This is kind of a spin off another thread just a little more member focused I was just wondering if your still buying notes graded by PCGS currency ? with the break of the grading giant its been tough for me since everything I basically owned is PCGS graded, having had several series tops in there registry, I now have no where to go are call home with no registry or pop report to say how rare my notes are and speaking to Jason Bradford head at the old PCGS and director at the new legacy currency grading service he has told me on more then one occasion that he plans to reestablish the registry thru legacy but it would be a mixture of both the PCGS and Legacy notes not a great idea in my opinion, after much thought i have decided to a complete 360 on my collection, i féal that Jason Bradford has forever tarnished the PCGS name and now my collection has less value example: if I wanted to sell a valuable note how can it be checked versus the current populations ? answer: it can't there isn't one With that in mind, I just signed up with PMG as an elite member as I have allot of PCGS cross overs, will they make the grade ? I have had pretty good luck with that over the years but there is always a risk and one point down on a valuable note could be worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars, I have also decided it the future only to by PMG notes regardless of the situation as I have seen so little from legacy and PCGS gold shield as there would be allot of trust issues especially with legacy.
I would venture to say that it would depend on why a collector collects currency. I collect for my enjoyment and don't plan on selling any of them, so things like registry and pop mean very little to me. I like buying my currency graded by a known TPG to guarantee it is authentic and has been given a grade, low, high, or otherwise. At least I know I'm not buying a problem note that way.
Mountain Man says: "I like buying my currency graded by a known TPG to guarantee it is authentic" You're darn right about that.
For me, if I was going to buy a note of high value, 100% buy graded as to confirm condition and verify its authentic to preserve value. Low end star notes or bad condition notes of low value, non graded is fine with me.
I am all for that, however how do you know your not overpaying ? especially on the rarer stuff ? you have no guide in value atleast with a population report you can guest a mate value.
I will say first off that I have never owned a TPG entombed note, nor do I have a desire to...unless the note appeals to me. Buy the note, not the plastic. Unlike my coin collection, my note collections are all raw. Not because I eschew TPGs altogether, but because I have not found any note encased in their plastic that appeals to me any more or less than a raw note. Like you said, it all depends on why a collector collects currency. I do so for a number of reasons, but mostly for the artistic renditions of peoples, places and cultures from around the world. I won't even go into the debate of note gradflation and overpaying, but I will say that with your rapport here as a collector, you should know that numismatics is not a wise investment strategy. And if you place your cookies into a jar that falls and breaks, the only thing you can do is pick them back up again and enjoy them for what they are or offer them to others for what they are willing to give back for them. You can overpay for a TPG note just as well as you can for a raw note. Now, I do not dabble into the rarer stuff as that is not the direction of my collecting. I would believe that the TPG's opinion of authenticity is still going to be well received even after the company has gone defunct. But, I do see your debacle in the loss of a pop report to help guide in condition rarity for both buying and selling. Unfortunately, I see your use of the particular TPG as an hedge against a loss in investment in the notes and that is the risk factor involved in such investments. That is not to say that making a decision to do such a thing is right or wrong in any way. But, you need to have a Plan B hidden in the rafters for such occasions. I would suggest that unless an established registry is the life for you, perhaps you should hold off on crossovers at the moment and see where these particular slabs lead to. The more people begin to crossover their PCGS to PMG reducing the availability of PCGS slabs on the market, the more desirable they will become to plastic collectors. As you know, there are those that buy the old defunct slabs sometimes at comparable prices. This may cushioning any loss you may have in your investment. It's a waiting game. I would personally suggest if you are going to insist all of your notes be graded, to use PMG. And, out of curiosity, other than the $150 submission credit and 10% savings, does the Elite membership grant you any more benefits than an ANA Submitter account wouldn't? I can see if you plan on doing more than $1500/yr in submission fees (less shipping/insurance), then the 10% (or maybe even bulk rate) may be a selling point for Elite. But, Joining the ANA for $28 gives you ANA Submitter benefits with NGC/NCS/PMG as well as all ANA benefits. And the PMG registry is available to Free members if I'm not mistaken. Just a thought. There are so many things to consider as your collecting in this area is a much more mature and complicated monster than the type of collecting I do with notes! Even so, don't jump the gun on anything and get a bunch of different views and advice, sit back calmly and consider all avenues and paths open to you, and nurture your collection to become what you envision within your heart.
That all depends on how you look at it, I mostly collect and invest in Military Payment Certificates and now Disney Dollars ( BIG MONEY THERE ) especially in graded notes condition is everything !! the difference could be several hundred dollars, case in point I bought two Series 2002 A A block Tinkerbells ( I know your probably laughing your head off right about now..LOL , standard Gem raw uncirculated go typically between $150 and $175 a price, I got them for $250 I new they would grade good, super good margins on both and they were sequential and came back 68,s Cha Ching !! already sold one for $950 if that isn’t a good investment I don’t know what is ? so so nearly a $700 profit on one note plus I can keep the other 68 or sell it, the same applies to Military Payment but the supply of gem new notes is drying up so not that many around to grade. to answer more on your other questions The Elite account is $276 and that comes with a $150 credit right off the bat including 10 % of all grading fees I plan on turning around allot of $$$$ all my accumulated PCGS Military Payment, in which I have hundreds ! My plan is to submit 80 notes a month both for regrading and new grading on the Disney side, will probably take me 6 - 8 months to get that accomplished, maybe I should send Jason Bradford the bill....LOL And yes, both the registry and pop reports are free to everyone, you can even have submission privileges for less then $50 bucks but since I am going to be so active I decided to go for the best service The 10 percent alone will pay for the elite status plus I get an extra $150 !
If anybody is wondering, the reason for the small sentence size on my previous post is because it was done on my I-Phone....LOL
