even unless you sell at auction.

3) To answer your main question, The value PCGS or NGC adds increases with the value of coin, as well as depends on the issue.

4) I don’t know how long you’ve been in the game, but judging by your question, not too long. Before buying coins of any value, I STRONGLY recommend to read read and read some more about what you are focusing on collecting, and learn to grade and authenticate. Lots of so called “collectors” rely on the word of PCGS and NGC and do not actually learn how to accurately authenticate and grade. “PCGS says it’s authentic so it is”..... I see this happen in such a degree with many coins, particularly rare dates, that people think the TPG’s are infallible, and refuse to buy certain issues raw. This inflated the market of certified coins, and the old adage everyone loves to quote “buy the coin, not the slab” becomes further and further from reality. Take the issue 1916-D 10C. Everyone is scared to buy it raw because they don’t want to study the coin and learn precisely what a real one looks like....... The skill of authentication and grading is invaluable in the hobby and makes a true numismatist.

 

If I say the coin is MS-65 and want to charge a 65 price for the coin, you probably aren't going to believe me unless you know me, and we've built trust.

If PCGS says the coin is 65, you'll pay a 65 price for it because they are recognized as a reputable authority.

In both cases, the coin is the exact same. Just now you have the confidence to pay the value for it. It's not that the value of the coin changed - your attitude towards the coin changed. In the PCGS plastic, it is *far* easier to sell for full value.

And this is why everyone must learn to grade for themselves, without having to rely on someone else to tell them what they are looking at.

 

People don’t need to just learn to grade Jason, they also need to learn authentication as well.

 

Well, that is very true. I suppose when I say "grade for yourself," in my mind that includes authentication and problem detection. I'm not going to give a grade to a fake coin, and I'm going to give a problem grade to a cleaned coin. It's all wrapped up in the same implied package.

 

All good advice. A slab in and of itself does not add intrinsic value to a coin. It adds legitimacy..... To put it another way. Imagine yourself buying a car. Two identical cars side by side. Both have the same sticker value. One is dirty. One is sporting a spiffy fresh wax job. Every one of us would buy the shiny car. In our minds eye the fresh finish adds legitimacy to the purchase..... If you need to sell your coin in the future. The slab adds legitimacy to the potential buyer. But no added value to the coin.

 

This is simple for me. Coins in good plastic bring more bids and higher prices. Add CAC and you get even higher prices. Some feel that what someone will pay is the value. We could argue that thought all day long and not have everyone agree.

 

The 16-D is the only coin I have ever purchased slabbed. And, it remains in the slab even though I would like to take it out and place it in the album with the rest.

 

My avatar, just to the left, is an 1885 Liberty Nickel. It started my collecting. My aunt gave it to me in 1948. I found that it was worth $5. Wow! It started me collecting. If you tried to purchase it today you would pay 10 times that or more. But, it took 70 years and a serious increase in the collector population. It took visibility and advertising. The internet came along and chat boards like this forum.

As that happened, the collector population became very competitive, and "mine is better than yours" took hold. New accumulators and speculators came on the scene. The US Mint started making more coins than they could get into circulation. On and on. I think the hobby has maxed out and the bubble is about to burst.

 

Yes. All the examples I have ever owned have been in slabs as well, simply due to seeing few premium coins raw, but, I would not rule out buying a raw piece, if it were a reasonable price. I’m confident in my authentication skills and with experience and learning, one can determine authentic specimens from spurious ones.

 

This coin was only “worth” $140 when I tried to sell it. That was the highest offer I got, and the price exactly matched an ANACS AU details that was cleaned with sandpaper.



This slab, however, was “worth” $250.



The highest offer I got for this was $120 (AU details were selling for $200-250, so this was an complete lowball). When it graded AU-50 at PCGS, @C-B-D bought it for $400.



I have many stories like this. Those of you who say that raw coins are worth the same as certified coins, eat your heart out.

 

But you sent both in, correct? So you used YOUR experience and expertise and bought raw, then had it certified. That’s what I’m talking about. (Kudos on that btw) The coin is the same no matter if it was slabbed, correct? Or did it magically change once it was certified?

 

I heard as a general rule of thumb it adds about a buck three-eighty.

 

I bought the coins raw, tried to sell them raw, got lowballed, sent them in, got better-than-expected grades, and sold them within a week at much-higher prices than I was asking originally.

 

I did the same thing. Had that album full except for the 16-D since the 1980’s..... My 16-D still lives in its slab but I purchased a counterfeit to plug the hole in the book. Only fake coin I ever bought.