Fav. Grading Company?
Betta285
Posts: 733
What's your favorite grading company in terms of consistency, price, turn around times and anything else....personally, I like ANACS, they're cheap so I can afford to send a good number of coins in at a time rather than only a few w/ PCGS or NGC..And they're relatively quick and always seem to get my coins back at the same interval of days... i have not had any experience with any other grading company besides NGC, but from what i read here and on other forums, turn-times are pretty slow and often vary with PCGS and many others. Also, I do not have to worry about being Body bagged for a faulty coin...I mean, none of my coins, besides my commems and a gold piece, are worth upwards of $60+ so even if I do get a cleaned here and there(which I haven't mastered detecting), It wouldn't be a waste of my money because at least the coin would be placed in a sealed, designated holder so it is known that this coin is cleaned and no one will ever make the same mistake, unless you crack out...in a body-bag, some shifty dealers and collectors may sell these coins as "blast white" to young novice collectors. Finally, it seems that, they’re MS 63’s are MS 63’s in all of they’re coins. Never have I seen an under/over graded coin by these people…now, other people may feel the exact opposite, but that’s why this forum is here right?
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I've still got higher end stuff out at NGC and PCGS, but I've been sending and getting back orders from ANACS several times while I still wait for the other two.
I agree with the grades as well, never felt like anything was over or under graded yet. Super quick turnaround and great prices are hard to argue with.
John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
K S
1. Their grading is quite accurate and conservative for the coins I am interested in.
2. Their holders are attractive and don't take up nearly as much space in the safe deposit box.
3. They will note varieties on the holders. PCGS's failure to do this is a MAJOR failing.
4. Their turnaround on non-economy submissions is excellent.
5. Their marketability is clearly improving. I note that ANACS coins, when purchased by one of my nearby store dealers, tend to sell very quickly. Investors may not like ANACS but collectors do.
6. In nearly all cases they will slab the coin. I'd rather have a slabbed, net graded coin than a body bag.
7. They offer opinions at shows.
8. Their expertise in detecting counterfeit and altered coins is outstanding.
Geez!
There are many other companies that do a satisfactory job in grading put they all have crappy looking slabs. I've seen many fugly or wrongly graded coins in PCGS slabs just as in other slabs. PCGS maybe more conservative, but I'm not convinced that they are more consistant.
I collect XF to MS Standing Liberty's, and I've found PCGS and ANACS to be the most consistent with grading. I'm talking this series only, as I've read a number of board members opinions on ANACS grading and misgrading of Morgans, esp in the high MS range.
I like both of their holders, but I do like the smaller ANACS holder better for the reasons mentioned. Also, I don't need a pound of plastic around a quarter. If PCGS offerred a "low-profile" holder, I think I'd opt for that.
I find that ANACS and PCGS do the best job of the full head designation, where NGC's opinion of a full head is less than what I would call a minimum full head on SLQ's.
Certainly the resale-ability (if that's a word) is better in a PCGS slab. I think for the collectors thoough, especially of certain series, ANACS is a viable alternative. And they're cheap and turnaround is good as mentioned.
David
The two best, PCGS and NGC, have an attitude that I really dislike. That attitude is, “We’re right; you’re wrong; to hell with you, now go away.” ANACS does better at public relations than either of the “big two.”
My ATTITUDE is that I grade the coin for myself. If I agree with the grade that’s on the slab or perhaps think the coin is undergraded, I buy it. If I don’t like it I pass.
Slabs make it easier to sell coins and get better prices for them. They have also done a lot to stem the sale of counterfeits. As for accurate and consistent grading, that problem is FAR from solved.
As for the rest of grading services, their agenda runs from standards with which I do no agree about 90% of the time to aiding and abetting fraud on the part of unscrupulous coin sellers. You will note here that I did not use the word “dealers” because the crooks deserve to have a special label of their own that can be repeated in polite society.