I have been into coins for over thirty years but have been out of touch for the most part for more than twenty. I would like to ask all of you pros what you suggest the average "Joe" use to get coins graded. Of course, I know that (in the opinion of most) PCGS is the way to go. However, you must either join or submit through a dealer member. Correct? Also, I see a lot of not-so-fantastic PCGS-graded coins on eBay. I cannot understand how people pay forty dollars to have a thirty dollar coin graded. And I do not want to use one of the (many) inferior services. On the other hand, I do not want to spend a fortune. I would need to go through my collection to pick out the ones worthy of grading but I know that I have a few very nice MS64/65 Walking Liberty halves (and a 1921 in at least F), a few very nice Franklins, as well as a few nice Morgan dollars. I also have a 1939 proof Washington quarter that I would like to have graded. Any suggestions for this old new collector would be appreciated.
Mint Mark (I assume that your name is a pun). I would use ANACS since you do not want to use PCGS (and the same with NGC). They run periodic sales on grading, and are still top tier.
As far as I know. Of course with joining you get something like 8 free gradings. If you know your coins then this might be worth it. I have seen not-so-fantastic coins from all of the top tier graders. And yes I also wonder why some coins are graded - when the grading is worth more than the coin. Some people just have to have the slabs. Then again I do not know what was paid for the grading. There are volume discounts and other things. Also some people get an XF coin, think it is MS65, get it graded - then get the XF grade back and complain. If you are sure your coins are problem free then I would go with NGC - I am not sure if they are cheaper than PCGS. And if in doubt about the coin then I would use ANACs. I am not a pro and have not used a grading service - yet(I do have some IHC I want graded). Just my thoughts - I am not an expert on TPG's.
grading services firm why NGC. they graded so many ms-70 or proof-70. now if the future uses 40x instead of 10x or 20x. those ms-70 might become ms69. i don't believe any perfect coins. ms-65 is good for me. just look with your two eyes. any seems perfect for you is ms-65 i think.
ngc is as good as pcgs in anything lower than ms 68-- then i feel ngc becomes a bit overgraded, but maybe pcgs is to tight!! thats where the buyer part comes in.
mrh757: I agree, but for key dates and lower grades (say good thru XF) NGC is far stricter than PCGS.
I would go with ANACS if you have any coins with potential problems because then you don't have to worry about your coin coming back in a body bag. ANACS will just grade the coin based on its details and then list any problems next to that. If you believe your coins are all problem free then you should probably go with either PCGS or NGC.
NGC here too. Just a personal preference. Plus, their slabs are better looking IMO making coin inside even better looking.
