best grading service

You may be correct but those business strike s quarters seem to be poorly made- you can look through a lot of rolls to find any sort of decent coin

 

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You'd probably have better luck (at a lower cost per coin) searching bags. That's what I did for SQ's, Kennedy's & Sac's, and I had more than 50 business strikes grade MS68 over a 2-year period.

Chris

 

I like NGC, but PCGS is best.

 

Who would you use to grade some St. Gaudens gold double eagles to get the best grade, NGC or PCGS?

 

Shopping for the best grade does not always equal the most money in a sale.

 

PCGS For Resale, NGC For Consistency

As Green said, we all have one, and some may consider mine as excrement, but I spent decades collecting sight-seen "mint state" slabbed 1907HR, 1908* WM, 1909*, 1911 through 1920 St. Gaudens. These are significant "premium" coins, difficult to locate dates. I generally found NGC to have the most consistent grading of the two, but for receiving the highest grade with equivalent technical characteristics, I found PCGS to be the choice.

When I started to liquidate duplicates in future years, and advertised availability of both firms slabs, I'd receive calls of inquiry asking which I preferred. I believed in being candid, and would generally state that it depended on the specific date/mint-mark, often recommending a NGC coin which I felt was of greater technical quality. Since I had a "no questions" return policy, the average buyer would purchase the PCGS coins regardless of my recommendation. I never had an NGC coin returned, but PCGS is an entirely different story, and I didn't have to ask any questions to receive their opinions.

My general recommendation for potential in resale when having a coin certified, is PCGS. If I were purchasing without having the coin in hand, NGC would be my general choice, especially with certain dates/mint-marks.

JMHO :thumb:

 

The one that gives you the highest grade..................

 

Is there a way to know that without slabbing? For example, do you send a loose coin to each for a grade, then decide which to slab it with? Sorry, NooB questions, I know

 

If I follow your question, you are asking if you can find out what grade they will give it before you pay them to grade it. UHM! No. Great pictures or an expert dealer's opinion will give you an idea, but neither NGC or PCGS has any guarantee they will always grade each coin the same every time. In fact, it is easy to find numerous stories of coins submitted and receiving many different grades or even no grade/graded.

 

PCGS is the best and NGC is a close second. PCGS usually, but not always, brings higher prices.

 

PCGS/NGC equally. I have had great luck buying and selling both.

 

I don't know anyone who collects world coins (i.e., non-USA coins) who considers PCGS to be better. Among world coins, NGC has about 90% of the market and is far more respected with grading.

In terms of USA coins, PCGS and NGC are pretty much on par with one another. It's funny that everyone likes to forget that small study 10 years ago where PCGS was found to be the most conservative (i.e., they averaged 1 point lower grade than the other companies), but they also had the highest variance (i.e., their grades were inconsistent -- all over the place if the same coin was submitted more than once). I'd personally say, NGC may be less conservative on some USA coins, but they are far more consistent. PCGS is on average more conservative (lower grades), but sometimes real dogs can get into MS66 or higher holders (inconsistent). I'm just giving my opinions here -- as is everyone else. You won't find two people who agree on this subject. Also, as many others have mentioned, this topic has been BEAT TO DEATH in this forum. A subject search will yield you many threads...

:dead-horse:

 

Well my question was specifically who you think would grade a $20 St. Gaudens more favorably and I didn't see anything about that coin when I searched the other threads, but I did read some. I appreciate the responses

 

One thing to consider is turnaround time. Right now PCGS's turnaround time borders on 2 months for economy. NGC had my coins back to me in 12 days for the economy price. Compounding the problem is that when I submitted my coins to PCGS their stated turnaround time was 18 business days. But they suddenly changed that to 37 business days. In other words they don't honor the stated turnaround time at the time you submit your coins, which I feel they should. Others may disagree.

 

Another to consider is their service. NGC is just about unbeatable and there have been more than one complaint about PCGS's service.

 

I like these guys. My lawn has never looked so beautifully-terraced.

 

No I was just trying to be funny? My own choice would be PCGS

 

There Are Many Variables In Having Coins "Graded/Slabbed"

I thought I had answered your question in post #46 of this thread, presenting Caveats, based on the limited information you provided.

My recommendation for you, based on hypothesized normal conditions for neophytes is: I believe you would be best served by PCGS

If you have questions based on specifics, please send me a Personal Message. :thumb:

 

IMHO, from my experience,

PCGS is preferred for higher end U.S. coins to get the most money on a sale. NGC is best for world coins. ANACS is best for problem coins and varieties.

For average collector U.S. coins, either PCGS and NGC are preferred, but I take ANACS coins very seriously. It's possible to get ANACS coins at a discount even though they are accurately graded.

I think ICG is an "also ran." At least, that's the perception, and that's all that matters.

 

You did answer it. Thank you! :thumb: