Ok so I've noticed quite a few initials slapped on slab sticker and after a little googling I it's easy enough to pick out the straight up bunk a** s*** "grading" companies like IGC or whatever from more respectable ones like PCGS andNGS. ANACS I have heard mentioned many times and would have thought it to be a reputable grading, albeit the least expensive one and thus most circulated lower grade coins that aren't even worth the PCGS grading price tag would end up there. That being said, lately I've been coming accross some really shady looking listings on ebay with coins slabbed by ANACS. Is there a coin swap happening here? or maybe fake ANACS labels, or what? is ANACS trustworthy? Here's an example... https://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-D-DDO...116750?hash=item48ce611f0e:g:B1UAAOSwOjxdK-e8 I hate borderline scammy business that really just take advantage of people for a quick buck. I once saw a post of a slab where IGC had graded a dime as a lincoln cent.
When something is obviously wrong on a holder label, it could be a "mechanical error" where the company entered the wrong info on the holder. Normally ANACS and ICG are both solid with attributing coins. NGC and PCGS also have their share of mechanical errors (search around on the forums and you'll even find several threads where people have posted NGC and PCGS errors, like putting the wrong date, mint mark, denomination, etc).
What's the issue? Some quick Googling shows that the 1955-D FS-101 variety displays relatively subtle doubling, and is an entirely different thing from the famous 1955-P FS-101 DDO.
I'm guessing the original poster might have confused it with the "big" DDO. To me it looks potentially weak for a 40 (especially based on some of the undergraded items I've seen in these Anacs holders), but that is just my opinion based on the photo. And the "mechanical error" info I posted above can just be taken as a general answer when there is wrong info on a coin label (it does happen with all of the TPGs). {Edit: I went back and edited that post to remove anything that implied this particular coin had something wrong with it.}
I see nothing wrong with the coin besides terrible photos. ICG and Anacs grade coins from different management standards than either of the other two.
IMO the seller is hoping that a buyer will come along that doesn't know the difference between the coin listed and the valuable1955 Doubled Die cent. ANACS is a reputable grading Co. Many think that PCGS and NGC are superior and I really have no opinion on that. I've seen some nice coins in ANACS holders. There's nothing wrong with the eBay listing you posted. There is a 1955-D Doubled Die cent but it's not the "big one" which is a P mint Lincoln cent http://doubleddie.com/302101.html for the "big one". http://varietyvista.com/01a LC Doubled Dies Vol 1/DDO 1955-D.htm for the one listed on eBay. Also, you mentioned IGC twice. There's a big difference between IGC and ICG. Some don't consider ICG relevant anymore but IMO they have some nice coins on eBay. Don't know if IGC is still around but they were never considered as a top grading Co.
There’s nothing wrong with PCGS, NGC, ICG, ANACS, PCI, SEGS, etc., as long as you’re buying coins and not plastic. IMO, coins in any of those holders are worth a slight premium over raw coins for three reasons: you get a nice, protective holder for your coin, a reasonable assurance that the coin is authentic, and the distilled opinion of multiple professional numismatists as to the grade of the coin. With these services, the first two are roughly equivalent. It’s the grade opinion that differs significantly in quality. And, that’s where you need to exercise your own judgment: is the coin correctly graded? Is the toning (if any) market acceptable? Are there any problems not noted on the holder? And, most of all, do you like the coin enough to buy it for the offered price (or, if you’re buying it for resale, can you make a profit)?
Here's my opinion. Buy the coin not the holder or whoever opinion is on the holder as to what the grade is. PCGS, NGC, ANACS, IGC. If I rate these 4 companies based on my personal opinions: PCGS, has the harshest grading standards of all. Their coins might upgrade if cracked out and resubmitted to NGC if you do your homework. NGC, has slightly lower standards but their coins might downgrade if resubmitted to PCGS. ANACS, I personally believe they have the fairest grading, by the textbook definitions of each grade. However they are taken as sometimes over graded in the hobby compared to the way the big two grade coins, PCGS AND NGC. Then ICG. Similar to ANACS maybe a bit looser on the definition of each grade. Likely will down grade of resubmitted to the other 3 companies. I think people like PCGS and NGC over the others because they are so strict on grading and coins will be top of the grade usually or undergraded so it feels safe to them, if they spend their money the coin isn't likely to downgrade, but upgrade instead. Just my opinion on this subject. And yes I think ANACS is the fairest grading, right on the grade in my opinion. I have no loyalty to any of these companies at all and get nothing endorsing any one over any other. Just my opinion. They all make their mistakes though so always buy the coin, not the slab. Take their grade on it as their unbiased opinion but make your own opinion before making a purchase. There's people cherry picking and making money off slabbed coins that might upgrade if cracked out so how accurate can they really be right? As far as the example coin, the picture isn't the best for me to determine if it is FS101 die 1 for sure, but as far as variety attribution is concerned I don't think there's anyone better than ANACS at it either. going off these pictures on his listing though, what I can see, I'm skeptical this is legit FS101. But it's blurry when you zoom in.. could be mislabeled by ANACS, could be he opened it and is a scam seller, could be someone else's fraud and he just doesn't know, could be images he got somewhere else that are wrong and the coin he's selling is good. It's ebay. Buyer beware. A FS101 for $10.00 yeah something wrong there. I tried their cert verification lookup but it doesn't seem to work. Guy has good feedback. Doesn't seem like he'd scam. I dunno somethings fishy I guess. If I were in the market for it, I'd ask for better pictures to confirm the variety to be sure. Other than that, yeah there's some shady people on ebay and grading companies make mistakes.
The only problem I have with ANACS is their email customer service sucks. It may be just me, but they NEVER answer emails. No problems with them as a slabbing service, et al. Mechanical errors happen to all of them...
From Variety Vista about this FS101. His pictures are bad to see for sure if it is or isnt' but the spread in the 19 seems right. If I were going to bid on it I'd want better pictures of the die markers, just to be sure. http://www.varietyvista.com/01a LC Doubled Dies Vol 1/1955DDDO001.htm Maybe this is where the descrepency starts? Both have similar FS numbers the 1955 strong doubled die FS-101 (21.8). and the 1955D DDO FS-101 (21.93).
It appears the coin is OK as is. If the seller is trying to foist it off as the 1955 DDO, he’s not having much luck.
So there's both an IGC and an ICG grading company? That's a recipe for disaster. I could have very well been referring to the crummy one of those two and didn't event know it. And, I'm pretty sure, even if the ICG is out of business, their slabs are probably still out there in droves. I haven't bought and specifically avoid those three initials because of what I read and saw of the ICG slabs. Sellers usually try to get rid of those in lots from what I saw. The other thing that's quite concerning is the lack of security mechanisms on the labels for IGC and ANACS, maybe I've just been looking at older slabs, but it really is to their detriment, it's way too easy to make fake labels with today's technology. Someone could easily look up a serial number for a coin, print out a forgery with a matching serial number and put whatever coin inside, pretty much destroying their credibility.
It's a recipe for a smaller and lamer company trying to ride the coattails of a well-known company and maybe draw off a few clueless shoppers. Don't you remember "COBY" TVs, with the name in the same font and style as SONY?
That’s exactly the reason. Companies have been made with initials similar to all the major TPGs. There was an NGS, a CCGS, a DCGS....even an ANICS that wrote they weren’t associated with Anacs
