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PCI ??? Good grading service or bad?

GoldCoinLoverGoldCoinLover Posts: 1,244
in U.S. Coin Forum
I was on eBay looking for a $5 gold liberty half eagle coin some type of professional coin grading service slab. I didn't find one PCGS, nor one NGC, but I found five PCI slabs with the liberties in them. Honestly, the slabs looked really cheap to me.

I've never known or seen PCI slabs before and at the bidding starting at only 40$ for a old $5 gold liberty gold coin I thought it was a good deal. What do you all think?

Thanks!

Comments

  • JrGMan2004JrGMan2004 Posts: 7,557 ✭
    UHm... well... I personally don't trust PCI... I only buy slabs from the Top 3...
    -George
    42/92
  • Sphinx357Sphinx357 Posts: 1,279
    Buy the coin not the plastic. PCI is junk for grading. If the picture is 10x10pixels don't even bid on it.
  • SequiturSequitur Posts: 1,195
    Bad.
    Realtime National Debt Clock:

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  • XpipedreamRXpipedreamR Posts: 8,059 ✭✭
    Some of the really old PCI slabbed coins are OK, but they've been real schlockmeisters for the past several years. I would steer clear.
  • nankrautnankraut Posts: 4,565 ✭✭✭
    On EBAY, I'd stick with PCGS, NGC, ANACS. Forget the others.
    I'm the Proud recipient of a genuine "you suck" award dated 1/24/05. I was accepted into the "Circle of Trust" on 3/9/09.
  • airplanenutairplanenut Posts: 22,144 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I thought it was a good deal >>

    If it's too good to be true, it probably is... especially if it's in a PCI slab
    JK Coin Photography - eBay Consignments | High Quality Photos | LOW Prices | 20% of Consignment Proceeds Go to Pancreatic Cancer Research
  • GoldCoinLoverGoldCoinLover Posts: 1,244


    << <i>On EBAY, I'd stick with PCGS, NGC, ANACS. Forget the others. >>



    Thanks .. why do the guys start the bidding of a AU coin $5 gold liberty that is old and worth consideribly more than a mere $40. And that wasn't even the starting bid.

    Also that auction has been going on for 2 days. You'd think more people would bid if its just 40$ and in that great condition..

    Why don't people bid? It seems like a good deal to me,e ven if its in the PCI case just "crack" it.
  • PlacidPlacid Posts: 11,299 ✭✭✭
    Got a link or eBay item #
  • JrGMan2004JrGMan2004 Posts: 7,557 ✭
    Plenty of things could actually be wrong with it, if it's in a PCI holder... cleaning, retooling, corrosion (Though I'm not sure if gold coins corrode), could be bent, plus misgrading is more than likely...
    -George
    42/92
  • BurritoGrandeBurritoGrande Posts: 177
    A dealer I frequent tells me that PCI stands for "Problem Coin Inside."


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  • RGLRGL Posts: 3,784 ✭
    Steer clear. If you do buy a gold label holder, buy the coin as if it was raw, not slabbed. There may be a very few worth buying if the coin is right for the price. I personally would not buy any gold or key in PCI regardless of the price. There are some rips to be had in the older green label holders when PCI was much more legit, but again, use caution ...
    The Ludlow Collection (DCAM/CAM)
    The Ludlow Brilliant Collection (1938-64)

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  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,530 ✭✭✭✭✭
    PCI is not a well-recognized service, and they can't be trusted entirely with grading, but I would usually trust them to spot a fake, so there's not too much chance of a counterfeit, anyway. (Yes, I know it could happen, but...)

    I have gotten some good values in PCI green-label holders. I hear the newer gold-labels ain't so hot. PCI is definitely a "Third World" grading service but if you keep a sharp eye out, you can find some bargains, as with any plastic. One thing to watch out for with a Third World service, however, is not so much grading inaccuracy as a cleaned or doctored coin making it into plastic. Back during the green label era, when I was still dumb enough to submit to PCI (hey, they ARE cheap), they slabbed a cleaned Seated quarter of mine with a green label (in other words, as a problem-free coin. It was a beautiful coin, but had been dipped.)

    I just had a green-label PCI MS62 1904 $20 upgrade to PCGS MS64 after I cracked it out. I knew it was a PQ63 at least, and getting a 64 made my day (and a tidy profit, too, I might add).

    So I would unhesitatingly buy a green label PCI holder if I thought the coin inside was original and correctly graded (or, better yet, undergraded like my $20 Lib was).

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
  • BarryBarry Posts: 10,100 ✭✭✭
    PCI does not guarantee authenticity. The coin might be a counterfeit. I would never buy a coin in a PCI slab.
  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 24,323 ✭✭✭✭✭
    PCI graded gold, when in the earlier green holders, was often conservatively graded.
    All glory is fleeting.
  • topstuftopstuf Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Oh it's bad. Bad, bad, bad, reeeeeallllly bad! Even if a "huge three" coin is cracked out and put in a PCI, it is still bad.

    A PCI holder is worse than a HOLE in the coin.

    I never even look at the coins anymore. Just the slab. It's all you need.

    I had a PCGS broken "crackout" slab that a booger fell into. I sold it on eBay for big money.

    If it had been in a PCI, probably no one would have bid on it.

    Oh......baaaaaaad.........

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