Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ddddd, post: 25923573, member: 22377&quot;]TLDR version: it&#039;s complicated; there are good, bad, and average coins in all slabs; see bottom for some nice coins.....but better yet, read the whole thing. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Every so often a thread pops up where we debate the merits of the grading companies (which is better, who is more consistent, and whose slab brings the bigger return). Well I don’t think that will be completely solved here (or anywhere) but I still wanted to reflect on my own journey and what has shaped my opinions on the subject.</p><p><br /></p><p>It all starts with the 50 State Quarters series-that is where my collection began; first it was simply filling the holes of an album with one of each mint. In those days I had no idea what grading services were and had not signed up for any forums. Raw quarters from circulation were followed by discovering the US Mint website and adding the proof sets. Eventually I picked up a Redbook and became interested in wheat cents (again raw in an album). Those could not be completed from pocket change so it led me to visit the local coin store. This was still the early 2000s and the shop did not have slabs. In fact, I recall one time when someone asked the owner (who was an older gentleman and had been in business well before the services started) about slabs, he dismissed it as not something he was interested in. It would take several years and a change of ownership before slabs showed up at that store. And my first slab bought was a high grade ICG wheat cent for $5 that I picked up as a curiosity. A side note-that was also the first coin I ever sold on eBay (I was happy to get something like $35 for it).</p><p><br /></p><p>My first forum was CoinTalk and that is where I started reading more about the various slab companies. Now I don’t think this is quite common, but what caught my eye were the threads about the “lesser” third party graders (particularly from the likes of Conder101). So my first main slabbed collection was a hodgepodge of these slabs (ACG, NTC, Compugrade, Blanchard, etc). I enjoyed finding the unusual ones and it was a bonus if the coin inside was nice. The next major undertaking for me was cameo Franklins. There I did not go with the less known TPGs but stuck with NGC and PCGS. I did not have a preference for one over the other; I just wanted to find the nicest example of each at the most reasonable price. I had more NGC examples than PCGS but did not give it much thought.</p><p><br /></p><p>After a few years, the Franklin collection was dispersed. I did not keep records of which coins sold faster (PCGS vs NGC) but I do recall that one PCGS Franklin that fortunately did not sell later received a gold CAC (then it sold quite well). The only Franklin that I did keep from that collection was an NGC.</p><p><br /></p><p>The next phase of collecting saw me drift towards a collection of toners (mainly Morgans) plus some type/world coins. Here the focus is on eye appeal and the grading company is not the primary focus. Ok so that was not always quite true. Initially I had a mix of slabs. Actually my first ever grading submission was to Anacs (in large part because they had a special and the coins were not worth the grading costs at the other services). A few years later, I tried NGC for the first time. And finally I gave in and went to PCGS. That included cracking several of the NGC slabbed coins. I had partially bought in to the belief that PCGS was better and did see higher auction results for certain coins. I also heard many people praise TrueViews and some even would not buy a toned coin that did not have one (how times have changed!). There was a period where I had no NGC toned Morgans, only PCGS. I never got to the point of having only PCGS coins (because I still liked my NGC, Anacs, etc slabbed coins but could not justify the costs of reslabbing all of them at PCGS). I would say that over the years my total PCGS slabs outnumber any other slab in my collection. However, I believe there are good, bad, and average coins in all slabs. I won’t pass on a coin because of the slab it resides in and I will pay an appropriate premium for eye appeal in any slab that holds a coin I like. I have not submitted anything to PCGS in a while now (combination of nothing worthy, the wait times, and the current state of the photos) but could see sending something in the future (including cracking some NGC or Anacs slabs if I think the potential value increase justifies it).</p><p><br /></p><p>And what is a thread without some photos! Here are two of my favorite Morgans that were cracked from NGC holders and sent to PCGS.</p><p><br /></p><p>NGC MS 65 * to PCGS MS 65</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/9-jpg.1120044/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1650447[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>NGC MS 64 * to PCGS MS 64</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/12-jpg.1120072/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1650448[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>But there are coins that I have kept in NGC holders and don’t intend to change that. A favorite is this Columbian.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/1-jpg.1385987/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in