I have heard of PCGS,NCG,and ANACS but what do any of you know about these grading companies? Do they get it right or how far off are they when they miss? Just trying to learn not bash any grading company or anyone associated with them. Thanks Kent
There are a number of "self-slabbers" who sell the coins they slab and do not accept coins from the public to grade. Do you see a conflict of interest there? Do you think the self-slabbers tend to grade their coins much higher than a disinterested TPG? (You bet your life they do.) There are also a number of "third world" grading companies who attract business by overgrading the coins they slab. An MS-67 in their slab may be an MS-62 or 63 (or lower) in a PCGS or NGC slab. They also tend to slab problem coins (e.g., cleaned, altered surfaces, etc.) that the legitimate TPGs would either body bag or slab as 'Genuine'. Always remember this - BUY THE COIN, NOT THE SLAB.
If you know how to grade your coins, there shouldn't be much of a problem. Some XYZ grading company could grade a coin at MS68, and if I know it is a MS65, and I pay less than MS65 money for it, I did good, and I can always get it graded and see what happens. I would personally not buy from a lot of those companies, because they overgrade the coins they slab, and grade problem coins, like Hobo stated. I would also stick to PCGS and NGC, until you learn how to accurately grade coins, it is best to buy a slabbed coin, from a good grading company, and see why the coin graded why it did, so you can learn. Buying slabbed coins, is like a learning process for me. And again, great advice, BUY THE COIN AND NOT THE SLAB.
Hi Kent, In line with your request for neutrality, the below two sites should be interesting. http://www.camacs.com/coin_grading_services.html In this one every TPG I have heard of is listed. No comparisons, but if there is a website listed, you can see if they sound legit. If you google "coin grading company", you can get some comparison sites. http://coinauctionshelp.com/NNC_TPGS.html If you are an experienced collector of the coin type you see in a slab, the adage, " buy the coin and not the holder" is true. If not, until you feel secure and can afford to make financial mistakes with the lower level TPG, I would stay with PCGS,NCG,ICG, and ANACs. Even there, there are differences, and in some series of coins one may be better than the other, and then reverse in another set, but they won't generally be serious enough to cause you severe financial distress. Jim
self slabbers A guy in my coin club brought in a slab from a firm I've never heard of. None of the ones listed above. He said he purchased it for bullion value just to show people how egregious the over-grading can be from some of these fly-by-night firms. It was a Morgan dollar, common date, obviously worn to EF condition, that was cleaned such that it looked shiny brilliant. The grade on the label? MS67 No, I'm not kidding.
I might add DGS to the list of TPGs to check out. They have an impressive grading staff and I would feel comfortable in buying one of their graded coins. They are an up and coming force in the TPG field. Bruce
old PCI Is DGS the old PCI? PCI coins did not have a good reputation. When did Lawrence take it over? Has it gained any acceptance in the marketplace since this management change? Seems like it's going to be a long tough haul. They need to completely change the look of the PCI holder, and they're doing that, but they have to get away from anything looking like PCI. For the moment, eBay has restrictions on DGS graded coins, just like the old PCI. I wish them well. I hope they gain acceptance.
PCI , hallmark have a few overgraded PCI coins, if you can get a good price nothing wrong with them, usally overgraded 2 grades higher but you can buy 4 grades lower in price , also any hallmark slabs are worth the money, they had good rep. and where bought out my ancs?
Careful with that Hallmark recommendation. There have been three different companies that used the Hallmark name. The first was a currency grading service from the 1970's. Almost unknown today they actually have a good reputation. The second was HALLMARK, a grading firm owned in partnership by Q David Bowers. They had a very good reputation, and they were the original source of the slabs that later became PCI's trademark. The third is Hallmark Grading Service which is a self slabber using generic shells and sealing them with a gold label like SGS used to do.
BUY THE COIN!! I have bought many aftermarket slabs, if you know how to grade you will not have a problem. I bought a PCI with a Roosevelt Dime graded MS66 and now it sits in an NGC holder MS67FT. I don't buy anything but NGC & PCGS coins on eBay because it is to hard to examine the images the sellers provide. I only buy aftermarket coins when I can examine the coin in hand before buying the coin. I also bought a few morgans that were graded MS67 by PCI and now they are in NGC MS65 holders. I made a $145 profit on 2 coins. If you know what you are doing there are deals to be had.
