How Many TPG Companies Are There?

If someone were to crack open a Morgan slab who is the best company to send it to?

I am new to this forum.
I look at the input about TPGs and consistant complaints about a system that benifits the graders, and not the collector/consumer.
Might I ask what are all these collectors going to do besides show their dislike for a broken system ? Is ther any group who is going to advocate changes ? Can any group garner enough combined power to say no ? I do not know, but I hedge investments with gold. Not graded gold but from the mint in an original authorized container that clearly states where, when, and that it is legal and brought to a standard that is some of the best in the world. I use the U.S. mint first but do appreciate the art of several other mints in the world. Rather then the U.S. Mint taking on TPGs , the uncirculated gold and silver with the mint mark should be enough for many and that might trim the list.

I'm glad you folks like that list in the link on the first post. It's my list. Jan sent it to the website owner without asking me and the site owner posted it. (The first 73) When I found out I agreed to update it and added the other 12, but they credited the email address I was using and not me. The list Becky posted was posted on the PCGS forum back in 2005 and listed 125. My current list is about 20 companies longer, and growing.

As for someone grading his own coins, no that doesn't make hime a grading service. But if he is willing to or accepts coins and grades them for someone else for a fee, then yes he IS a grading service. Many of the third tier services are dealers grading their own stock, but most of them will also accept outside submission. That makes them grading services.

It appears maybe some of these guys are trying new tactics to sell these by throwing them in with well known name slabs. Or play dumb maybe any ideas which ?




Reliable Coin Grading Service

http://cgi.ebay.com/1962-Washington...NR_W0QQitemZ170075860194QQihZ007QQcategoryZ39462QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

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Quickie questions: Have you been able to do follow-up on some of these alphabet slabbers in terms of longevity and purpose? I.e., how many started with their main raison d'etre to sell their own collections for maximum money, then decided to go into the slabbing business for others? This question is versus how many quit slabbing after they sold their collections? And how many who attempted to make it a TPG business actually lasted for more than a year or two (or more)?

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The fourth tier slabbers are hard to trace or keep track of. Probably at least half to three quarters of them last no longer than a month or two. Often times they are already gone by the time they come to my attention. Some of them are even stillborn. One announced it was starting up and sold discount certificates for slabbing and then never opened (Rocky Mountain Grading Service although I suspect they did open briefly as North West Grading Service as they sold the same type of certificates but did produce some slabs.)

I believe most of the fly-by-nights did so mainly to try to fool newbies but a few found some legs and became at least somewhat legitimate businesses. NNC started as a fly-by-night distributed by a firm that has been involved with three other FBN services, and while it doesn't have a great reputation they are still operating over three years later. Numistrust also started as a dealer just slabbing his own coins and they have lasted four years. SGS for five years. Those start ups that last more than a couple months tend to stick around for at least a year. If they make it past the second year they tend to last quite awhile.