your opinions on SEGS grading, please.

nalamolly5 · August 25, 2004 10:06PM

do they fall in the middle? more towards pci gold? what do you think?

Cam40 · August 25, 2004 10:26PM

depends on series.
overall i,d rate them 4th or 5th on the collector desireablity scale.....about.
but your mileage may vary.

WaterSport · August 25, 2004 10:46PM

Many folks really like their holder. There grading is in my opinion, in the middle.

WS

Wolf359 · August 25, 2004 10:51PM

Not good. At least one point higher then NGC, ANACS or PCGS would grade. And some problems too. I thought my 1878 8TF SEGS MS64 was a wonderful coin until ANACS told a friend of mine it was so overdipped it should have been net graded as AU. That's 4-5 grades higher than it should have been.

nccoin · August 25, 2004 11:19PM

The grading is very poor. I would put them near the bottom with PCI gold.

edsiajb · August 25, 2004 11:22PM

SEGS does have the best holder and it looks like their grading has been more consistent lately. I have quite a few Morgans in SEGS holders...most are right on or conservative when compared to my PCGS Morgans. I have two that should be a point lower by comparing them to PCGS.

SEGS is not nearly as conservative as PCGS when it comes to DMPL or PL Morgans so be careful with these.

nccoin · August 25, 2004 11:31PM

The SEGS holders that I have seen are mostly for early Lincoln and IH cents. They may be better for other series.

keoj · August 25, 2004 11:32PM

Case in point, I just saw a 73-CC Trade Dollar in 63-SEGS go for ~$3K and another one in PCGS go for ~20K. That being said, I have a couple of nice SEGS coins and one recently went from a 63 to a NGC-62 on a cross. Best holder but never buy sight unseen.

Keoj

edsiajb · August 26, 2004 2:04AM

Isn't it the FS nickel folks who really like SEGS?

JrGMan2004 · August 26, 2004 2:07AM

I think they are a decent mid-level TPG. And it seems there's quite a few people out there that prefer SEGS for problem coins and varieities over ANACS... I personally prefer ANACS, but I do also kinda like how SEGS has the label on the top of the holder so when the slabs are in a box, it's easy to find the coin you are looking for...

MJPHELAN · August 26, 2004 2:20AM

SEGS is good with jeffersons. The Full Step people like them because the step count is put on every uncirculated coin. They also will note nicks, bridges etc. Any SEGS coin I have crossed or cracked out (you almost need dynamite with the SEGS holder) crossed at the same grade at PCGS.

dorkkarl · August 26, 2004 2:22AM

i frequently disagree w/ their grades. of course, for what i collect, i frequently diagree w/ pcgs & ngc & anacs, but i'd say overall, i disagree w/ segs more often then the others.

learn to grade yourself - it's your safest bet.

K S

Goober · August 26, 2004 2:30AM

<< i frequently disagree w/ their grades. of course, for what i collect, i frequently diagree w/ pcgs & ngc & anacs, but i'd say overall, i disagree w/ segs more often then the others.

learn to grade yourself - it's your safest bet.

K S >>

I agree, but I've also purchased some SEGS and ANACS slabs just due to the fact they're undergraded, or correctly graded, and alot cheaper than the better grading companies. Online purchasing of SEGS I'd discourage unless you can get a great pic and discern the grade yourself.

BillJones · August 26, 2004 3:31AM

A third rate grading company.

Not a "third world slab" company, but bad enough to have their coins sell at lower prices, even if they happen to get the grade right, which isn't that often.

As for their slab, I HATE it.

The damn thing won't fit in an NGC slab box, which makes it more trouble for me to take them shows. And if you want to crack it, the darn thing is made out of kryptonite.

Catch22 · August 26, 2004 3:57AM

I would use them for well circulated Seated coins without reservations. However, if the coins warrants being slabbed at all I would opt for PCGS in all but a few instances. An example would be the 1855 S Seated Half that I submitted recently to PCGS. They graded it AG-3. I graded it as a G-4 and Larry Briggs graded it a G+. Larry Briggs is a Seated specialist and consults with SEGS. In fact, I bought the half from Larry.

This isn't intended as a flame to PCGS as the coin was close enough to be a tweener and the money involved is chump change. It does illustrate the slight differences in the services and niche some have carved for themselves. I would NOT trust anyone with Mint State and Proof coins other than PCGS.

dorkkarl · August 26, 2004 3:57AM

there, i would have to disagree. the segs slab is far & away the BEST plastic out there. if i had a collection of coins in slabs & wanted to keep em in slabs, i'd make briggs agree cross every one over to segs at the exact same grade.

K S

edsiajb · August 26, 2004 4:57AM

<< The damn thing won't fit in an NGC slab box, which makes it more trouble for me to take them shows. And if you want to crack it, the darn thing is made out of kryptonite.

>>

They do fit in PCGS boxes, however, better than the PCGS holders!

lordmarcovan · August 26, 2004 7:33AM

Down there with PCI but I prefer them to PCI for submissions. If I am buying already-slabbed coins, however, I will take a PCI green-label over SEGS but a SEGS over a PCI gold-label.

If I am submitting problem coins I might prefer SEGS to an ANACS net grade sometimes. SEGS has good customer service, in my experience.

Not the most respected service around but I do have some nice things to say about them- I wouldn't call them a member of the Numismatic Axis of Evil.

Edit to add: All grading issues aside, I agree that SEGS has the best capsule of anybody out there, hands down.

jtwax · August 26, 2004 7:36AM

<< do they fall in the middle? more towards pci gold? what do you think? >>

I send all my Jefferson's to SEGS. Top notch holders, accurate step grading with step flaw notes, holder placement as desired, all variety designations (not just FS numbers) for all series, and average grading.

Aethelred · August 26, 2004 7:38AM

Ask yourself this question:

Would I rather have this coin in a PCGS holder or a SEGS holder? 'nuf said!

coinbuf · August 26, 2004 7:45AM

I like em for Morgans; I've been able to purchase many nice coins at considerable discounts to PCGS or NGC. Thay are however not good for Lincolns.

lordmarcovan · August 26, 2004 7:57AM

<< Ask yourself this question:

Would I rather have this coin in a PCGS holder or a SEGS holder? 'nuf said! >>

A perfectly reasonable question with an obvious answer, in most cases.

However, if you are discussing something like THIS, it is not so clear cut, since PCGS is not an option. And a net-grade from ANACS is not always so great. I submitted the coin to ANACS and was certain it would net-grade- after all, the coin was in the dirt for two centuries. But I didn't like the "details" grade they gave it. In retrospect, maybe I'd have been better off sending the coin to SEGS, who would have given it a normal grade and simply noted the problem (environmental damage).

HERE is a better picture of the coin, which was later graded "VF details/Net F12/Corroded" by ANACS. I sold it on eBay for $775.

(Edited to fix links).

LBGrob · August 26, 2004 7:59AM

im new to all this...so can someone explain the differences in grading companies... err let me rephrase that.... the differences in color lables etc..

I know PGCS and NGC are the top... so for me I would probably just stay away fromthe others unless I get a good deal on a coin that looks good..and then i would have it reslabbed?? maybe??

but I dont get why you guys perfer different labels on lower end companies..etc

thanks

Rob

coinbuf · August 26, 2004 8:06AM

Rob, the different colors of the PCI labels denote ownership/control changes at PCI thus grading standards changed at that time. Gold labels are generaly not good and green labels are very often right or upgrade possibilites.

Chris

wingedliberty · August 26, 2004 9:03AM

SEGS is pure garbage. Horrid grading accross the board. I would say far worse than PCI. SEGS is now closing the gap with NTC/ACG. Their customer service is non-existent. Pure garbage.
I recommend PCGS, NGC, and ANACS, in that order.

RobJoyce1921dVAMguy · August 26, 2004 10:09AM

I agree with all the kudos for the holders... I love the label on top and the strong descriptions they put on the slab.

Hands down, SEGS has the best variety attribution, followed closely by ANACS. NGC does some VAMs and is improving. I wish PCGS would catch the VAM wave!

dorkkarl · August 26, 2004 9:49PM

<< Ask yourself this question: Would I rather have this coin in a PCGS holder or a SEGS holder? 'nuf said! >>

since i don't give a lick about the grade on the piece of plastic, i would choose the segs holder EVERY TIME.

K S

dorkkarl · August 26, 2004 9:50PM

in fact, i've sometimes wondered why pcgs (or ngc for that matter) doesn't BUY segs, or at least license their slabing technology. there's simply no comparison, on technical merits, the segs holder is light-years ahead of anybody else 's.

K S

shylock · August 27, 2004 12:34AM

Besides the grading issues they can be lax about slabbing dipped copper. For example, this recolored IH was cracked out of an SEGS 66RD holder (ANACS net graded it after PCGS rejected it). The following year I saw the same coin listed on EBay, back in an SEGS slab but graded 65RD this time.

koynekwest · August 27, 2004 10:15AM

Better, IMO, than ANACS for variety material. Not nearly as bad at grading as has been stated by some. They belong on the same tier as ANACS at least.

lathmach · August 27, 2004 12:03PM

<< SEGS is pure garbage. Horrid grading accross the board. I would say far worse than PCI. SEGS is now closing the gap with NTC/ACG. Their customer service is non-existent. Pure garbage.
I recommend PCGS, NGC, and ANACS, in that order. >>

You've slammed SEGS before, wingedliberty, but when I challenged you to show some proof you couldn't do it. Remember?

Ray

your opinions on SEGS grading, please.

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