I am finally getting around to getting alot of coins/bullion graded. which one should I send to whom? EX: isnt ANACS the one to use for Vams? .....if I have some low grade $20 gold I just want bodybagged who should i go to? U.S. gold $20 libs & st.G's (genuine-ms63) Modern Gold comm Morgans & peace ( common dates, BU) foreign (pandas, PD maple leafs) thanx
ANACS is best for variety attribution and problem coins because they list the variety and/or problem on the holder. PCGS and NGC are both good for uncirculated Morgan and Peace dollars. NGC is good for world coins. Any of the services are good for US gold, but I send worn coins to ANACS and Uncirculated coins to either PCGS or NGC.
To answer that question first ask yourself this - what is more important to you - 1- accurate grading 2 - potential for re-sale 3 - variety attribution If your answers are 1, 2 or 1 & 2 - then NGC & PCGS are the only choices. If your answer is 3 - then ANACS is the choice. But you will lose 1 & 2.
None are really worthy; the minds and wallets of the feeble are simply being sacked and and sacked good. Spend your money on coins and save the plastic for toys. Lloyd
Can't go wrong with either PCGS or NGC. I was strictly and NGC guy but now sending to PCGS like others have mentioned they command top dollar when it comes time to sell.
Spend on my friends, spend on. But, perhaps a 1912 S Liberty Nickel in Extra Fine condition or an Extra Fine 1932 S Quarter will catch the eye of those who appreciate numismatics more in a 2 x 2 cardboard flip; while making both the seller and the buyer happy and friends for a long time. Pherhaps I'm lucky in that I was able to save change from the 30's and 40's thru today and have based my collection on simply helping others complete theirs. Collecting for me is simply a love of the hobby. LLoyd
TPG is really a question about authenticity and exact grading, With all the fakes coming in from china!! And the money involved, Now a Days its really a must!!hya:
Now that I see the home shopping networks selling tons of ANACS coins in 70 holders and have read many reports of ANACS grading standards not quite being up to the same standard as they have been in the past. I would pay no more for an ANACS coin than I would an uncertified coin. So if you want to certify bullion for the sole purpose of reassuring the buyer it's authentic, then maybe they would be appropriate. But as a collector, I'm going to be looking at the PCGS and NGC coins first, and if its something I need for my Registry sets, I'm going to prefer PCGS as I can use that in both the PCGS and NGC registries w/o having to pay for (and assume the risk of) a crossover of the NGC. That said, if the coin looks great and is priced right, I'll buy it regardless of whether it's in a PCGS holder, NGC holder, other certified holder, plastic flip, cardboard 2x2 or even in a paper bag
Slabs aren't about investing (for most, I hope, anyway); it's about making sure you aren't getting ripped off. Yes, slabbed coins drive premiums, but for people who aren't experienced graders, seeing a high grade from a company like PCGS or NGC can provide assurance that the coin is as good as it claims to be, and that it is real. Counterfeiting is also rampant in certain series, and the professionals working at the top tier companies can weed out the fakes with aplomb. Slabs are about enjoying the hobby safely. That said, if you are buying the coin, and not the slab, then it shouldn't matter what the slab says, and in that sense, it is no different than buying a coin in a cardboard 2x2. Like it or not, TPGs are a part of the hobby now, and their influence seems only to grow. This seems to me to be a romanticized view of things; I see no reason why buyers/sellers dealing in slabs can't become friends, after all, it is not as though they don't share a common interest. It's a change, yes, but not a perversion of the hobby.
Hmmm, perhaps you're correct, times have changed, but not all of the old (88 years here) collectors have given up their treasure. My grandson has and will have the rest of my early American and Soviet pieces. He's much like me and has tried to learn to authenticate (especially Polish/Spanish/Soviet) silver, and verify if they are authentic pieces. A good scale is what is required and a solid knowledge of the coin. Grading comes with this and he's a Top Notch, Grade A, Number 1 collector. Perhaps he will join as I'm in California and Casimir is out east with my son and daughter. LLoyd
Lloyd - first let me say - "Boy O boy I kind of wish I could have saved change from the 30's and 40's. That must have been just as fun back then as it is now. The only difference is I think the designs were better - but would I have thought the same thing back then?? Don't know. At the same time I do like raw coins, but really I like them anyway they come. In this day and age people(and I include myself) want to collect so fast they really do not take time to learn as much as they should(me included). So the big 3 TPG coins do provide some reasonable assurance of the quality of coin. In my case I also hope it helps heirs recovery more money than if they are raw. I have both raw and tpg collections. Enjoy
Have you checked out the values of the estimated grades of your coins to determine whether they are worth spending the grading and postage fees on? also, you asked about "if I have some low grade $20 gold I just want bodybagged who should i go to?" Do you mean you just want it authenticated and not graded? if so, you should be able to sell it to a knowledgeable dealer or collector without paying the authentication fees.
I appreciate your outlook. But unfortunately, or fortunately investors are always looking for places to park their money where they can make more money. The TPGs arose mainly because so many investors who bought gem bu coins and were assured they were worth x amount when they went to sell them found they had au coins and the amount was considerably less than they thought. Grading is subjective, but investors want some sort of guarantees that the coin they bought is not going to be discounted because it was cleaned or whizzed. Fortunately the influx of investors can help collectors to make money during a recession time, other collectables also have come under the plasticized slabbed sway of third party grading companies. To me one of the fun parts of the hobby is talking to seasoned collectors who let me in on some of the finds they have made, and some of the happenings in the course of their hobbies. I wish I had talked to my dad more about the hobby, we talked about all sorts of things but that subject rarely came up. I have tried to rely more on trustworthy dealers and fellow collectors to assemble my collection more than on tpgs, it seems to me that if you talk to people you can get a pretty good idea if they are honest or kind of slippery. Plus the talking helps me to learn sort of thru osmosis.
