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Any difference between PCGS and NGC?
1984worldcoins
Posts: 609 ✭✭✭✭✭
Can you tell me please why choose PCGS or NGC? I want to clean and grade a few coins in the future, just need some basic info, thank you.
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
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Clean?? You want to clean coins?? That is generally not a good thing... other than removing organics with acetone. I suggest you do some consulting prior to doing any cleaning. Unless I have misunderstood your post. In response to your question, PCGS is generally considered the leader in the TPG field, with more consistent grading. Cheers, RickO
Definitely don’t clean any coin unless you know precisely what you’re doing and how to do it properly. The downside of improper cleaning is the risk of destroying the value of a coin.
As for NGC or PCGS, that’s up to you. They both have published standards and they each have overlap but the standards are a bit different in spots. Be sure to look at the forum rules when it comes to discussions of TPGs.
I’ll just say that for myself I prefer PCGS’s standards and holder. I have not had great experiences selling coins in other holders.
TurtleCat Gold Dollars
They will do the cleaning, or conservation, how they name it, but it is basically chemical cleaning. So they are close, but you guys seem to prefer PCGS, thank you for the info.
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
PCGS warranty is a tiny bit better but both have been watered down, NGC has a better track record with foreign coins but PCGS is catching up. PCGS are the market preferred so they typically bring more everything else being similar but not always.
All that said they have more in common than different.
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Are you surprised? You are asking "Ford vs. Chevy" on a Ford website ... of course the answer will be Ford.
Hop over to the NGC Boards and you will get a different answer ... they tend to prefer Chevy.
Nonetheless, in my experience, PCGS coins tend to sell for higher prices than similarly graded coins in other holders. In the end, however, the coin will be the main driver of the value.
You may wish to have your coins evaluated before you pay for a conservation service, as it's not cheap and may be a waste of money if the coins don't warrant the extra professional attention.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
White prongs are ugly.
I have used their conservation service on two minor spots on a couple Buffalo nickels. EZPZ
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And TrueViews are awesome.
My Saint Set
Sometimes. Red shifted images are inaccurate.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
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The differences are quite minor when it comes to the services each perform, I chalk up the market differences mostly having to do with how the two firms have marketed themselves. As you may have noticed the perception here is heavily biased one way, no surprise given where you are asking the question. If you pose the same question on the NGC forum the bias will not be as overwhelming. I am one of the few that post here that is not biased, I worry more about the coin and care less about the brand of plastic (see my sig line). The question you have to ask yourself is what do you want the coins holdered for. If your goal is to sell right away then sometimes you will see higher prices paid for a PCGS coins due to the market perception at this time. If you just want them protected then there are many far less expensive options. If you need the authentication, conservation, and grading but are not planning to sell then either firm can perform that task and it really just comes down to personal preference because what the market prefers or favors pricewise can change over time.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
I have great coins in both holders and don't have any real preference of one over the other. They both do a great job grading coins IMO.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
My thoughts, exactly.
“I may not believe in myself but I believe in what I’m doing” ~Jimmy Page~
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Serious question ... when has the US coin market overall preferred NGC coins over PCGS coins? I can't recall a time in the last 30 years when NGC certified coins lead the market over PCGS certified coins.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
LOL, I just did a search of my inventory on PCGS and NGC Coins.
My inventory consists of 235 PCGS coins and 233 NGC coins.
So I guess I am just about 50/50.
Thank you all for the info; I want the authentication, conservation and grading, no selling at all since I just collect for fun and not in the idea of investment. I want to grade even some non precious metal coins just because are nicely toned or are my favorites. The protection that those slabs give is great and I can look at the coins without fear that I will damage them. Also, those high grades are mesmerizing!
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
There is this company that rates either NGC or PCGS coins that most of us are familiar with. They give a rating of A, B or C with A or B coins getting their approval with a small green sticker. It is known to our community as Collectors Acceptance Corp. or CAC. If you think any particular coin is worth more in one holder or the other they will settle your dilemma by making a sight unseen offer for their CAC verified coins.
Yes, their slabs look different.
Currently (2/20) there are approximately 25,000 more PCGS coins listed on eBay than NGC. Seems to be the preferred when selling.....imo.
My War Nickels https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/nickels/jefferson-nickels-specialty-sets/jefferson-nickels-fs-basic-war-set-circulation-strikes-1942-1945/publishedset/94452
You could also say collectors want to keep their NGC coins.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I have only been collecting slabs for just over 20 years so I cannot say if NGC was ever preferred at one time in the past. And I never said that that was the case, perhaps you made an incorrect assumption about what I wrote. What I said is that market preferences can change not that they have in the past or will in the future, only that they can. If selling right now you may see more in a PCGS slab; although that is not totally guaranteed, but if your selling in 40 years maybe it will still be true maybe not. The absolute truth is that the only constant in life is change.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
OR does it mean that 25,000 more people are trying to dump their PCGS slabs.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
I can't add much except to say that I believe there are some things NGC will slab that PCGS will not, or that NGC has a slight advantage in certain areas of numismatics.
In certain other cases I think that it really doesn't matter. For example: I believe that for error coins the main purpose is authentication, so either one is fine.
But for straightforward grading of most coins, the fact is that PCGS seems to bring more money.
The one thing I do like about the PCGS holders over NGC is that the top is flat enough to type and attach a adhesive label to the top to label the coins you so you can read it from the top. When you have a lot of coins, looking for a specific one can get to be a hassle sometimes, even if they are in order. One thing about the ANACS holder was that you could read it in the container without pulling a lot of coins looking for a specific date or mintmark. I do wish it the PCGS top was a little wider though. I had to create my own spacing program in Excel to get the lines narrow enough to stick down without peeling.
That’s interesting but your speciality even more so than just about any other genre is contingent on eye appeal/complexity which neutralizes the TPG brand preferences mostly. If every coin is unique what’s a holder really matter?
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
I prefer PCGS aesthetically as well as professionally. No Kool-Aid drinking when I say that, just my opinion as I've had attribution problems among other things with NGC to the point where I won't use 'em and haven't for years.
*** PLEASE DO NOT CLEAN COINS....PERIOD
Dave
Don’t clean coins.
I prefer and submit to Pcgs. I really like PCGS apps - coin facts, their inventory manager, and submission choices.
PCGS is much better than NGC. True view photo is so good compare with NGC photo.
Skip the cleaning.
I'll happily buy either (and other services/raw coins too); however, PCGS is by far my preferred service for submissions and 99% of my coins end up in PCGS holders. I find the True View images cheap and convenient for many coins. I like the optics of the holder better. And for what I handle (U.S. coins) there is a strong market preference for PCGS coins (especially when stickered by CAC).
I agree with you 100%, but I like having the ability to have coins imaged while still raw. I also think the large images can be useful for varieties. In some cases, like the reasons you suggest, I will still hire a professional photographer to provide additional images once the coins have been graded and returned to me.
When I said I will clean and grade, I did not mean I will do it, but I would pay for it... I would never clean a coin myself.
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
So are you gonna show us something? Come on. Peace Roy
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Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
I'm not sure about PCGS but my understanding is that at NGC if you request conservation and in their opinion they can't improve the coin they will grade it as is and not conserve it.
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“Are you surprised? You are asking "Ford vs. Chevy" on a Ford website ... of course the answer will be Ford.”
Hey, that seems like a bit of a bias. Why isn’t this a Chevy website? Or Lexus?
How could only one or maybe two mention the prices realized difference??
Just spend 5 minutes surfing prices realized on CoinFacts.
For the majority of series out there, all other things being equal, PCGS slabbed coins bring more money. MO MONEY!!!
This is the PCGS forum. For me, it has always been PCGS or bust (no pun intended).
PCGS or bust. Go big or go casa.
I agree, but why? The resell value? Or?
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
Compare prices and processing times.
I don't have direct experience to compare, but some have posted their experience here.
PCGS grading...tight and out of sight
NGC grading ....loose as a goose.
Price difference between PCGS and NGC in the open market helps proves this.
I enjoy the discount on a nice NGC coin from time to time, only to find out there is no way in hell PCGS will cross it
There is a higher valuation on luster at PCGS where NGC is more meat on the bone so there is some spread in the grading Venn diagram between the two but I didn’t want to confuse the OP.
All should be careful buying the luster dependent grades like AU with NGC. Many a meaty AU at NGC will come back EF at PCGS
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
One of them pays for this forum, one of them doesn't.
Latin American Collection
Ok, thank you very much everybody
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
So- coins that are not comparable sell for different prices? Good to know.
I drive a Denali - I like all the bells & Whistles and resale value. My company van is a Ford and that's okay too
Back to an earlier comment, of the two Buffs that had very minor verdigris spots removed by PCGS went MS65.
I remember the ANA grading class from 2019.
We used NGC slabs.
Of the few series that I had any competence, my grades were 1 point stricter.
The final arbitrator (it was a table vs table competition) was Fivaz.
There was NGC grades, our grades, and Bill's final grade (which counted as the final score)
Each table rotated a table/group final arbitrator and we quickly adjusted our final grade to his standards and won the competition.
Helpful class but we graded to our professors likes and not our standards or NGC/PCGS.
I have no issues with NGC but prefer PCGS.
I grade to my eye which seems closer to PCGS standards. This is important!
In the end, though it takes time to learn, grading can be a fun little side hustle or tuition paid.
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The crossover game, in both directions, have yielded upgrades and downgrades. I will buy NGC or PCGS slabbed coins if I like the coins.