After reading Owle's post, I immediately relinquish every rightful claim to being King of the Chauvanists.
My own opinion of Don Willis is that not only is he an ego-maniacal idiot but that his behavior is a public relations nightmare for PCGS.
Lisa's e-mail address is not even listed in her personal profile on the NGC forums, so I don't think it would be a good idea to give it to anyone without her permission. Chris
Abbott & Costello was one of my favorites when I was a kid in prehistoric times. My all-time favorite, though, was "Who's on first?" Chris
The 3 Stooges also did that routine. But I like the A&C versions best ("Bagel Street" or "Susquehanna Hats")
I mainly collect Barber Halves, and the last three certified coins I bought were in NGC holders. They, in my mind, are tougher on that series than PCGS. A few of the coins I own are overgraded by PCGS. Even two from my most recent submission. But I have seen B-halves in NGC holders that were overgraded as well. It's all subjective. I pay for the coin, not the plastic. I just prefer mine to be in PCGS plastic. Oh and on topic, I haven't had a problem with PCGS customer service yet. I have never dealt with NGC's customer service so I cannot comment on them.
Now THAT would for sure start an argument Ten or twelve years ago you could almost, stress almost, reach a consensus on that subject if you would have polled the members of the various coin forums. That was, in my opinion, because back then most serious collectors were more open minded on the subject. But over the years the polarity of the two camps of fans has increased to the point where you'd stand no chance of doing so today. And you'd also have to understand that 12 years ago NGC didn't even grade coins minted after 1964. I used to be able to pretty much list who was tougher on what off the top of my head. Unfortunately I can no longer recall with any degree of certainty. But I'll try and give you a few examples. PCGS tougher on Lincolns, Washingtons, Walkers. NGC tougher on Jeffs, Mercs, Rosies, Frankies. PCGS tougher on Morgans & Peace. NGC tougher on gold, especially Saints. With Seated and Barbers it was about a toss up. As I recall NGC had the edge on old copper - can't recall on IHC's. NGC was always tougher on any coin with special designations. Let the slings and arrows begin to fly
NGC addresses some of the grading issues in the Rosen Numismatic advisory; here's a segment, and since NGC has it on their website, it is in the public domain: - No, it isn't. Everything on the NGC web site is copyright protected. MR: I agree, there’s been a learning curve at work. I believe that the early years of NGC and PCGS saw conservative grading because they were young companies out to prove themselves, get market share, introducing a new concept. You yielded a lot of power and had to be careful, earn your “oats,” so to speak. Does this make sense? http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=2259& edited