Tell Your Stories of PCGS Early Days

braddick

I remember when PCGS was just starting. If a collector had any coins they wanted to have certified, it required going to an authorized submitter. At first, these brick-and-mortar businesses were far and in between. Living in north county San Diego- back in 1986/87 or so, I had cherry-picked some delightful 1964 Kennedy halves. I gathered five of my best favorites and drove to a small shop in La Jolla.

An old salt greeted me, and when I presented him my Kennedy halves for encapsulation, he denied my request. Although a bit gruff, he was somewhat helpful in stating he did not want his name or store associated with common coins such as those I wanted to be submitted. He thought it would hurt or damage his reputation to do so.

Feeling defeated, I waited and found another dealer in El Cajon who had me fill out forms and piggyback on his submission. I wish I had those Kennedy halves today (four came back MS65 and one was an MS66), yet the sting of rejection will stay with me when I recall this memory.

Pnies20

Coin dealers can be some of the quirkiest people.

ricko

Interesting story... Never heard that angle before. Now people submit parking lot coins Is there no shame?? Cheers, RickO

FranklinHalfAddict

@braddick said:
I remember when PCGS was just starting. If a collector had any coins they wanted to have certified, it required going to an authorized submitter. At first, these brick-and-mortar businesses were far and in between. Living in north county San Diego- back in 1986/87 or so, I had cherry-picked some delightful 1964 Kennedy halves. I gathered five of my best favorites and drove to a small shop in La Jolla.

An old salt greeted me, and when I presented him my Kennedy halves for encapsulation, he denied my request. Although a bit gruff, he was somewhat helpful in stating he did not want his name or store associated with common coins such as those I wanted to be submitted. He thought it would hurt or damage his reputation to do so.

Feeling defeated, I waited and found another dealer in El Cajon who had me fill out forms and piggyback on his submission. I wish I had those Kennedy halves today (four came back MS65 and one was an MS66), yet the sting of rejection will stay with me when I recall this memory.

Few and far between.

FrankH

Had rattler come back 64. Subsequently sent to both NGC and PCGS and ...presently in.....

.......................... MS66 ........................................

But I had sold it in the rattler.

bidask

I remember when PCGS got started ....I was a big non-believer as buying and selling raw coins had been the norm for years.

Boy was I dummy!

Smudge

They made me more comfortable buying coins that I had not seen in hand.

WaterSport

I just got back into collecting when the internet and eBay became available. I had to learn about PCGS and was grateful they existed because the key Lincolns I still needed were now safe to buy online. ( I wont mention how many times I got burned with cleaned stuff before I switched to graded)

WS

amwldcoin

I never paid any attention to grading services until selling online(and to a lessor extent getting hooked on set registries) became a major part of my business. Never needed it at shows and was not near as controversial as the magic football when it started! Funny how things evolve. I think I'm to old now to get onboard with the football. Took almost 2 decades to get me onboard with plastic!

BLUEJAYWAY

Back in the early 90's there was a local shop in my town. I discussed TPG's with him. He stated he would never let anyone tell him the grade on his coins he was selling. TPG's are still here. The shop and owner are now extinct.

PerryHall

When the grading services first started, the vast majority of coins were still raw and collectors were used to buying them this way. Some dealers would buy expensive AU58 PCGS or NGC slabbed coins and then crack them out and they would magically become Mint State coins when placed in their display cases. After awhile, collectors caught on to this practice and passed on buying expensive raw coins.

Crypto

I remember in the early 90s dealer hocked holders almost indiscriminately, ANACS, PCGS, NGC, PCI and to an extent SEGS all were considered retail worthy although not absolutely equal. I remember paying full chip for a PCI MS64red 1909s IHC with weak feathers.