Just Got Back 59 Coins From PCGS Cross Graded From TPG

I agree that one should buy the coin, not the holder, but the issue here is the grade given to a variety of coins by those paid to give third party opinion of the grade. If you read the fine print provided by each grading company you will find that there is no "standard", that they go by or guarantee their grade to be, other than by the definition that each company uses. Here again, there is NO standard. So, your coins meet the standard of grade by each company, that does not mean they were graded improperly, they were just graded by that companies guidelines of which some or more liberal than others. Personally, I stick to PCGS. They have tight standards, coins in their holders generally bring a premium and at this point, I trust them.

hippiebrian, if you were a collector as serious as a heart attack about his collection or investment, you might say that they are now properly graded. It is all in what you are looking for. I prefer PCGS graded coins, I will buy NGC graded coins, but at a discount. It is hard to find some coins, like foreign in PCGS holders, so you may not have a choice. If I were collecting say Morgan dollars or Lincoln cents, I would make a choice of which grading company I preferred and try to stick to coins graded by them only.

Although I am a serious hobbiest (don't know what the definition of serious as a heart attack collector is), I buy the coin and not the slab. I buy to complete sets, and if something catches my eye, which may be why I don't understand why the need to re-slab. Overall, NGC is accepted about as as PGCS, Therefore, say, an NGC MS-66 would be worth less than a PGCS MS-65 in most cases, which seems like a big risk just to have matching slabs.

I think what the problem is that we all collect differently and that there is no right or wrong way to do it. I do not collect slabbed coins, but I do have some. The coins that I have bought have some type of eye appeal that I could not find some where else and are not key dates or expensive coins. There are a number of people that do like to have a slabbed set and have them all graded by the same company and have them all in a certain grade, so why are we getting upset what an individual wants to do with his own set?

If I had to choose a grading company 99% of the time I would go with PCGS and that is because their standards seem to a bit higher than everyone else. The times I have compared slabbed coins next to each other it has been obvious that there was more time spent on the process (even though they do not tell you how). The sad thing is to pick up a slab, tilt it to the side, and see a reflection from a scratch or nick on the coin and that the company has graded it MS70. I do have to agree that it is sad that there is no set standard from company to company, because if there was then we would not be having this debate at all.

Not that long ago I was in a coin shop and looking at their half priced shelf and noticed they had the 2009S State Quarters there graded by PCGS as MS69 and selling for $10 a piece. So I looked at the dealer and said "they must have wanted a perfect coin and got mad when it wasn't". He laughed and said it happens all the time, someone comes in and thinks they have the perfect coin and get upset when they don't receive it. He then went on to say that with their experience that the same coin could go to one of the other grading companies and would come back with the MS70 that he wanted. He also went on to tell me where he had a coin that he thought was higher than the grade given and sent in a total of 5 different times, received 5 different grades and finally quit when the fifth grade was the highest given.

To me, the grading companies are like the label on your car, is it a KIA or a Lexus? To some people this really matters and to some it does not matter at all. Personally, I would rather just own the coin, but would never complain about owning a highly graded slab. My big question is when is it enough? I can see having my Lincoln Wheat's graded and slabbed, but a new 2009D? Why pay $20-50 for a $5 coin, now that does not make any sense to me.

one thing I would like to ask is, were these coins cracked out then sent in or were they sent in with the slabs intact? If I ever send in a coin that I think may upgrade (or even the same grade) I usually crack it out so they don't know what the other TPG graded it, that way they can't just bump it down one grade and say we are stricter than they are cause we graded it lower than they did

well I usually wouldn't bother unless I thought it was either undergraded or I just wanted all my coins in the same slab, but I have had pretty good success with some of the coins atleast coming back the same grade and some were upgrades but most were the same grade. I have had some knocked down a point and even have had some that I cracked out of PCGS rattlers get body bagged but it is just a game of cat and mouse. I have always heard if you don't like the grade you get the first time crack it out and send it back in until you get the grade you want

Interesting topic. Being fairly new into this and definetely not capable of grading coins, I have been relying on the slabs to get the quality of coin I want. I am reading and trying to learn to grade myself. This thread brings several concerns, particularly the one about submitting the same coin several times and not getting the same results. I have limited my purchases to PCGS and NGC. I have looked at several ICG and ANACS and they do not look to comparable to PCGS. Anyway, this discussio has further confused me; if I cannot rely on the thg and can't grade myself, what to do!

ANACS and ICG are considered good solid grading companies. (3rd and 4th in line behind PCGS and NGC) With ANACS a bit above ICG. ANACS was the original TPG. I have found great deals from buying coins in ICG or ANACS slabs that have been overlooked by the PCGS or NGC purist. Some nice slider coins go for considerably less money at auction in an ANACS slab vs. PCGS. If I ever go to sell I may send in my ANACS, ICG slabbed coins into PCGS to get the sellers premium found when selling PCGS coins.