The issue of Grading is one that has a lot of controversy that seems will never get resolved. #1: PCGS: I have searched the internet for comments on slabbed coins, and I have been able to find postings by people that offer crtiticism of PCGS. PCGS is allegedly guilty of some degree of inconsistency in their grading. They are accused by collectors of over-grading coins submitted by large-volume dealers. PCGS seems to be the Harvard of the grading companies. But to use that analogy, lets say this: if you dont have an Ivy league degree, does that mean your degree is worthless? PCGS is overhyped!!! How does PCGS come to get the highest prices for their coins? I bought some NTC graded coins this month. And also a PIC graded coins. Some 1880-o morgans. The coins meet the grade. they are MS-63!!! So why NTC gets the bad rap it does is somewhat questionable. But reality is the NTC slabs are cheap; But because they dont get the high prices. You cant get screwed, because the the NTC slabs are as cheap as the unslabbed coins. At the very least, I would rather have an NTC slab, than have a pencil grade on a cardboard holder from some hustler who calls himself a dealer, and overgrades his raw coins. I would dare say there are TOO MANY GRADES!!!! How many bag-marks are too much? One guy says a coin is a MS63; Another says its an MS64. Theres comic books; cars; pocket watches. Name any collectible: The boks have had poor; average; mint. This is what the coin hobby should go buy. I want the MS-64 money! I want the MS-65 money!!! How do I get it? By cheating the novice collector???? Wee need refinement of the hobby. There should be specific guidelines. There should not be "SLIDER" coins!!!!!!!! People say "Why should the congress stick their nose into baseball and the steroid issue? Let baseball clean up their own house." Listen, if congress wants to oversee baseball, then they should offer some guidance to the coin industry!!!!!! Ive just recently gotten into coins. The one slab I have that might be questionable is a PCGS slab. Im tired of "Buy the coin, not the slab." I dont want to lose money on the resale, because the dealer or collector wants to apply his own grade to my coin. I want dealers and collectors to have more confidence in the grade of the grading company. ONE more word on PCGS: Guess what is on their slab: they have their stock-market symbol on the slab! They advertise their stock shares on the slabs. This is a BIGGER conflict of interest than the coin grading companies owning coin dealerships. In the corporate world, the constant obession is "keep the stock price high; keep the stock price high; keep investor confidence up; keep the stock trading at high volume." And the SEC, the securities exchange commission is concerned with honest financial statements. They want the financials to reflect the actual earnings. As far as how PCGS graded the coins or comic books to get those earnings, the SEC doesnt give a crap.
Howdy LETSBUYCOINS - Welcome to the Forum !! I must say, you're not alone in many of your thoughts and opinions - that's for sure.
The whole certification thing has been a headache for me. I like the idea of an independant verification that this thing truly is x, not y, and knowing that for all time. However, that is not what you get with a certification. Folks still argue that this certification is x points high or low, and they re-submit to get a better cert from the same company... now that just seem wrong! And where does the value really go? To the lucky coin owners? No, to the certification companies, it seems, who get 30 bucks a pop to say you have a nice coin that is what you thought it was, or a grade better, or a grade worse... It makes no sense. I like slabs, I personally think it a nice way to store a great coin, and I like a well printed label. But, to send a coins with $30 or more to get it? Hmmm, I'll take a nice encased coin in auction when the price is right, and I am sending a few (very few) selected coins out to lower end less expensive graders to see what I get. But, all in all, I don't think it sounds like the TPG's are doing the industry any favors right now.
There are more than a few who share that opinion. But consider the alternative - can you recall what it was like buying coins before the grading companies came along ? If you can't, doesn't matter - it's still the same when buying raw coins today. What's that like ? When you buy a raw coin and the dealer says it is X grade - is it ? Or is it Y grade ? So to me - there isn't any difference between buying a raw coin and a slabbed coin. You'll either agree with the grade or you won't. And it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks the grade is. As for what the grading companies charge to slab a coin - that's easy to avoid - don't submit them and pay it. If you want a slabbed coin, buy your coins already slabbed - let somebody else pay the fee. There are plenty who will. I've been collecting now for over 45 yrs - I have yet to ever submit a single coin to a grading company. I don't plan to either. It's too easy to do it the way I have described above.
May I reccomend ANACS for you.They are not low tier and very cheap.They have an economy tier that is only $10.00.It may take 2-3 months to get them back but I would think it is better than the lower tier graders.Also remember dont submit to ACG!!!
Yes, I saw the $10 ANACS and thought that reasonable. I am not familiar with ACG. I did acquire several coins from ACCGS (different according to the web pages) and found them reasonably graded. They are the guys that do 2 sides with seperate grades. Anyhow, I think since I like slabs, I'll focus on getting a great coin in a slab when the price makes sense, and not submit and pay.
