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ICCS Grading - Any Opinions?
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15 posts in this topic

I don't collect Canadian but from what I've read other people saying, ICCS is very well respected. Some differences in terms of what %red will get you a red vs. red-brown type of thing, but for the non-copper types that's not an issue.

 

 

Edited by Stork
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I have a Canadian collection, largely graded by ICCS, in addition to my British Collection, graded mostly by NGC.

In my opinion, in the 1990s, ICCS was more conservative in its grading than either of the two main US services, but now is only slightly more conservative when it comes to surface quality.

this is borne out to some extent by wholesale prices in Canada for Canadian coins, which appear to get a higher premium than the equivalent grade from the Us services.

Having said that, grading in my opinion is a bit more of an art than a science. Surface quality is a bit easier to quantify. Lustre and strike not so much, particularly for older issues.

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ICCS has been traditionally looked upon as the gold standard for Canadian coin certification in the eyes of many folks.  While I believe that this was true at one time, I will also state that in my opinion ICCS is more lenient on surface issues than either NGC or PCGS while they are more conservative on grading standards with respect to remaining meat, also when compared to NGC or PCGS.  As far as liquidity is concerned, it is also my opinion that ICCS is less liquid in the marketplace than either NGC or PCGS in the United States, though I do not know the status in Canada.  My gut feel is that both NGC and PCGS have made up much ground in the Canadian market in recent years.  Overall, I think that ICCS should be doing laps around NGC and PCGS with respect to Canadian coin grading, but they have not taken advantage of their position and it is likely only a matter of time before they are passed.

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I have many coins graded by ICCS, NGC CCCS and PCGS. I have Canadian coins, Newfoundland , Tokens, Mandate-Palestine, and Australian. I'd rate ICCS as a very respectable grading service. I've tested cross-grading many from ICCS to say, PCGS and found maybe 60% crossed into PCGS holders at the same grade, 20%  graded 1 point higher in the PCGS grade and a few didn't cross. All-in-all ICCS was just fine. As for my personal opinion on the grades, I agree with most grades by these systems-disagree with a few but understand the reasoning why in most instances.

The main difference that is of interest is the membership fee for both NGC and PCGS vs no membership fees with ICCS and CCCS.

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I am a huge fan of Canadian silver coins and enjoy displaying my competitive coins in the NGC Registry. These coins are typically easier to find in ICCS holders than in NGC slabs. The large Canadian auction houses list almost all their coins in the ICCS holders, generally with additional adjectives like GEM, Superb, etc. Beware. Their goal is to get the highest bids possible, not to accurately describe the coins. I just had 7 Canadian silver dollars from 1949 to 1967 crossed from ICCS to NGC. The original grades ranged from 64-66. Two crossed at the same grade and one crossed from 64 to 65. The other 4 crossed lower; one by two grades, 65 to 63. A simple rule, which I will follow, is Never buy a coin sight unseen if it is in an ICCS holder. Probably a good rule generally.

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5 hours ago, Greenstang said:

Good thinking Roger, look at how much you could save with shipping charges for a bulk submission.

Yep. Always nice to save a few "Loonies." Further -- maybe I could send in only the high points from the obverse of an AU coin?

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On 2/3/2017 at 6:34 PM, Tyrock said:

I bought a few Canada halves graded by ICCS. I know it's a Canadian grading company. What reputation does it have? Thanks.

Over the past 20 years I have had ICCS grade about 200 coins most of which I still have. Most of my coins are between CH BU to gem. I don't trust PCGS for fair grades as I do ICCS.

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