PCGS Plus the .5 Grading SYSYTEM! Opinions?

Full Article:http://www.pcgs.com/secureplus.html

Lets Hear some opinions I think its greaT!

 

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Having a grading system on top of grading system!!
I hope this system doesnt come to notes, I dont like it!!

 

I think its basically like having a CAC sticker on a PCGS slab

 

To me, it's more like the long-running NGC Star. It simply indicates a coin is exceptional for the assigned numerical grade. There are a few "finer points" differences, but the similarities outweigh the distinctions.

The "plus" part of their innovation is very minor compared to the fingerprinting idea. Folks I was hearing at ANA were mostly taking a "wait and see / time will tell" attitude.

 

Also... PCGS indicates it's the top 10-15% of the coins in a given grade.

The MAJOR part I don't like is one has to request the "plus" service and pay extra for it. I think that's absurd. NGC awards the star unsolicited and at no extra charge.

But hey... if the market winds up paying premium for the Plus (which almost certainly will happen), PCGS will rake in with people requesting, and paying for, the Plus service - whether they get the Plus or not.

 

I 100% agree one should not have to request it, it should be part of the grading system...does every coin that requests it get it, so pcgs gets the extra money? Hm...seems like a conflict of interest

 

Makes my dislike of TPG grow even more.

 

I am willing to wait and see how it plays out. As i said in other threads, it does not IMO have any chance to replace CAC, which is an independent opinion by someone who happens to be a highly respected grader, ie CAC only works because of the industry respect accorded John Albanese. The plus graders are still the same PCGS graders, as I understand it.
I am disappointed with the price structure for the new grading as well -- it seems very steep to me and is clearly geared toward high end coins only. I understand they are likely trying to recoup their investment but I wish it wasn't leaving mid-level and starting collectors out. They did say they were starting slowly and plan to expand so maybe that will change.

 

My question is why do they charge more?

If they are going to be scanning them all anyway to see if it's been resubmitted then it's not even an extra step.
If they are Not going to be scanning them all then what good it the system in the first place?

 

All they are doing is trying to get the people to resend in the coins that have already been graded so they can get more and more fees. Once again, the "greatest thing" for coin collecting is nothing more than a money making sceam.

 

They are charging more for it now because it's a more expensive process to scan the coins, trying to recover the millions spent on the technology.

Based on all that I've seen so far, they are NOT scanning all of them anyways at this time, and the SecurePlus service is 100% optional. Seems like PCGS is slowly proceeding as they really don't know how much demand there will initially be for the product.

Imagine if PCGS didn't charge extra and everyone was in love with it and resubmitted all of their coins for reholdering with the SecurePlus. They would have literally millions of coins showing up all at once and they just wouldn't be able to handle it... reserving the program for high end coins and voluntary submissions initially makes some sense.

Eventually all coins will go through the SecurePlus service and it will be mandatory for all submissions, but they aren't there yet. But when they get there it just might end up being the "Big One."

 

It seems a little iffy to me, You shouldnt have to pay more for a plus
Grade if it qualifies, What it is, Is what it is period!!

I support TPG,S and think there place in the numismatic community is a
Must!! But i dont like to see things that look below board

 

While it may seem like a valid comment, one surely doesn't have 100% of their collection that could garner a plus, any more than 100% of a collection could garner a 'Green Bean'. It just means that one will have to be a better self-grader to determine what coins will go back to PCGS for the possibility of the 'plus'.

I personally think it could very well dent CAC...thats what they are going for. However, for now, most collectors won't be able/want to use it, as it is only available for ultra-rarieties-$650, rarieties-$250, walk-through-$125, or (and this is the fence the average collector will be walking in regard to the 'plus') express-$65. Those prices are above and beyond your regular grading/attribution/error/shipping fees.....those prices are the cost of the 'plus'....seems like alot of money, and it won't affect the average collector, because of those fees.

I should say, thats just MY opinion. I KNOW I don't have coins that qualify for the $650 or $250 tier, and I am sure as heck not paying those smaller additional fees for my 'average guy' collection.

 

This isn't all a money machine idea for them in the long run. Think of all those resends they get over and over the same coins.
This is going to slow that big time thus loosing them money in the long term.

 

But dont they charge every time a coin gets resent in? If they do, then they will still make just as much. Or am I missing something?
Let me know so I can understand it better. Thanks

 

I disagree with that.

First, under the current pricing, the two products, CAC and SecurePlus, appeal to different types of consumers. CAC costs $10 per coin that qualifies as CAC. Since approximately 50% of coins sent in get the CAC sticker, it basically costs $5 per coin to have it reviewed for a CAC sticker. Alternatively, it costs a minimum of $65 at this time for PCGS SecurePlus. That big of a price spread keeps the two services from directly competing in my opinion.

Second, the big selling point of CAC is that it's another opinion of the coin. If PCGS is the third party grader, then CAC is the fourth party grade verifier. Since SecureAlert is just another look at the coin by PCGS, it's still an opinion by PCGS and some folks will still want to pay for that CAC review of the coin as the fourth party opinion.

Finally, I don't think PCGS sees, or has ever seen, CAC as competition or as taking revenue from them. They do completely different things. PCGS slabs coins with their opinion of the grade. CAC looks at the coins and the slab and verifies that the grade is accurate in their opinion. If someone collects PCGS coins, it has to go to PCGS for slabbing and grading. CAC must be done after PCGS has made their money as CAC doesn't look at raw coins.

 

I've seen some very accurate grading here at CT. Thats good enough for me. I'm glad I'm not one of those people who are addicted to the TPG's. Every time you turn around someone wants to spend $30 on a $3 coin and then get stickers gallore on their holder. If its not a coin that is highly counterfeited or a super rare key date, WHY waste your money???

 

Really? Since When?

Were they the first to authenticate? No
Were they the first to grade? No
Were they the first to slab? No
Were they the first to do multi-coin holders? No
Were they the first to do holders that let you see the edge? No
Were they the first to do photo of the coins? No
Were they the first to do computer grading? Tied with Compugrade with ANACS close on their heels.
Were they the first to do digital fingerprinting of coins? Yes, back in 1991.
Were they the first to create a Registry? Yes.
Were they the first to do 11 point MS grading? I think so.
Were they the first to do half point grading? No
Were they the first to let collectors do direct submissions? No
That's two Yes's and a Tied out of twelve innovations. Hardly a reputation for innovation.

Forward? There is nothing here that wasn't being done 19 to 21 years ago.

And I think Illini420 is right on the mark about the cost factor. Even in PCGS's announcement they say that it will INITIALLY only be available at certain service levels. To me that means they intend to eventually expand the programs to all service levels and possibly eventually make it for all submissions.

 

Hm...honestly the only reason I like a TPG is the certification that a coin is authentic as well as the backing for its value should it turn out to be fake. (Also the solid grade though if one thinks about it we grade to their standards and it is very confusing with all the different standards)

 

No, not every coin requested gets the star. In their opinion, the coin must be worthy. Otherwise, everyone would request, everyone would score, and the star would be meaningless. Then no one would request.

And yes, it would be a conflict of interest. As it is, it's not.