You can Poo-Poo any TPGS ranked below the top two but some folks may be making a "killing" buying older slabs FROM ANY of the decent services: NGC PCGS SEGS PCI (not gold labels) ICG ANACS Even coins graded in the 80's - 90's by the top two often increase in grade. I'm doing quality control at a large submission of slabs from PCI (no longer in business) that have been graded/finalized by our other graders. Then they will be cracked and put in an ICG slab. Some were graded in the large PCI slab before I worked there and others were in the green or red "banknote" label slabs. It is an eye opener that confirms what we all know. Many AU's are now MS and some cleaned coins are now "market acceptable." For example: AU-55 to 61; AU-55 to 63; MS-60 Cleaned to 61; etc. Fifty seven more to check...
I don't disagree . . . the highest quality 1853-O No Arrows Half Dime I ever saw was a superb VF in one of those large PCI holders. I bought and resold that coin, and regret it every time I look at another example, higher grades included.
The first coins that I graded came from my eight piece gold type set, and went to PCGS during the "rattle holder" period. I traded the Liberty $5 gold, which I thought should have gotten an MS-65 as part of deal for a 1794 half dime that is still in my collection. The AU-58 $5 Indian upgraded to a PCGS MS-63 a few years later, and the $10 Liberty upgraded to an NGC MS-65.
The grades for PCI coins could be all over the place. I saw that when I was dealer. Some of them were obviously under graded and crack-up candidates. Others were over graded. The same thing applies to PCGS "rattle holders," NGC "fatty holders" and PCGS "green label" holders. A fair number of those coins are under graded and most of them are accurately graded. Still there are some "clunkers" that won't get you anything positive if you crack them out and submit them for a grade. Bottom line - You still have to know how to grade to play the crack-out game. You can't go by the generation of the holder.
I left PCI for NGC around 1998. Those were their "Signature Series" holders perhaps done around 1996.
There's good crack out and re-submit videos on youtube. Some better than others. It's interesting. Just watched one where an old large cent deemed cleaned by PCGS crossed to a MS-62 at NGC. The others were straight crosses grade for grade even matching FH designation on a slider SLQ. I love seeing the grading companies get tested. I personally crossed a $5 Liberty from an old rattler in MS-60 to a MS-62 at NGC and it probably should've went MS-63 and maybe would have had it been cracked out. For the most part I am impressed with the repeatability I've seen company to company but I'm not an authority by any means. Sometimes there's some wild anomalies when something goes from details to straight graded. But yeah, definitely some nice stuff in old slabs. Not very often you the customer get to re-submit it though as I'd imagine dealers will play crack out if it looks good way before you get a chance.
So glad I was 'numb' (and dumb) about the circumstance of the day. I only returned to the hobby in 2000 and was confronted by 'future shock'........MS......with numbers? What the devil was that? Prior, it was AG, G, F, VF. EF........uncirculated.
