Quote: The collective opinions on most coins submitted on here, are probably more spot on than any TPG, where it's generally the opinion of one.
....which illustrates Metalman's original words. Do not submit a coin to a TPG until you know what they will (or should) grade it based on your own opinion. That's what this hobby is about.
It depends why you want it graded in my opinion. If it is only one or two coins a year simply sending to ANACS is better and so much less expensive. If you plan on selling large amounts of Coins as a small business then you should join PCGS. PCGS coin holders are more desirable and you can write off their high cost as a business expense I suppose.
But either one, you mail in your coins with a filled out submission form and your credit card number. They get mailed back to you after a few weeks.
Your coins journey through a TPG (NGC in this video)
1. Go to a Coin show if there are any in your area. Ask dealers if they would do it for you and how much they would charge if they do. 2. Go to a local coin store and do the same as above. 3. Send all your coins to me and forget about having them graded at all and save all that money. 4. I've never had a coin graded. I never plan on selling coins so makes no difference if I call one a G, EF-40, MS-95, etc. They are all mine so makes no difference.
just carl, Re 4; Just because you don't plan to sell doesn't mean you don't need to understand values If you didn't know how to grade: Would you be happy to pay over the odds for an overgraded coin ?
Do you live in an area where the chances of your collection being stolen or destroyed by flood or fire are zero. Insurance companies don't pay out for inexpertly valued collections.
Also, what happens to your coin collection when you die ? Do your heirs inherit a collection that you've told them is worth $20,000 but they find out is actually worth $1,000 ?
Right from the very start, I have always graded my own coins. Ancients, hammered, milled and machine made coins, you name it. The grading standards for each of these categories are very different.
Occasionally, others have disagreed with my opinion, when a picture of a coin is posted for grading. That's OK. If I am wrong, I learn. If someone disagrees with me, and they are wrong, they learn.
The good thing about it is: most of us learn. Published photos in books of coins of standard grades are also a very useful tool for learning.
So just keep on posting pictures of your coins for grading!
I belong to ngc. It really doesn't cost too much to join and I think (I'll have to look closer) but I believe I can submit to the currency side and maybe even comic books. Really the only reason I joined initially was the fact that I had an expensive coin I wanted to grade/slab. Anacs is fairly inexpensive and you dont have to join, I'm just unsure of their submission policy.
Quote: ....which illustrates Metalman's original words. Do not submit a coin to a TPG until you know what they will (or should) grade it based on your own opinion. That's what this hobby is about.
I have found the PCGS Photograde Application to be an incredible help in grading. I have it loaded on my iPad. The quality of the images (3d Gen iPad) and the portability make grading (almost) a no-brainer. There is ALWAYS going to be the human dynamic of grading, but Photograde will help de-conflict grading emotion from reality. Oh... it's free to download and use.
Quote: Right from the very start, I have always graded my own coins. Ancients, hammered, milled and machine made coins, you name it. The grading standards for each of these categories are very different.
Occasionally, others have disagreed with my opinion, when a picture of a coin is posted for grading. That's OK. If I am wrong, I learn. If someone disagrees with me, and they are wrong, they learn.
The good thing about it is: most of us learn. Published photos in books of coins of standard grades are also a very useful tool for learning.
So just keep on posting pictures of your coins for grading!
With Sel It DOES take time and patience to learn how to grade coins but IMHO it is time well spent I personally take about 1/2 an hour to truly grade a coin because I look at every little thing on the coin and I use a Usb scope on the higher grade coins to determine if there has been any cleaning dings etc. I probably could do this faster but "Why the rush" a new coin deserves a good looking over I object to paying some other entity $35 or more to tell me what I already know The "Fast food" culture with the slobbers really annoy the heck out of me. Take the time to learn how to grade and get involved and truly enjoy this hobby is my best advice
i use CCF grading subforums to hone my grading skills, when someone posts a coin for grading, I review the coin, place a grade on it and then read everyone's comments. its like going to grading school. the more you do, the better you get. I have been collecting for 45 years and am always learning. I am just starting to learn how to attribute Large cents. I would key in on the coins you collect most...are you a Lincoln Cent collector or Barber dime collector. start with the area of most interest to you and pull up the photograde templates and study them against your collection. good luck and stay plugged in to this site, its indispensable.
You have all posted some good advice. Don't just send in coins to TPG's unless you have an idea of what you think the grade is going to be. For me, the ANA Summer Seminar was the absolute best solution to learning how to grade, and understand the minting process. It's not too expensive and a week of talking coins with the top people in the industry is worth way more than it costs, I just can't say enough good things about it. If you can't get to Colorado Springs ANA Headquarters for a week in the summer, they do offer grading courses at ANA conventions held around the US several times every year.
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector.
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Posted 04/13/2013 6:19 pm
With Sel
