The Reputation Of Cga And John Spinelli Of Today?

Hi epikur,
I do not like CGA.
I have seen too much bad work from this company.
My most graduated bills were graded by PCGS.
I think that PCGS and PMG are without competition.
Just my opinion.

I believe John Spinelli is a decent fellow that is just tying to grade currency and his holders look nice and the material he uses is good enough but if you want ADDED VALUE created by the grade and company on world banknotes you may have better luck elsewhere. I wish John had changed the name completely when he bought the company or took it over. The only reason to pay for a holder is if it adds value to the product and I am not sure this will,but other than the costs involved I cannot see it hurting your notes value.

Been awhile since you posted this but thought id put my Two Cents in and ask a question. I'm new to having my notes graded so purchased a note from pmg, new cga, and pcgs. I liked the CGA piece the best. Overall look. I sent in 15 notes and had them graded and they came back conservative but certainly fair. From my reading, the CGA issues were all with the previous owners. I really like the CGA holders not to mention the turnaround and cost but I'm still wary of sending too many notes only because I'm worried that when my kids go to sell them one day I want them to be of maximum value. I'm really hoping their reputation improves with their quality and consistency in the next few years. I absolutely don't like pcgs's green label on the the holder. Silly, but it is my collection I'm looking at so I want to enjoy what I see. Has CGA's reputation still been steadily improving, I hope? Whats the current opinion on the issue? Thanks and are you still using CGA?

Thanks Master Shake. Everything you mentioned pretty much confirms my worries regarding CGA. Bummer. Guess my next step is PMG and an increased investment on my part. I do like the PMG holders as well. I've just heard horror stories concerning grade times on the lower value($50-$200) bulk rate notes I'd be grading. Not sure if those were regarding pcgs or pmg. Any personal experience in that regard?

Please forgive me for reviving a five year old thread, but after reading the posts, I wanted to editorialize my opinion.

I personally know John Spinelli. We met originally online as members of Collectors Universe back in 2007. I've talked to John many times on the phone and met him at the FUN Coin/Currency show in Tampa . John is a good man and has generously shared years of numismatic experience with me.

Back in 2010 I was able to buy four rare modern $1 Star notes as a group, all in old CGA holders. I called Jon and told him I wanted them reholdered in the new CGA holders. John said fine, but he would not blindly reholder them without reevaluation and would not give me any guarantees. All four notes crossed exactly as originally graded.

Graded currency, much like coins, are heavily influenced by the reputation of the holder. PCGS and NGC are the big dogs in coins and PMG and PCGS are the heavy hitters in currency grading. The major auction houses largely dictate which grading companies are top tier. Starting in 2015, ebay determined only grading companies having graded over 100,000 notes, with a population report and buy back guarantee would be sold/auctioned on their platform. Heritage and Stacks-Bowers already had a similar policy, and considered it a consumer protection policy.

If you are strictly a collector, and have no ambition of ever selling, then CGA might be a good alternative to consider, especially for modern, small-size notes. I can testify that the four rare modern star notes mentioned previously in this post have since been submitted to PMG , and have crossed with identical grades.

That's a very good analogy. I have dozens of CGA notes bought after careful examination at very favorable prices, even after discounting for numerical grades that often - not always! - run about a point higher than the Big 2. I have cut and resubmitted many CGA notes to both PCGS and NGC, and not once has one come back lower than my own adjusted 1-point discount. And, importantly, not one CGA "Original Paper Quality" designation has come back without being rated "EPQ" or "PPQ".

There is great opportunity in CGA notes for a confident grader willing to take some risk.

Good question CK.

I originally bought them graded and at that time was hoping for the New CGA to once again become top tier. Unfortunately that hasn't come to fruition, so to make it easier for my heirs and verify CGA's grading opinion, I sent them to PMG right after they announced their new holders.

And Steve - I'd like to put in an application to be one of your heirs.