Poll: Do you think SGS is owned and operated by aboncom?

There have been many rumors about SGS, but what do you think? does the eBay seller who is in thew same area as SGS and sells thousands of SGS coins, actually own and operate SGS as is believed by many? I would love to know your thoughts. Also please explain below. Thanks so much!

 

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Yes I do. I have never seen anyone else sell SGS unless they bought it and are trying to get rid of it.

 

I just added it.

 

you all have plenty of time. This poll will not be closing for another 36 years.

 

400th post! Anyway the results so far are pretty much what I expected. Please explain your thoughts. I'd love to know!

 

There have been numerous postings by people who are into tracing website ownerships, etc., demonstrating that both Aboncom and SGS are the same entity. Do a forum search on SGS and among the dozens and dozens of posts you will find, will be the ones I'm referring to.

 

PCGS - common ownership with David Hall Rare Coins
NGC - 25% owned by Heritage
ICG - 100% owned by National Gold Exchange
DGS - 100% owned by David Lawerence Rare Coins

They are all reputable services, but could all be considered "self slabbers"

SGS seems to take modern proofs and "nice" recent mint state coins and grade them 70. The coins sell for a few dollars. There are much more important issues to fight, such as unmarked fakes from China and fake slabs.

 

Yes, I agree, but just the same as people are being ripped off by purchasing coins from China, slabbed or not, there are people that are being scammed by this company, Aboncom (SGS), that are overpaying by the hundreds of dollars because of coins that are graded MS70 which are lucky to have an actual grade of no more than an MS65. There's no doubt that both issues are a major problem in our hobby. This is why its important to educate yourself before you spend alot of money on a coin.

 

ditto.

 

I wonder who voted no. If it was you, could you explain?

 

This shouldn't be a poll since the correct answer can be established by fact. Opinions don't count.

 

True. But it sure beats resurrecting 8-year-old threads.

 

He speaks the truth.

 

SGS and Abon is owned by Larry Bence in Ohio. No secret.

Welcome to the site Frank, it's a great place to hang out as well.

 

I disagree. Where they are owned by one person (except NGC), they don't have the same person grading each and every coin (or the same couple people I guess.)

Phoenix

 

PCGS does not have a single owner. It is wholly owned subsidiary of a publicly traded company. So it is owned by the stockholders. Of course a significant percentage of that stock is owned by a few large dealers including David Hall. This differs from NGC which is a privately owned company with all of the stock basically in the hands of the board of directors and unavailable to the general public.

 

Can you post some examples where someone has overpaid hundreds of dollars for an SGS coin?

 

Here;

http://cgi.ebay.com/23-SGS-Graded-S...286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:4|65:13|39:1|240:1318
http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/19...itemZ220319595057QQptZCoinsQ5fUSQ5fIndividual
http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/19...itemZ220319595406QQptZCoinsQ5fUSQ5fIndividual

I will search more if you need them.

 

Not to play devil's advocate here, and most here know my professional opinions on SGS, but let's not just find anything listed with SGS/Abon and down play it.

This link is actually one of the few instances where the closing price is consistent with the actual coins in question. The closing was $15.65 per piece, shipped to the buyer. That is quite consistent with the current dealer-to-dealer ask prices for ASEs, and with a handy holder to boot.

A pair of pliers and a towel, and the winner of that auction may very well realize a profit within a few weeks...and all that without ripping anyone off!

And I would not simply hold this to just SGS, but to any third or first party grader, including any raws, whether in a brick and mortar or on the internet: Do not buy what you do not know! If you need a learning experience, buy a good book on the subject.

 

Thanks for the examples rlm. I can also find more if you like. Most of us know that the value differences between an MS69 and an MS70 can differ by a few hundred dollars at the very least. All it takes is a crooked grading service (SGS), a crooked seller (Aboncom) and an undereducated coin collector, which unfortunately there are pleny of. Put that combination together with say, 100,000 overpaying buyers per year and you've got a million dollar company, they wouldn't still be around if they were losing money.