Worst Grading Companies

Then I guess if I follow your logic NCG must stink also because the last time I sent coins to them it took over thirty days.

 

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I believe you indicated something to the effect of "worst grading companies" and mention ICG and DGC.

Do you have any personal experience with either and again I will ask do you have any proof they are the worst?

BTW: As Grilledporkchop indicated "buy the coin not the slab". You may be surprised and learn that all grading companies including PGCS and NGC miss the grading mark on occasion.

 

DGS was a great grading company. I would buy their slabbed coins in a heartbeat.

 

Let's call em' all the worst, why don't we?!

Each company, out of reputable ones from the present and past, have had their ups and downs. Many people call PCGS the best, although they have proven they are inconsistent. NGC has, ANACS, and ICG has, and though I haven't seen many examples of their coins, DGS probably has some inconsistencies as well.

I can't pick a best, and I can't pick a worst. I buy coins not slabs, and I try to buy my money's worth, with some kind of 'insurance', which typically means PCGS or NGC graded coins.

 

The grading services offer turnaround times from same day walkthru for $250 to 30 to 45 days for $15 economy service. So what counts for stinking?

 

Here is probably the best test when Coin World sent the same coins to various services. It's from 2003.

 

In your opening post, you stated that ICG was one of the worst, and you implied the same about DGS. It always bugs me when someone makes a statement like this without supporting evidence from personal experiences. Even if someone else makes a similar statement to you and you repeat it, it is nothing more than hearsay, and many, many times the true facts get "muddled" in the translation.

It's one thing for you or anyone else to express a preference for using one service over another. That is your right, but to make a carte blanche statement like this is out of line. If you are merely trying to determine which companies are better, then you should have asked for the feedback of the others, or better yet, read some of the numerous threads that have centered on this topic.

Chris

 

I agree that you should buy the coin and not the slab, but TPG's also authenticate. The last thing I want to worry about is whether the double eagle I just paid 3k for is counterfeit. There are some high end dealers who have been fooled by some excellent fakes.

Also, if you stick with PCGS and NGC graded coins they are much more liquid. If I'm at a show I won't even look at a coin priced at more than 100 bucks if its not slabbed....and slabbed by PCGS or NGC.

Maybe other TPG are just as good, or better, than PCGS and NGC. However, the market doesn't think so. If I need to sell my coins PCGS and NGC slabs will make it happen faster and I'll get better prices. That's just the reality.

I'm at the point where when I'm buying gold, not only does it have to be slabbed by PCGS or NGC, I will only buy from a dealer I know. Plus, that dealer must be able to tell me how he came about owning the coin. If he sent it in for grading himself I'm 100% comfortable. If he didn't, there is still a risk that both the coin and slab are counterfeit. A good dealer will guarantee that their coins are genuine. That is, they'll buy them back if you find out their fakes. If I don't get that guarantee I don't buy.

I will and do pay a premium to dealers I trust that can provide me with all of these things. It is well worth it.

 

Now, this is the kind of statement that we should expect! Your personal preferences are duly noted and appreciated.

Thanks!

Chris

 

The other side of the coin (so to speak) is that you can get quality coins slabbed by, say, ANACS cheaper if you can grade them yourself reasonably well. ANACS is good at identifying problem coins, so that issue at least is off the table. Break them out and send them to PCGS if you want.

 

Harry,

Point taken. However, I'm new to the hobby and my grading skills are improving, but not where they need to be for me to be making decisions like that. I'm going to go to coin camp next year at Colorado Springs and take the grading class...hopefully that will speed things up a bit. I've found that there is no substitute for looking at as many coins as possible. That's tough to do when there is only one coin show a month near my small town. eBay can be helpful, but let's just say that the seller is going to post photos that make the coin look as good as possible.

 

That's a great chart. Thank you. Too bad that many people can't accept facts and logic. :bangg:

I wonder what would happen if they resubmitted those same coins seven years later.

Thank you, again.


g.

 

I was wondering the same thing!

Chris

 

4 sure!

My pic would be
SGS

 

ICG is one of the four major grading services accepted by Teletrade and ebay. I find their coins to be accurately graded.

As far as DGS, a moot issue since they closed up shop. They were never accepted by Teletrade or Ebay as a major grading service so would never have been a buyer of their material anyhow unless severely discounted.

 

ICG dont stink,

 

If you have ever crossed over a DGS or ICG coin you know they overgrade on certain series largely the Morgans and 3 cent nickels.

 

Im a fairly new collector, I have only used ICG they do a really good job shipping is a lil high and my loop is a lil better but overall worth recomending

 

When I initially read this, and later re-read, I did not automatically deduce from the OP's post that they were inferring anything about ICG and DGS; simply that they had closed shop [, and perhaps they were not to be considered in any manner pursuant to his enquiry.]

 

ICG is one of the most respected top tier grading companies in numismatics, if they over grade they wouldnt have lines at coin shows, hold seminars that are rated as some of the best, and any time you show a coin graded by icg the buyer doesnt need to think twice