People are paying ridiculous prices right now for 2016 Presidential $1 coins graded by PCGS with picture labels. A PR70 set sells for around $300. You could buy 4 pcgs 1st Day pr70 sets for that price. The picture labels are not even 1st Day or First Strikes. What will they think of next, fake signature labels?
That's what they should pay ( 300.00 ) for a base graded 70 . You have to understand the difference between bulk grades and base graded coins ....
These only exist because there's a market, and they sell. Perhaps our derision ought to be directed not towards the people who fill the hole, but the people who dig it.
The "Insanity" is that the TPG's have created and maintained a market solely based upon "a label"! I laugh!
"First Day of Issue" is one of the "Big 3 Jokes". The other two are "First Strike" and "Early Releases". Chris
Yet PCGS will slab with those labels even coins that sell completely out in a single day. Now cogitate on that a second - it's all snake oil! At least NGC realized it was all crap and cut it back somewhat; not enough, but still.
NGC was forced to change from "First Strike" to "Early Releases" because of the lawsuit that was filed in Florida. Since PCGS is a California corporation, they could not be forced to comply. Chris
This label the OP is talking about, from what I can remember, at least when I was having this series graded by Pcgs, it was 12.50 cents to add this label to the slab .
I take your point, but really, what is the point of even "Early Release"?!? It's all baloney. It doesn't really mean anything. Yes, I do occasionally have a modern coin slabbed. I search bags of "S" mint circulation-quality ATB quarters for candidates for MS67 or PL designations, but I tell them to just use regular brown stripe slabs. Who cares about label pictures? My only weakness is "ANA show specific" labels, and I don't collect them as part of my certified coinage, but as show souvenirs. PCGS failed in preventing "fly-ins" in 2014 and lost all my respect, what little I had for them. I'm purely an NGC man. B'sides, I think David Hall is a doofus. I'll take my necktie off when he puts one on.
Labels are gimmicks. Additionally, the supposed quality difference between a 69 and 70 is imaginary, whether either of these grades are "rare" or not.
I'm in complete agreement with you that such labels are nothing more than BS. Unfortunately, the only way that NGC could continue to compete with PCGS in this market would be to come up with some sort of verbiage that would be acceptable by the court. The term, Early Releases (pluralized), only goes as far as identifying those coins (truckloads?) that were distributed regardless of whether they were first in-first out, first in-last out, last in-first out or last in-last out. Chris
The difference between a 69 and a 70 is only deemed imaginary to someone who can't tell the difference in hand. Chris
Normally I'd try to agree with you, but I've too many times put a 69 and a 70 of the same coin side by side, and the 69 is noticeably nicer than the 70. Yes, some of them are milk spot cases, but not all.