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2026 Set Registry Badges?
sneakydigital
Posts: 2 ✭
Hi All,
I'm just catching up on the changes and I'm a little confused. I've spent 10s thousands collecting the top proof Australian $2 set but am I right to assume that there will be no recognition badge outside the announced winners?
One of the reasons I grade with PCGS is to get that badge, it's international recognition that you have the best graded set in existence.
Am I misunderstanding the changes or does PCGS think that little of its customers?
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Inexplicably it does appear that you are correct. It is really hard to imagine that getting rid of that small digital tag for every single top set for the foreseeable future is going to make the set registry a more positive experience, but apparently that is the belief. Personally I believe they are shooting themselves in the foot as that badge is all that’s left for those of us who are trying to be competitive in maintaining the top set in any individual registry set.
I can feel my will to collect PCGS slabbed coins falling off as I type this out. No doubt that will just be considered overly dramatic, but for me it’s sadly true. I just don’t get it. I went at it particularly hard this year and picked up a bunch of hard to find (and expensive) upgrades for my sets and I’m definitely thinking that was quite the mistake. It frustrates me to no end.
Oh wow, I was hoping I was wrong.
I knew the business was slipping when the Nike Polos got downgraded to cheap tshirts in the joining pack.
Who's running the joint now? Your customers are your income, great way to get the serious collectors off- side.
@Charles_Morgan claims there's still 2026 badges to be posted (although come on already, it's damn near NOVEMBER for God's sake!) - He also says there'll be no further recognitions, but getting ANY level of clarity out of him as to what that actually means has been all but impossible. The words "Yes" or "No" are not in his vocabulary. I'm assuming there'll be Best of Registry badges, but at this point, that's not even guaranteed. It does seem certain that the Platinum and 10-Year badges will be denied. That's MY red line. If THAT becomes reality, I start hammering the delete button. We were promised more transparency and clarity this year, and we've been in the dark for MONTHS! The Set Registry has been circling the drain for a few years now, and the only tool they brought this year was a plunger!
I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the only 2026 badges that are coming are for the 60 or so sets that won in the new format awards. I don’t have any issue with those 60 sets getting special recognition at all, but the thousands of other top sets going without any annual recognition will be the end of this registry being meaningful to me, if I’m correct. I hope I’m wrong.
For the most part, I'm in complete agreement, and still offer my sincere congratulations to all award winners this year. But, the deeper I look at the Hall of Fame awards, the more I find myself wondering why. Four sets made it into the esteemed "Hall of Fame" this year. One has four gold and 8 platinum awards under his belt - an award-winning set for 13 consecutive years. Well-earned. Another set has 2 gold, followed by an empty year, and then Best of Registry for 2025. One is private/unviewable, with six consecutive "Best of Registry" blue badges. No golds at all. And one has three Best of Registry badges, with 2024 absent. That's it. Three non-consecutive Best-of-Registry badges is now Hall of Fame territory. I won't deny that it's a FANTASTIC set, and in time, would absolutely have a good chance of earning that position, but HOW can you call something "Hall of Fame" worthy when it's never won a single actual award??? Nothing at all against that amazing set, but I seriously question that decision.
Here's a before-and-after of the four Hall of Fame sets this year, with the 'normal' badge format, and the 'whatever this new garbage' version is. In terms of awards, one of these sets stands MILES apart from the rest of these - and one month ago, that was immediately obvious. Now? At a glance, you can barely tell. I find this offensive.
As I’ve stated before, I don’t mind the condensed format at all, but that’s just me. Feels more concise and I can get behind that. Regardless of that though, if they aren’t going to do any badges for 2026 and beyond then what they’ve changed it to doesn’t matter a whole lot does it? If the historical data on top sets doesn’t continue then any worries about the new format are pretty meaningless. So for now I’m just going to sit here and see if anything happens with 2026 badges before the end of the year.