Questions About Third Party Grading

TS, the quick and dirty answer to your first question is that there's some 150 to 200 third party grading companies (I refuse to use the word "service" for most of them since they are mostly self-serving slabbers). Conder 101 should be along any time now since he's the statistical and quality expert on TPGs with definitive information albeit the rest of us reserving the right to debate the issue.

The answer to your second question is a little more complicated. While there are four top TPGs by general acclaimation: ANACS, PCGS, ICG, and NGC (NOT in any especial order), a few of the others have their devoted advocates.

Market-wise *I* would buy from ANY of the top four listed above if the slabbed coin was in my particular series specialty (Morgans) or interests (18th, 19th, and early 20th century US). I would not buy mass-slabbed moderns from anyone, but this is a whole separate topic.

Fred

So if I'm buying graded coins, I should shop for ANACS, PGCS, or one of the others mentioned above? The reason I'm asking is because I want to add some eagles, half eagles, and quarter eagles to my collection. I'm partial to the Indian variety but would also buy the Liberty ones. I've been buying raw coins and I lack the skills to grade them myself. Once I get them I'm going to crack them out because I just want to be sure of the grade. This is not really for an investment, I plan on holding them for a very long time.

Are there any TPGs that have a bad reputation, ones I should be advised to keep away from?

TS, I'll ditto what graceoutcast stated: stick with PCGS, ANACS, NGC, and ICG and forget any of the others. These top four TPGs are the ONLY ones which back their grades with a money-back guarantee (albeit under their specific conditions). While it is desirable that you learn to grade those coins which you want from images, this is not always possible (poor or doctored images, usually) and learning to grade takes a lot of time and experience. Stick with the top four TPGs. For a list of the rip-off, fraud, misleading, and other less-than-professional TPGs, see many of the other threads in this Third Party Grading Company Forum. There are far too many to list here whose slabs and grades aren't worth the plastic in which the coins are sealed.

Conder, OK, I'll concede your point. But you have more information on non-tiered TPGs and these new and not-so-new boiler room slabbers than anyone else of whom I am aware. Will "a well-informed source" be suitable as a label (and given your very appropriate cautions)? (As a legal "expert witness" in wildlife biological disputes, I've found an "expert" is defined as someone from out of town. ). Believe me, I would not want to endanger your sources of information by making misleading and possibly misinterpreted statements which could lead to the loss of your sources.

As someone with a lot of information myself, but not as much as you on non-tiered, unrated, or otherwise untested TPGs, I have graduated to the opinion that any new firm dealing with plastic-covered coins is suspect until proven otherwise. Granted, I deal mostly with the fraudulent aspects of the self-serving slabbers while you look at all of them... and there ARE some who are attempting to conduct an honest business.

And, like you, I have found some fantastic deals on coins in non-top tiered slabs, but also like you, I know how to make the distinction between an optimistically graded hyped coin in plastic which has potential and one which is a plastic-covered fraud.

The mission at hand is to educate those new collectors who are unable to make this differentiation.

As always and with much respect for your knowledge and wisdom,
Fred