The age old question, slab vs. the coin? SEGS

jafox

Hello everyone-

Been awhile since I visited, but I will ask you to help me with a question, since this board always seems to have the best knowledge I can find. Generally I will always judge the coin on it's basis alone, and then if PCGS or NGS has slabbed it, then it just backs up what I think of the coin itself, but the question I have is if you are not quite sure of a coin, is SEGS generally a reputable grading company? Basically what I am asking is, when making insurance decisions, buying decisions, and you see a segs coin, if the coin looks good, do you trust segs as a grader to go along with the value of the coin. I have heard segs mentioned here as the third best option I believe, but I just wanted to get some opinions before acting. Thanks in advance. John

morganbarber

the third best option is ANACS. SEGS is highly suspect.

Placid

Depends. If the coin is a 2000 proof nickel and marked PR70DCAM then no.
If its a 1937 nickel marked xf40 then probably.

braddick

<< <i>Depends. If the coin is a 2000 proof nickel and marked PR70DCAM then no. If its a 1937 nickel marked xf40 then probably. >>

It's interesting, but SEGS is actually the one organization that does NOT hand out the "70" grade. I'm not endorsing SEGS because of this but on the list of their faults, the MS/PR70 free-for-all is not one of them.

Here is a synopsis of the weaknesses I see:
SEGS: color and difficult "problems coins" being holdered as original.
PCI: CAM and DCAM. PCI is allowing many coins of the sixties and up through that are not CAMS or have artifical frosting. They are also loose on hairlines and older cleanings.
PCGS: Tightening via new graders and then a slight slackening once he/they settle in.
NGC: Older makes on the market that would not meet NGC's grade status now but are "out there" tainting NGC's good name.
ANACS: Loose on copper.
ICG: Loose on the "MS67" grade.

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>if you are not quite sure of a coin, is SEGS generally a reputable grading company? >>



In my opinion, no. I think that any coin in a SEGS holder is likely to have ended up in that holder for 2 primary reasons:

1) PCGS, NGC or ANACS wouldn't slab the coin, or
2) SEGS granted the coin a higher grade than the other services.

Obviously, there are exceptions to this, and there are probably some very nice and accurately graded coins in SEGS holders out there, but in general you should be wary and you should know that any future buyer of your coin (assuming you left it in that holder) would be wary too.

This recent post was pretty instructive about SEGS and their grading of a particular large cent on Ebay -

SEGS 1804 Large Cent on eBay

BillJones

I regard SEGS coins as basically raw coins. Their holder does not get nearly as much respect in the market place as PCGS and NGC and less respect than ANACS. In fact my response to people who try to push SEGS holders on me is, “I have had a lot of trouble marketing the SEGS product.”

This means that when you get ready to sell your coins they will be harder to sell in the SEAGS holder that they would be in PCGS, NGC or ANACS. AND chances are you will get less money for the same coin.

Having said all this, if you are an expert grader and think that you can crack a SEGS coin and get it graded the same or higher by one of the market leaders, go ahead, if it financially viable. Just remember, however, that the crack out game can also be a crapshoot.

wingedliberty

SEGS is now part of the axis of evil. They regularly certify PVC coins. There are also very serious challenges. I can tell you that when SEGS first came out, I was very gunho about them. The holder was incredible and the best in the industry. I joined the SEGS alliance because of Larry Briggs being a noted expert in the hobby and I even spoke to him regularly at shows. He seems like a nice guy, but here are the problems. I was promised a SEGS holdered Franklin half. After three years, never got one. When submitting to them, I could never speak to Larry himself. He became too busy. When I would finally get a hold of him after about two months of trying, he acted like he was doing ME a favor. So, I finally had enough of the PVC coins saturating the marketplace, the overgrading, the lack of customer service , etc.
If anyone is thinking of a rebutal to this by saying, oh , but what about David Hall? Never had a problem with PCGS once. Never had a problem with David Lange at NGC. They always return emails within a week and answer my questions. I submitt only a couple of hundred coins a year, tops, but they have always treated me with great respect and there is a reason why PCGS and NGC dominate the marketplace, its because of consistency and because of service. The people who will try to defend SEGS by saying that its a conspiracy, etc, are just buried in SEGS slabs and have no outlet. Just my opinion based on experience. SEGS is garbage.