| Author |
 Replies: 11 / Views: 3,508 |
|
|
Valued Member
Australia
222 Posts |
Hi,
I am an Australian collector and am considering getting my coins graded by PCGS on a regular basis. Can anyone recommend for or against this? What are the general opinions out there?
Eric
|
|
|
|
Valued Member
United States
458 Posts |
Hi Eric! Welcome to our forum!! As for your question it really is a personal preference, however, with PCGS (like as for NGC) you have to become a member in order to be able to submit your coins directly (as you probably already know). Plus PCGS now is more expensive to join I think. Also I might add, there is this market perception that coins graded by PCGS are more valuable. I of course do not believe in that idea. I was once a member of NGC & PCGS at the same time for 1 year and quit PCGS because IMHO they consistently "undergrade" the coins I submitted, especially modern coins. I wanted my coins graded "accurately", not over/under graded. That of course is my "personal" opinion. Here at CCF we have members that belong to both of what we believe are the top 2 TPG's, NGC & PCGS. The others being ANACS and ICG. I'm sure that others will chime in with their opinions. Many here do NOT believe in sending in coins for grading, no matter what. They prefer to do the grading themselves, which IMO takes years to be "resonably" good at. I myself have only a "basic" skill at grading therefor I do send in coins for grading for 3 reasons. 1-Proves the coin is NOT a counterfeit, 2-You can almost bank on the grade given the coins, oh yea and 3-Protects the coin, after all, that is all they do all day, their "expertise" is most definitely superior to my skills. Anyway, good luck with your decision & of course may the coin GODS always give ya HIGH^^^^ grades.  CiScO Edited by CiScO
07/31/2006 09:32 am
|
|
Forum Mom
 United States
5877 Posts |
I agree that it definitely depends upon the individual's preference. Personally, I send my coins to ANACS when I want them graded. They grade Bust halves exactly as I do so I know what grade I'll receive. They haven't let me down yet and they don't overgrade. The other advantage to ANACS is that you don't have to pay for a membership.
|
|
Valued Member
 Australia
222 Posts |
Thanks for the advice. I have always found the PCGS holders attractive, and appreciate the idea that once it is graded, no one can buy it off my, upgrade it, and sell it for more... I am also resigned to the fact that buyers put more stock in a third party grader's grade than in mine :(, so when I sell, the PCGS holder really helps.
And why I chose PCGS: Same reason as you don't use them, CiScO. They are tough on their coins. Because the numerical system has more spread in its grades, a lot of Aussie coins (especially the non-mint state coins) are coming back overgraded, and I'd like my coins to be graded to a standard as close to an Australian standard as possible. That's why I've chosen PCGS.
Anyway, my dealer friend has told me that he's happy to FedEx my coins along with his to PCGS every month, and this is why I am considering it.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
986 Posts |
Actually, many people search for undergraded PCGS and NGC slabs, crack them out, and sometimes get an upgrade on their coins. So technically people can still buy the coin off of you for one price and get it reslabbed and make a tidy sum.
|
|
Valued Member
Australia
222 Posts |
You are right fengk; but because I know how to grade, I am more concerned with people buying my raw coins, overgrading them, and then selling them off - and I see this all the time. If coins were slabbed, this could not happened, and if I received a slabbed coin which was undergraded, I would resubmit it myself!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1267 Posts |
I'm not a big fan of TPGs but if I was to use one it would be ANACS. I'd guess 96% of my collection was graded by my dad or I. Marked on the cardboard 2x2s in ball-point pen with the grade, variety, total mintage, and any other unusual aspect of the coin. Ben |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
The real question is "Why do you want to put your coins into slabs?" If they're of relatively high value and every grade point makes a significant change in price, then it might be reasonable to slab them.
Protection and nice display...sure, but that's an expensive way to do it.
Grading? Not a good reason, again, unless you're selling and worried about getting the buyer to "believe" your grade.
Authentication? Definitely a good reason on coins where authentication is not a no-brainer.
I like the top four mentioned previously. Since I live close to ICG and know some of the people there, I like using their service. They do a superior job when it comes to grading the classics.
Bruce
|
|
Forum Mom
United States
5877 Posts |
Bruce, I agree with you. The older coins that I've seen graded by ICG have been fairly graded. It's just the moderns that I feel they tend to overgrade.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1840 Posts |
For all you who don't get your coins graded, how do you insure your collection?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
"snowman": You're making an assumption...that we actually insure our collections. I'm willing to bet most people don't insure their collections; it's generally too expensive to do it. Although, as an ANA member you'll have access to an insurer with some very competitive rates. I keep virtually all of my collection in a safe deposit box. There are plenty of threads that talk about the danger of those; but what's the alternative, digging a hole in your backyard and buring it all? So, if you want to insure your coins, what makes you think you have to have all of your coins put into pretty slabs by third-party grading companies? Was coin collection insurance unavailable before 1986? Sorry...I don't mean to come off as sarcastic (at least, not too much). I think too many people have been drinking too much "Grading Company X" Kool-Aid and they have to have all their coins entrapped in high-cost plastic. Just accurately describe each (valuable) coin in your collection and try to get scans/pictures of each coin to document them. I have pictures of most every valuable coin in my collection. I plan on getting better photos done for some and photos done for others that have never been photographed. Learn how to grade! This hobby is wrought with too many dangers to be uninformed. Apply a conservative grade (no matter what you paid for the coin) to each coin's description...remember...be realistic. Make sure the information is archived in more than one place where you and/or family members can get at it. Put some latest pricing information next to each coin, if possible. For insurance purposes, put down the latest retail prices. For my financial records, I put down 10-20% below wholesale prices. Again, I'm trying to be realistic. |
|
Valued Member
Australia
222 Posts |
Wow, lot's of responses. I was under the impression that Third party coin grading was all the rave over in North America. Here in Australia, there's a lot of negativity against it, and our only two grading services (CGA and ACGS) are no longer operating; at least I know ACGS isn't. CGA's website just vanished off the web, so I don't know what happened there. Yes, well, I want to get my coins graded primarily for resale on the internet, where a lot of raw coins are overgraded by people who have no idea. ebay is great in some ways, but a handful of sad saps can ruin the reputations of the better resellers out there, of which there are many... |
| |
Replies: 11 / Views: 3,508 |
|
Posted 07/31/2006 1:22 pm
