My reason for asking is he works at a shop called Atlas Coins in Port St Lucie, FL, and I plan to "work" with him in my first submission of coins to a grading service. According to his business card he's somehow affiliated with PNG, ANA, ICTA, PCGS, and NGC. I didn't meet him when I was in the shop a few months back, but the other guys in the shop raved about how he was really good at offering opinions on which coins should be submitted to a grading service. The shop would then submit the coins on my behalf. Does anyone have any opinion about whether Will would be a good guy to work with in this capacity? Any caveats about submitting coins through an "authorized dealer"? I considered joining the PCGS Collector's Club then submitting the coins myself, but I really am a beginner in all this (just started buying and gathering knowledge seriously within the past year), so I would rather have someone hold my hand the first time around. Thanks! Terry
OK, from a few quick Google searches I confirmed his affiliation with all of these numismatic organizations...I suppose I could have done this before :whistle: Unless he's a massive fraud and duped all of these organizations into associating their name with him! lol OK, now that I have confirmed that he is affiliated with all of these organizations, and thus likely is fairly entrenched in the numismatic world... Any harm in letting him look at my coins and submitting them for me?
Terry, It would probably be less expensive in the long run to join one of the collectors clubs, and submit your own coins. If you have any concerns on whether they are questionable, you could post photos and ask for comments before submission. If you only have one or 2 coins to send in, AND, you trust the person, maybe the dealer way is better, but if you can fulfill the club's voucher for number of coins, I would go that way. Be sure to photograph any coin you turn over to be submitted in case of "identification problems". Jim
If you are unsure then I think the consultation is fine. It will help you in the long run. Just keep in mind that even the best of them have coins come back bodybagged.
Hmmm... What about "problem" coins? Ones that may have environmental damage, that a TPG may bodybag. Is it worth it to just send them in to a TPG and hope for the best? Should I check out local coin dealers for opinions before sending in a possible problem coin? Some of the possible problems with coins may not be discernible from photos I would post on this forum. Thanks
If I am unsure of what? Whether I should submit the coins or not for grading? It should be noted that I have at least 50 coins that I would like to have slabbed. Maybe more like 100. For instance, I have some unopened original Peace dollar rolls that I probably would submit as a roll (ie, all 20 coins at once).
If you are unsure they will grade out and not get body bagged. That the cost of the grading will not be really lost - ie why spend $20 to get a coin graded that might be worth less than $20. Do you know your grading good enough? I mean some coins at MS67 are not worth the grading, but then at MS68 they are. In other words do you know your coins well enough? Your grading? If not then I think the consultation is a pretty good idea. Of course I just walk into my local coin shop and ask them for their opinions - even on coins I did not get from him. They are really a nice group of people. Basically - if you are unsure of what you are doing at any point, then get the consultation. If you know they are worth grading and what the grades will probably be - then join pcgs and send them directly. Just my humble opinion.
I hear you. I would say I am on the fence in that regard. I know enough to have a rough idea of how a coin may grade, but not enough to see things that the untrained eye wouldn't see, things that could reduce the grade. Most of the coins that I would get graded are common to semi-common date Morgan and Peace dollars in (I hope) MS64+. Present saleable value may not seem to justify getting a coin like this slabbed, but I believe that in the future the value of these coins will be considerably higher. Maybe the smarter thing then would be to wait on getting them graded? I have no plans to sell what I own for many years, so I suppose I shouldn't be in a rush to slab them. Part of me is just eager, wanting to see the "official" grade of many of the raw coins I have purchased. A lot of what is motivating me is sheer curiosity! I suffer from a debilitating disease known as Impulsivity
I would not trust someone you have no real relationship when it comes to submitting coins to be graded. I could get into the reasons, and my bad experiences trying to do so, if you wish. Submitting to PCGS isn't hard & there's really no reason not to do it yourself if you don't have a prior relationship with a trusted dealer. Respectfully...Mike
p.s. I would strongly suggest you have someone pre-screen your coins before sending to PCGS. However, that suggestion doesn't override my prior advice not to trust someone you don't know well.
Maybe I should submit myself? Thanks. I don't know this dealer. He just works out of a shop near where my mom lives, and his shop-mates claim he's like Mr Coinz himself, but why should I believe these guys? You know what? I live in New York City, and my mom lives in Port St Lucie, FL - and I just assumed that the guys in the shop are straight up because, well, people are nicer down there. Ha! Sounds funny now Also because this guy seems to have lots of credentials... Bottom line, I don't know much about the process at all and could probably get taken for a ride pretty easily by someone I don't know.
I have decided to try the PCGS Collector's Club and send them in myself. I have a bunch to send in so I should be able to get a volume discount. Any coins I am unsure about I will get some more opinions on before I decide to send them in. Thx all Terry
Their deal is $10 per coin if you submit at least 100 coins with no more than 4 date/mintmark combinations. I could do that one time but I'm not sure I want to get that many graded all in one shot. Might catch them on a bad day! Half kidding - But then again, individually the fee is like $18, so....
I just submitted my coins through a local store. I chose this route because I figured it would just be easier than dealing with the membership fees, packaging, shipping, submission forms ect. The dealer can also give opinions on if a coin is worth slabbing. More than likely, none of mine really are - but I am curious as to how a professional grader would grade coins "that look nice to me." As mentioned before, a dealer can alert you to any potential bodybags. One of mine was kinda iffy - but I took the chance. Pricewise, the TPGs have memberships that come with say 10 submissions at somewhat of a discount, so I probably paid more. But, my coins were shipped with some of the dealers so my shipping costs will be a little cheaper.
