No Trust in Numistrust Be careful of NTC, they are nitorius for grading coins 2-3 grades higher then the coin is worth. I purchased a NTC slabbed Franklin 1954-D MS65 FBL for $13.00, the coin should be worth around $150.00. It was slabbed and graded by NTC and my coin dealer/good friend and I agree this coin would be hard pressed to grade MS62. I tried to contact or make contact via e-mail with NTC and ask them, very nicely, how they came to this conclution of MS65, but they refuse to even acknowledge my exsistance or the coins exsistance for that matter. There is too much potential for being ripped off dealing with NTC graded coins.
A fair warning Walter - and a deserved one. But for whatever it's worth, when I give my opinion about price and/or grade, I completely ignore the slab the coin is in - regardless of who slabbed it.
My estimation is based solely on the assumption that they would grade out at MS-63. Gold being a very soft material is often given the slide due to this fact. For example marks on an MS-63 Morgan are sometimes negligible compared to a certified (top three or four TPGs) MS-63 Double Eagle. This coin looks (in my view) to be MS-63 compared to (PCGS, ANACS, NGC) examples. Bonedigger
Walter, I know what you mean. I do take grading (from any company) as just a guide or opinion. If I agree, so be it. I think the above two are pretty close to the grade, if not right on. Here's an example of another NTC MS 63 graded coin below (but to be honest, I don't much want to dwell on this as it's not the point of the thread). This, IMHO is not right on, not even close (and I'm sure you'll agree). Look... but then back on topic or NO SOUP FOR YOU! .
Ntc DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM NTC!!!! They clean their coins and increase the value and lie about the rating. My father bought a coin from them that was worth 600.00 - they charged him 7995.00. He was in his 80s and these unscrupous (SP?) *******s took advantage of him. Unless you are willing to lose your shirt DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE CHARLATANS.
Mardi, Welcome to Coin Talk! NTC as a TPG and to my knowledge has never sold coins to the public. As a grading service, their business was/is to certify and grade coins for customers and to sell coins would be a conflict of interest. However, when a TPG purchases or replaces a coin under their' guarantee, they will sell the accumulated inventory in lots to specific Coin Dealer customers and these slabbed coins are generally re-sold to the public with the understanding that these are problem coins or problem slabs (holders). Your father more than likely purchased the coin from an unscrupulous Coin Dealer that knew that the coin was overgraded. This happens all too often in the Coin Market and overgraded coins are sold at the graded price no matter what TPG's holder in which the coin resides. Yes, there are overgraded coins on the market from every TPG that is or ever has been in business as a grading service. As with PCI graded coins, bargains can be had when purchasing coins in NTC holders if you just follow the well advertised advice on Coin Talk which is to "buy the coin, not the slab". In that, it means to purchase the coin based on it's appearance and the grade you believe it to be and not what is noted on the slab (holder)! Frank
Thank you for the information. I am new to all of this and learning all the terms and details have been a bit overwhelming. You are correct, he probably did use an unscrupulous Coin Dealer. I do know that some of the coins were slabbed and graded by NTC. I wish I knew which dealer he used. My warning is for that dealer and not NTC, however, they too over rated the coins. Once again - thanks for the correction. Learn something new everyday.
Yep. IOW, melt value. These babies, if genuine, have ~ 0.97oz gold. So 97% of the spot price is the intrinsic value.
Mardi... this is one of the things one hears consistently around here. It's all about the coin, and one's personal skill at determining its condition and thus its value. TPG slabs have their merits. But in the final analysis - it's all about the coin.
Melt but you may get lucky and have a good one in one of their holders It has happened. Usually they are damaged coins in their holders one way or the other - cleaned etc
Some people buy old gold coins because they are old gold coins and don't really care about the numismatic value. They rely on the gold to provide the value. If NTC is good at authentication, then that alone is a worthwhile service to avoid purchasing counterfeits. That said, I don't really know how good NTC is at detecting counterfeits.