Why does ANACS do this?

I have so many coins that I almost exclusively view a digital photo of any coin in my collection verses the real item. I tend to make a composite with obverse on left, reverse on right.

 

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Just take the damn coin out of the holder!

 

I actually had to fight with Anacs to reverse the side of a Toned Morgan...I requested that it be mounted Rev out as it was a nice target toner.

 

I have to chuckle as I read this thread.
I sent this in so I could see the train.

 

With due respect for everyone’s personal preference, I really just started this thread to see if anyone knows why ANACS insists on displaying British and Empire coins backwards, when nobody else in the industry does.

Exactly. Obverse forward should be the default. A TPGS shouldn't be deciding for the collector to display his/her coin backwards. That should be the choice of the coin's owner.

 

I just went off to check, and as I thought, US State Quarters and America The Beautiful quarters are all slabbed reverse-forward -- by PCGS, NGC, and ANACS.

Like others here, I prefer the face with the information to face forward.

 

Hate to state the obvious, but have you contacted them to see what their thoughts are?

 

I had a fight with ANACS a couple of years ago. I made a large (for me) submission of about 40 Kaiserreich-era 2/3/5 Mark coins. If you don't know this series, almost all of them show a portrait of the local emperor/king/duke on the obverse and the imperial eagle on the reverse. I was kind of peeved when I got them back and they were randomly holdered as to which side faced up. I took them all back to a local coin show where ANACS was accepting submissions and had a long and friendly chat/argument with the show rep about my submission. I complained about the ones holdered eagle-up (and also one Augsburg thaler holdered upside down) and was informed that their policy was to holder world coins with the date side up. I pointed out that in this one batch I got some portrait side up and some date side up, even in the same series and even with consecutive registry numbers. The rep kindly accepted any I wanted reholdered and got them flipped for me.

Since that time, any time I have submitted to ANACS I always specify which side I want facing forward as I have no confidence that they have any real consistency (or care) about their world coin series slabbing.

Germain to the OP's inquiry, during that conversation with the show rep, he did tell me that ANACS does have a specific policy to slab GB and Commonwealth coins portrait-down because the portrait "just isn't interesting."

I know that's just an anecdote, but someone at ANACS did answer the question at one point.

 

Thanks. That's the kind of information I was looking for.

I guess we should be grateful to have ANACS around to decide for collectors what's interesting about their coins.

 

I'm going to acknowledge your frustration with their policy that does not match your own desires, standards, or preferences. I'm not going to say it's wrong, or that there even is a right or wrong.

I am going to say that, until you have enough money to buy ANACS (or start your own TPG) PLUS get all the coins already slabbed back in so you can put them the way you want them...it's just not an issue that you can control (apart from doing what a few people here have said and specifying on your submission forms how you want your own coins displayed.)

It's totally fine if you want to pass on coins that aren't slabbed the way you want them, and it's totally fine for you to desire consistency and order in the world. But getting frustrated/angry about it to the level I'm sensing from your posts...about something you cannot possibly control...I feel like maybe learning to laugh at that problem (instead of getting frustrated) might be a bit better for your own peace of mind. Maybe I'm reading too much into the tone of your comments, and if so I do apologize. I don't mean to say anything negative to you or sound like I'm being judgemental.

 

Both NGC and PCGS do the same thing with German States coinage.

The side with the arms is the obverse. I was told that unless told otherwise they would put the more "interesting" side facing forward. It is fine with me as long as they are consistent. I collect a lot of coins with the Wildman imagery. Both services, and ANACS, put the wildman facing up.

 

Maybe so. I posed a relatively simple question — basically asking why does ANACS do this — and even put a smiley face at the end (i.e., “laughing at the problem”) so readers would know I don’t consider this to be a grave and life-altering issue.

Admittedly, it was a bit frustrating that some posters went off on a tangent to challenge my preference for encapsulated coins to be forward-facing. I thought ours was a “collect what you like, and how you like” kind of hobby. I was just hoping that someone with more ANACS experience than I have (which is zero) would be able to shed some light on their practice with British and Empire coins. And someone did.

 

Well, I can't speak for anyone else - I felt like I made a solid attempt to express my preferences but also say yours were fine, too (and just as valid as mine.) I've only submitted to ANACS once a loooooooong time ago, and it was a US sub, so I wouldn't have experience with their general operating rules regarding world coin orientation. I did try to share what NGC told me about the same thing in the hopes that it would help answer your question (just from a different TPG.)

In any case, glad you got the answer you were looking for, and best of luck.

 

Viva la difference!
However, I too see the reverse side as being more interesting. Who wants page after page or a wall or page full of identical Kings and Queens looking at you?
The reverse it what truly identifies the coin as being special.

I too collect British and Commonwealth, and though I appreciate the Royalty, I like the reverse usually the best. A possible exception would be Victorian crowns and halfcrowns and maybe the pennies (though I do like Britannia).

 

State Quarters and ATB quarters get holdered reverse forward by all services as well as an example on the US side.