what is the best coin grading company?

[bucs0981-migration]

which ones can you trust?

 

any truth to this site - grading

[silvermonger-migration]

the page at that link is pretty realistic IMO

 

Best grading company? the best grading company is the one who will slab all your coins at the grade you want. if you submit a 1000 at a time that might happen. (8-) Im pretty cynical about PCGS and NGC. Their grading is generally respected so they are the most popular for good reasons. IMO, PCI and IGC and SEGS dont get enough respect.

 

choosing between the top 4 graders might depend on the individual coin for some of the reasons that link mentioned. That writer didnt mention all the "dealers" who grade and slab their own junk. just too many to mention, they are all over ebay, usually sellers of shiny problem coins, usually au50 so they might pass for unc in a blurry picture. They are shined up and put in a plastic slab with a MS66 label. They generally sell for no more than they are actually worth but every now and then those scum selfslabbers find a sucker so they keep trying.

[Just Bob]

Recently, there have been shakeups at ANACS & ICG, and David Lawrence just bought PCI, so there are still unknowns in regards to those three companies. PCGS & NGC are currently regarded as the "top two," in terms of price of their graded coins and grading standards.

 

 

[harvey8542]

Looks to be about right to me.

[Oldtrader3]

PCGS is also managed by a coin dealer who is their CEO. NGC and PCGS are IMHO, about equal with PCGS seeming to lead the market in modern coins and NGC in gold coin grading. Their are many differing opinions on this subject and much cool aid flows on the PCGS sight but overall, you are ok with the top two.

[TomB]

For the most part PCGS and NGC are six-of-one, half-dozen-of-the-other and then there is everything else.

[gmarguli]

That site is outdated and has, IMO, inaccurate information/assessments about some of the TPG.

[cpm9ball]

SEGS dont get enough respect.

 

I agree! At the very least, they should be considered one of the "Top 500" grading services.

 

Chris

[Just Bob]

[MikeInFL]

which ones can you trust?

 

None of them.

[James_OldeTowne]

That site is outdated and has, IMO, inaccurate information/assessments about some of the TPG.

My thoughts exactly. Actually, I gleaned almost nothing useful from the site. It clearly presents a slanted point of view, though that may be partly due to being so out of date.

[BECOKA]

It really depends on the series. It seems that one company is more consistent at different series.

 

Won't even touch ANACS, PCI or any of the others because to me it just does not make sense to use them. Resale in these slabs is generally at a lower premium than NGC or PCGS even if they are accurately graded. These are better for cherry picking stuff already graded for a lower price.

 

NGC does really well at Morgan Dollars. PCGS seems to have it's ups and downs.

 

If you look at Gold half eagles, NGC can't grade these in my opinion. They consistently grade AU50/53/55 as AU58. i.e. bump for eye appeal. Generally it means the stuff in AU58 slabs is either over priced or accurately priced depending on what made it in. PCGS seems more consistent in this area.

 

[ant]

but to follow that statement! remember! BUY THE COIN NOT THE HOLDER!

 

and in my opinion a "collector" buys the coin and the "dealer" buys the slabs. i have seen many wonderfull coins in other holders. all you do is see the beauty in the coin, not the money to be made on holder.and you will be fine.

 

anacs coins were selling pretty good before they and icg flipped names.

 

remember this is my opinion.

[Tradedollarnut]

You would really need to define 'best' in order to get an accurate answer. On a coin by coin basis, if you know exactly what you are doing, then the plastic is irrelevant when you are buying. If you are uncertain of your abilities, then you best stick to PCGS and NGC and look at ANY coin with a jaundiced eye.

 

In general, if I were to sell my collection, the way to get the most money for it would be to submit any upgrade candidates to NGC to maximize the grade and then try to cross them over to PCGS to maximize the value for the grade. That's the route the pros take most often.

[DJCoinz]

That site is outdated and has, IMO, inaccurate information/assessments about some of the TPG.

My thoughts exactly. Actually, I gleaned almost nothing useful from the site. It clearly presents a slanted point of view, though that may be partly due to being so out of date.

My take on it also.

[World Colonial]

I prefer NGC for my coins because they are the leader in this field. On the other hand, I have to admit that PCGS has some very nice world coins generally and some in my series specifically.

 

It is matter of opinion which one you like and choose, but do not let anyone fool you. When it comes to RESALE, NGC and PCGS are the ones that will consistently result in the best price, no matter whether the plastic is supposed to matter or not.

[carson city]

NGC or PCGS , your choice. When selling coins at auction, the coin speaks for itself. It is, what it is !

[Mozin]

I don't know much about any of the modern stuff, but for the Bust and Classic Commemorative series PCGS brings top dollar. NGC follows, with ICG and ANACS a long distance behind. Of course, the newly purchased Colorado ANACS might turn out to be a lot more conservative.

[ant]

but isnt anacs now icg and icg anacs? any1 have any updates on that.so if anacs graders and owner is now icg wouldnt anacs users go to icg since they swapped alot of graders for each company?

[Mozin]

I am not optimistic about ICG becoming an improved grading service. Employing some of the old ANACS graders makes me think grading standards may be lowered from recent ICG standards.

 

ANACS from Colorado grading standards might actually be a match for NGC as the year progresses, but the relative value of ANACS holdered coins will not match NGC for years. There are simply too many liberally graded ANACS coins out there.