When buying a slabbed coin, is one grading service better than the other or are they about the same? Thanks for your time. Mike
From what I've read, heard, and learned, it's more important to "buy the coin, not the holder". Having said that, some people have a hierarchy that goes PCGS, NGC, ANACS... but that should NEVER be your only rule. It seems that PCGS coins go for higher prices in auction, but that could just be me. Each service also has its "niches" (ancients, fantasy tokens, etc.), but I am not well-versed in those characteristics. Hope this helps. If I have strayed from the truth or omitted anything (which I'm sure I have), there will be plenty of more knowledgeable folks here who will chime in with corrections or with their own thoughts.
If selling, PCGS or NGC are the best. If I'm buying, I'm only looking at the coin and don't care about the plastic. Plastic is easy to change.
To add to the above, many people say for World (non-US) coins, go with NGC; for US coins, go with PCGS.
This. This is accurate as well. I personally use PCGS for everything that isn't ancient in my collection (of the "Big Two", only NGC grades ancients), but NGC does have a much bigger market share (and presumably more experience) with World coins than PCGS does. PCGS has the edge with US coins. My personal hierarchy: PCGS (#1 in US coins and my choice for non-ancient World coins for personal reasons) NGC (generally seen as #1 in World coins, the only top-tier service that grades ancients) ANACS (second-tier but with a long history; still respectable in US coins) ICG (second within the second-tier but recognized in the market) Those are the four that eBay recognizes as certification services. (I also personally recognize ICCS for Canadian coins only.) All the rest can be considered "third tier" (some say "Third World"). Treat them as you would a raw coin. This is not to say that services like the old PCI or SEGS are useless or untrustworthy. It's just more "hit or miss" there, and for whatever reason (fairly or not), they are considered third-tier in the marketplace. Those somewhat more "respectable" third-tier services (fairly or not) get lumped in with all the other fly-by-night services which are more deserving of their shady reputations.
Don't forget the odd-balls VSS - Variety Slabbing Service - which does both a sticker on other TPG coins and/or slabs themselves in coin-world style slabs. Despite not being sealed, highly regarded. Eagle Eye - sticker - Rick Snow of Indian Head Cent book fame - highly regarded.
...and not to get the Carr-haters® involved, but I believe that ANACS is the only TPG that will grade and encapsulate his stuff. <ducks and waits for the flame war to start>
I would not count the Eagle Eye photo seal stickers and CAC "bean" stickers (and WINGS stickers on world coins, etc.) as grading services, which is the topic here. These stickers are from fourth party verification services. Yes, they can potentially add value to a third-party grading service's holder (PCGS, NGC, etc), but the fourth-party sticker entities are not themselves grading services. They pass judgement by offering a further professional opinion on a coin that a third-party grader (TPG) has already encapsulated.
If it is possible... and I get a "bean" and a "WINGS" sticker on the same coin... can I call it a "BLING"? ;-) "bwing" didn't sound quite right...
The world market domination of NGC is over, PCGS has taken away a large share of that and several countries strongly prefer PCGS such as Australia. A few years ago NGC dominated that market but not anymore. ICG will as well.
Definitely, the BEST approach is to learn to grade and buy the coin, not the holder. There is no substitute for your own knowledge. The standards of the TPGs change, and their grading is inconsistent.
If you want slabbed coins, the only grading company that carries any weight in the aftermarket are NGC and PCGS.
You could if WINGS does Hawaii issues which I don’t know if they do. Thpugh there’s no need to send them it if it already has a CAC
