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Message:: [QUOTE="Ed Zak, post: 34844, member: 824"]I found some gems also from the "other" grading services when I could view the coin closely, and IF pictures of the coin was adequate enough to buy online (i.e., ebay).  Buy the coin, not the slab...we all hear that and most here practice it. Where it gets interesting is when you CAN'T view the coin closely or if the pics are not adequate to view the coin.  With that said...IF I can't see the coin in a NTC holder, I will automatically in my mind reduce MS grades by 2 to 4 points and circulated grades by 5 to 15 points (Sheldon Scale).  I bid accordingly to "my" grading deductions. IF I get lucky and pick up a coin that really was graded properly to ANA standards...that's a bonus.  But rest assure, I may bid, for an example, a EF40 coin at VF25 prices. Also, I have seen many NTC Lincolns that looked like the were either dipped or perserved in some fashion.  Definitely not naturally toned so I am very careful when I look at their slabs. As for SGS (Star Grading Service)...just remember they are NOT a grading service.  They are just a bogus grading company set up, operated, and owned by the power seller Aboncom on ebay which prey on newbies with the ultimate promise of MS70 and PR70 coins.   One of the reasons why they are NOT listed in PNG because they are just that...a fraud and are the lowest of the low.[/QUOTE]