How much does it cost to get your coins graded?

not worth sending it in, the coin's value determines whether or not to get it slabbed

 

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You missed the $10 per submission "Just because" fee.

And you say you reached out to them to confirm those fees and you haven't heard back. I assume you reached out via email. Good luck getting a reply. NGC is a little better at answering emails, but not by much. For the most part you can say they don't reply to emails. You could call them, but you will find their customer service to be shall we say less than spectacular.

 

If I had several tubes of 1996 American Silver Eagles, would it be worth grading 50-100 of them? Same question for 1986 Silver Eagles straight from the tubes? Thanks!

 

First, welcome to the neighborhood, Jody!

In all likelihood, your bullion SAE's would have to grade MS70 to make it worthwhile to have them graded. I think it would be a losing proposition for you to submit 50-100 in the hope of getting an MS70.

Chris

 

1996 could definitely end up being worth it if they are of nice quality. 86 you probably need a 70 though admittedly I haven't check prices on those recently. Doing a 100 of them would be bulk submission eligible too

 

I have a 1967 US quarter that has a shadow of a 5 between the 9 and the 6. There's nothing remarkable about the coin other than that shadow of a five. Should I have it graded ?

 

Can you upload pictures of the coin?

 

You'll get better results if you start a new thread, probably in the US Coins or Errors forum. Welcome to CoinTalk!

 

Third party grading is now a little over 30 years old. For about 28 of those years, virtually the entire hobby agreed that MOST coins are NOT WORTH HAVING THEM GRADED, and the whole hobby was entirely okay with that. Something changed a few years ago, and I'm not sure what caused it.

All of a sudden, people wanted lower value coins graded and encapsulated. Trust me when I say most of us old wags don't understand THAT. Most coins simply are not worth it. Someone estimated about $150 in value is where it starts getting interesting. I agree. That's close to the number.

 

I believe it's mostly for authentication. And, the protection/integrity of a slab.

Slabbing makes it easier to sell too...

Last year for a bunch of XF/AU Morgans I inherited, $10/each slabbing on an ANACS special proved worthwhile: Net sales prices on ebay were better (a few were MUCH better) than the melt value offered by a local dealer.

Also, those slabbed Morgan sales were a lower-risk way to increase my credibility as a new ebay seller.

 

Grading cost are too too cheap and you get what you pay for. You are paying some guy $30 to take one quick look at you coin and then throw out a number. If I ever start a grading company I am going to charge $100 but I would give you a $100 worth of service. I would rate the strike and luster etc. and I would also spend more than 20 seconds on a coin I am grading. The graders at NGC or PCGS are way over rated and don't impress me at all, they just have a monopoly that will probably be busted up soon by more innovative companies.

 

That shift had been occurring the whole time it just really came to the forefront a couple years ago. Newer collectors, younger collectors, and converts from the bullion stackers like moderns a lot more and have embraced the grading process. Even most of the older collectors have at least embraced it to some extent by this point.

Really though the rise of the internet market place was probably the biggest influence as well as dealer practices that had lead to the need for them in the first place. Online though there is a huge advantage buying and selling already graded material and it does allow people to branch out easier into areas they might not have ever gone into if they had to authenticate and buy everything raw.

 

While I can understand that, it makes me all the more glad I live in a world where "raw" and "in the hand" is still the overwhelming majority of my transactions. If I had to depend on dealing over the Internet and therefore needing to buy more stuff already slabbed, I'm not at all sure I'd enjoy this hobby very much. More power to those who deal that way, but it's not my preferred way. Now if I could just remember to always bring my glass...

 

hi all - i have a question too about the grading process which has plagued me for a while - unless i'm mistaken, it seems as if the cost / grading scale is based on value....when filling out a grading fee submission form, there are different rates based upon value ....but the value, is supposedly based on grade - so how do i ascertain which category to choose, if it hasn't been graded yet?....when i posed this query to one of the grading services, i was told the "value" was for "insurance" purposes when shipping....the question then becomes, then how do i determine the value for shipping?....whether it's for insurance, shipping or grading , if the value is based on grade, and it hasn't been graded yet....... and round and round i go....?? thanks!~

 

hic,

Boy, reading your post brings back memories. We've all felt exactly what you have on that subject. The answer does make sense, sort of, but it is NOT self-evident or intuitive.

First, in you have some experience or are pretty good at predicting grades, start with your "Gee, I'd be happy if it got that grade" grade. Use THAT to determine your value for shipping insurance. This is what you will be paid if your shipment goes into the ether, Disappearsville, or as computer geeks call it "Write-only memory". Pay me that number. So, there's a rational reason to estimate high.

But you also seem concerned with service tiers. Yes, sometimes one can flirt with a service tier value limit, but probably not often. Cheaping out is enticing, but don't do it! Bite the bullet, pay the few extra bucks. Gaining the reputation as a "game rigger" is not worth the short-term gain. After all, value-based tiers tend to be for pretty stout coins. Don't be a miserly jerk. These costs will be a minor consideration soon. Many tiers are qualitative rather than value-based. "Modern".

Any help?

 

It depends on the number of coins and their value. The cheapest option for NGC would be $20 per non-gold coin with an insured value of up to $300 + $8 handling fee per submission form (World and US coins must be on separate forms)+ shipping both ways.

So, if you have say, 5 US coins with an insurance value of $200 each, then the total cost for economy tier is $108 + $24 return shipping + original shipping to NGC (say, $5) = $137, or $27.40 per coin.

NGC and PCGS both have a table that charts out the cost of return shipping, which depends on the total insured value and the number of coins (return shipping cost chart shown on the form). They also both have online forms that auto-calculate everything for you. The form tells you everything you need to know.

 

How does the mailing charge work if you submit multiple coins? Do they combine shipping?

 

Sometimes this is possible, particularly with NGC. It depends on the service level and number of items.

 

Of course the big downfall is that they won't ship until the last order is done so you can end up waiting a while after some are done.

 

Life was better when people had to grade their own coins.