Are you a dues paying member of either? More importantly, are you an ANA Life Member? If the answer is no to the first question, then you should understand why NGC is marketed as such. The other side would be to consider what NGC gives to ANA members: submission privileges without NGC Collector's Club membership. Perhaps PCGS wasn't willing to do that due to the precedent it might establish for other Collector's Universe brands.
I'm a newly joined member of ANA. Just out of curiosity, how does NGC submission privileges for ANA members work? I've heard that it's the equivalent of an associate level membership of NGC's collector's society. Is that true?
Corruption. It effects everyone:too-funny: I'm obviously kidding. At least in this case. I don't, however, think the types of concerns that I've addressed in this thread would be fully unwarranted, if it were another group of organizations. In this case however, it's a minor concern at most, and I think these these groups have more than proven themselves over the years. So I think they're a rare exception to those types of concerns.
I am not sure why but I have seen a lot of NCC cert coins at ms65 that would be ms64 in a PCGS slab. (particularly Ikes)
They're both good. The difference between ms-64 and ms-65 is so minuscule, that it's really a matter of subjectivity and individual opinion, for the most part. If grading were an exact science it would probably be easier to master.
You openly admit to collecting "Ikes":devil: Just kidding, but on a serious side ... Both PCGS and NGC have over and under graded coins in thier holders.
...But I would love to, if I ever get the chance someday, to take the ANA's grading and authentication classes.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that PCGS is a part of a publicly traded brand (Collectors Universe, NASDAQ:CLCT), while NGC is a privately held company. PCGS has to answer to their shareholders, while NGC makes business practice changes and policy changes to progress the hobby and their future. Almost anyone who has dealt with the two companies would tell you that NGC has far superior customer service. While NGC may pay for the ANA and PNG endorsement, those two entities may also not wish to endorse PCGS, whose corporate and fiscal responsibility is first and foremost to their stock holders - not to their customers. I always just assume that all of the PCGS-only kool aid drinkers must be USA-coin collectors only. NGC has far and away a better reputation for world coin grading, and any insult you can fling at NGC for USA coin gradeflation can be thrown back at PCGS for world-coin gradeflation -- usually to more of an extreme. IF you are truly a coin collector (and not an investor or speculator) then the coin is what matters; not the brand of plastic entombing it.
For me, professionally slabbed coins serve more importantly as a confirmation of authentication, than as an emphasis on grade. Even though that still plays an important role.
Just because a company has shareholders does not mean it doesn't care about how it operates. NGC owners want to make as much money as possible too.
Exactly. All companies, even ones with high integrity, are around to make money. That's what makes them companies and not charities. The true question is: What is a company willing to do to make money? And at what point does what they do to make money become a detriment to their integrity? In terms of both NGC and PCGS, as far as I can tell, so far so good in the integrity department.
Threads like this are hilarious. You can't have a thread like this without someone stating accusations and name calling.
Are you saying that that's happened? (If so where?) Or are you simply saying that it happening is only a matter of time?