Hi guys, this is one of my first posts as I am a new member of coin talk. After talking to a coin dealer at a show, I decided to send my more valuable non slabbed coins to get slabbed. He recommended SEGS since they're affordable and they dont do body bags, in case the coin has damage such as cleaning. In that case it will just have it as a detail. I ended up sending off my nicer coins to SEGS to be graded. Nothing too valuable, the most valuable being a 1881 $10 in about AU50. I'm wondering if you guys like SEGS at all and if you've had any good/bad experiences with them? I know they're not as good as say NGC, etc but are they bad? Share your experiences.
I don't really know that they're bad, I don't really know that they're good. They don't have the best of reputations, but I can't honestly say I've seen enough of them to make a judgement like that. Have you also looked at sending to icg or anacs? or even to the newest tpg, DGS?
pgh: Welcoe to the forum. I have submitted to SEGS, years ago. They seem very accurate, if not conservative. Every piece that I sent to them came back with the grades that I expected. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
In general SEGS is considered a reputable TPG. They are also considered reasonably savvy and accurate about grading. BUT They are erratic enough that most knowledgeable dealers won't buy SEGS slabs sight-unseen. (But then most knowledgeable dealers won't buy any slab sight-unseen.) It's a matter of degree of trust. I own a couple SEGS slabs and they were purchased because the coin and the grading matched IMO. But I've never tried to cross them over to NGC or PCGS, so I've never actually put their opinions to the test.
Welcome to the forum. No SEGS stuff here - they do seem to be erractic at times. Not sure what your goal was - just get them slabbed or what? I have no problems with SEGS, but buyers will be leery of SEGs holders. I would have tried NCS if you were worried about body baging a coin - I think they send it on to NGC if it would grade out there. Yeah - costs more, but I think buyers in general respect them more than SEGs. Back to the old buy the coin not the holder.
If you're worried about a body bag, then I think ANACS would be the way to go. They would handle the coins the same way SEGS would, and they have a slightly better reputation. Although with the recent ICG/ANACS flipflop, I don't how well they are doing. I find the NCS to NGC route a bit chancy. If NCS won't touch the coin, then it will never make it to NGC. But they'll keep your money. And even if NCS does it's "magic", it's still not a given that NGC will slab it. But they'll keep your money.
What he said! For resale, I think anacs would have been the better choice. Also, the SEGS guarentee leavse a little to be desired. I do have a couple of jefferson varieties in SEGS holders and they seem to be accurately graded. Also, while many disagree, I really like their holders (but they are really, really hard to crack).
I don't own any SEGS coins, but I've generally heard favorable things about them. I would probably be more inclined to buy a coin in a SEGS holder than in a new ANACS holder [all things being equal] since they've busied themselves destroying their brand. You probably made the best choice.
From what I have read about SEGS it specializes in authenticating and attributing die varieties and errors. Lou
Don't have any but I buy the coin not the holder , I hear they're repubatle , but still not in the top 3 , I wouldn't buy from any tpg sight unseen unless I knew the seller . rzage
I thought with NCS if you sent a coin in that was not cleaned, they would send it on to NGC. But if the coin was cleaned then they would work their magic and put it in a NCS holder. Not sure about this since I have not used that service.
SEGS slabs crack just as easily as PCGS and NGC slabs do, so I don't have a problem with them. But, if you are looking into using the said coins as investment tools, then go with the greater of the market scams and send them to PCGS. If they're for your own personal enjoyment and collection, then SEGS is a fairly reputable company, and their slabs are pretty good. I would personally send to ANACS if I were going to use third party company to fixate my coins in a storage device, as I like the ANACS slabs. But, as you can probably tell, I do not use third party storage services. I prefer my coins raw, and my storage units able to be reopened for upgrading, so I use snap-lock slabs. Although a bit more on the cynical side with respect to the TPGs, I do hope the information helps you a little in your decision. Irregardless of the reason, having your coin sonic sealed just adds to the cost of each coin. Something to think about. TPGs are pretty much a market service for market players. If you truly want to keep enjoying your coins, I would use all that extra money buying books to learn more about what I'm buying, and buy better looking (and thus more expensive) specimens of my coins. Good luck!
Not to hijack, but I sure find them tough to crack. I use the towel and hammer method...works great on PCGS and NGC, real tough on SEGS...all my opinion of course.
