my attempt to upgrade with pcgs vs ngc graded quarters
rb7557
Posts: 745
I am into the statehoods pretty deep. Was looking to upgrade a few coins. My set isn't the best, but #7 leaves room for improvement . Upgrades don't come along too often at this level, and when they do, they're pricey. Anyway, I went and bought 5 ms-68 quarters, slabbed by ngc. I did this through 3 or 4 different auctions at TT, over a 4 week period. 4 of the quarters are from 99, and the 5th was a NY-d. I figured I would test the waters, so to speak, & compare the grades to my existing coins, and entertained the idea of adding ngc coins to my collection, or maybe hope they would cross into pcgs slabs.
When the coins arrived, I casually looked at them, and they looked pretty good to me. Then I decided to compare them to the same coins I have slabbed by pcgs, in a 67 grade. Oh boy. I now see what others here have refered to as "commercial grade" coins. Thay aren't bad coins, but side by side, I can't tell the difference between pcgs 67 and ngc 68. Then I compared them with the 68's I have in pcgs. Now I noticed
a real difference.
The coins all have minor ticks, which is normal for the grades. But what I am noticing is its where the ticks are that are the really big difference. Most of the pcgs coins I have seem to have contact marks in areas
where they aren't really noticable, mostly in the hair of Washington, or in places on the reverse where they kind of blend in with the design. But generally speaking, not in the fields (if they are, they are very very small).
Now, for the ngc coins. They're totally different. Right off you notice the fields are not as clean. They have the same texture, so to speak, with nice strikes, but there is a noticable difference in the amount of, or size of the ticks. Ngc also seems to be a bit looser with the forground area. I notice more marks in the area of Washington's eyebrow and the cheekbone. The same thing is noticable on the reverse of the coins also. The high area's are just not as clean.
Now I have a better personal understanding of why ngc coins do not command the same price as pcgs coins.
The coins are overall nice, but I don't think they would cross at the same level. So I think my set will stay the same without these "upgrades" being added. I guess I will sit on these for a while, wait for the ebay action to pick up on the statehoods, and hope I get most of the $ back out of these.
When the coins arrived, I casually looked at them, and they looked pretty good to me. Then I decided to compare them to the same coins I have slabbed by pcgs, in a 67 grade. Oh boy. I now see what others here have refered to as "commercial grade" coins. Thay aren't bad coins, but side by side, I can't tell the difference between pcgs 67 and ngc 68. Then I compared them with the 68's I have in pcgs. Now I noticed
a real difference.
The coins all have minor ticks, which is normal for the grades. But what I am noticing is its where the ticks are that are the really big difference. Most of the pcgs coins I have seem to have contact marks in areas
where they aren't really noticable, mostly in the hair of Washington, or in places on the reverse where they kind of blend in with the design. But generally speaking, not in the fields (if they are, they are very very small).
Now, for the ngc coins. They're totally different. Right off you notice the fields are not as clean. They have the same texture, so to speak, with nice strikes, but there is a noticable difference in the amount of, or size of the ticks. Ngc also seems to be a bit looser with the forground area. I notice more marks in the area of Washington's eyebrow and the cheekbone. The same thing is noticable on the reverse of the coins also. The high area's are just not as clean.
Now I have a better personal understanding of why ngc coins do not command the same price as pcgs coins.
The coins are overall nice, but I don't think they would cross at the same level. So I think my set will stay the same without these "upgrades" being added. I guess I will sit on these for a while, wait for the ebay action to pick up on the statehoods, and hope I get most of the $ back out of these.
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Comments
<< <i>I guess I will sit on these for a while, wait for the ebay action to pick up on the statehoods, and hope I get most of the $ back out of these. >>
You may be waiting a while.
Cameron Kiefer
<< <i>
You may be waiting a while.
Cameron Kiefer >>
I'm afraid you may be right. I was looking at similiar type coins on ebay, and they don't command too many bids. I have noticed that some sellers try to get top pcgs prices for them, which I think is a mistake. Looking for some of the mad money out there I guess.
<< <i>It seems some people don't take a critical look until after their coins don't cross. You saved yourself some money by looking first. Thanks for the post. >>
I have saved by not trying to cross these, granted. What I'm curious about now is if they would slab at 1 grade lower, in which case, I would still recover the initial expense. I guess its time to renew my membership, and try it with the complimentary submissions.
I'm definately glad I did this tho. It's set my mind to rest on the pcgs vs ngc issue as far as these modern quarters go. The difference is greatly noticable, with the naked eye, and even more so under magnification.
If others try this, I suggest its done with coins that are not quite as expensive as these were (they weren't really that bad, when compared to the prices the pcgs slabs, but they weren't $20 coins by any means).