You should do a search here on the subject as there is many threads on it but overall dont go with them. If you dont wanna pay membership fees or just looking for slabbing cheaper then PCGS/NGC, go with ANACS.
Brigg's,Fivaz, and Oxman and Greer are IMO all great at varieties, though there grading tends to be a bit high. The resale of their slabs don't do well, though one can pick up some decent coins and discounted prices if you buy the coin and not the slab.
Tell us vnickels, what is your complaint about SEGS? They are a well established company with expert authenticators and variety experts behind them. They would not be my choice for moderns but i hold them in high regard for the earlier coins and I would tust their attributions to be accurate more often than PCGS or NGC. So why are you down on them?
SEGS has tried to be a respectable TPG in that it was truly a third party doing the grading (unlike SGS). As far as grading goes I have seen some of their coins that were pretty close but have also seen some that were about 2 points off. This would be a "buy the coin not the slab" kind of deal because you can find some nice coins in their slabs and usually at pretty good prices but I would make sure I knew how to grade pretty well before buying these slabs especially for anything near what a coin in the grade the label says it is is worth. SEGS lists a few of well known variety collectors/dealers as their consultants so as I said they have tried to be a true runner in the TPG market but their grading is still a little all over the map for them to be one of the big boys. TAKEN FROM COINCOMMUNITY.COM
vnickels, I think you have SEGS confused with SGS or NTC, or PCI, all of which highly overgrade. I have never seen a single MS70 from SEGS, in fact I have rarely seen anything at MS67 or above from them. I have personally been looking for SEGS for Jefferson nickels for quite some time, so I do have some experience with them.
Ok... SGS is the overgraders. But.. still these guys are not on sharp par... but everyone grades wrong sometimes.
I think even that might be an over statement. I would trust the grade opinion of Larry Briggs, Brian Greer, or Bill Fivaz over mine anyday. And I think to try and undercut their opinions as "not on sharp par" is asinine. And As per your earlier comment ... I think you should maybe spend a bit more time looking at slabs from different companies before assuming everything else is crap. ICCS happens to grade stricter than every American company I've seen and to dismiss them as a "crap" company simply shows a lack of invested time on your behalf. As well, here is a quote from SEGS website. Seems pretty safe to me.
SEGS does not grade 70's on everything. I think they are an alright grading company. Not a NGC or PCGS but they are pretty good in my book. I buy coins in their holders just not without seeing it. I think you are mixing up the company's.
That makes two of us! I have never seen one in person. I think this thread from last year would be a nice addition to this one. Larry Briggs chimes in at the end. SEGS and Jefferson Nickels
So do PCGS and NGC but like SEGS if it down grades they refund the regrading fee. SO you are complaining because SEGS has similar policies to PCGS and NGC? As mentioned SGS does not grade everything 70,infact I don't believe they have ever graded ANYTHING 70. SEGS concentrates more on the classic coin designs and circulated coinage. They specialize in collector type coins and varieties, not moderns and usually I find there grades to be pretty accurate. They are no more "off" than PCGS or NGC when they grade circs, and when the two big boys do grade circs they tend to be all over the map.
Still a company that nobody excepts on the big scene regardless of who works there. Dave Bowers back in the day started Hallmark.. and where'd that go? TO THE TOILET!
I think people think they're crap because they don't see their advertising everywhere like ngc and pcgs. I don't know enough about SEGS to make a conclusion, but I'll look into it
You or I could have a differing opinion of segs but the market has a clear and unmistakable opinion. Tonight there are 44 segs coin on eBay us coins out of 716,419 lots. There are 146,559 pcgs and ngc lots. The math says it all. But that's ok if you want to argue what is clearly the largest market place for coins is meaningless. Just go to a show. I've been to around thirty small to mid level shows in three different states. I never once saw a segs coin in anyone's case. Go to any show in the us and you will se at least 95% of all graded coins are ngc or pcgs. The reality is that the grading standards of segs are irrelevant. There is just no market acceptance for this product. You can tell me until you are blue in the face how great their grading standards are or how awesome their attributions are. The bottom line is the market acceptance of this product is near zero. Here is a thread where the coin was graded au segs and became ngc au details. Yes just one example but the consensus is quite different then this thread. Worth a read to see differing opinions. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rare-coin-in-a-segs-holder.241226/ I personally think that segs is a point or so loose but they seem to be better then the other third rate tpg's. But here is another real world example. I have posted coins in the coin porn thread. I buy nice coins. I would never buy a segs coin.
