TPG in Europe/Asia

worldcoinguy

Silly question, but why are 100% of the TPGs in the US & Canada? Will the anti-TPG attitude of Europe/Asia change over the long term, or is this one US export that will not find favor internationally? I continue to read numerous articles about the growing middle class in China, India, Russia, etc, and I am curious to know if a larger collecting audience in these countries will increase demand and ultimately create a market for 3rd party grading or perhaps a rise of an Asian based TPG.

bidask

I strongly believe it will change toward TPG. I think PCGS should open a European office.

ajaan

At one time there was an Australian TPG. I don't know if they are still in business.

danglen

I read recently that a TPG service is up and running in the UK. Don't know the details....

Sapyx

<< <i>At one time there was an Australian TPG. I don't know if they are still in business. >>


ACGS? Nah, they've folded a couple of years ago. The company was a subsidiary of one of the larger Sydney dealers, so I'm not sure how "third party" it qualified as, but as I recall it basically folded because of lack of interest from local collectors and vocal opposition from certain other major dealers in the country against "Americanizing" the local hobby. While these two attitudes prevail, slabbers will continue to be a tiny minority here.

I've never actually seen slabbed coins for sale here in Brisbane. I've actually only ever seen one slabbed coin, on display at a coin club - someone had bought it on a trip to Canada. He probably would have busted the coin out if he knew how to.

As I understand it, TPGs have historically thrived best when investors were doing most of the buying and selling - people with money to burn, wanting to "buy rare coins" without having to go to all the trouble of actually learning anything about said rare coins. Of course, nowadays the TPGs have a "second wind" with slabs offering an extra layer of assurance for the increasing volume of "sight unseen" sales on the Internet.

If investor-collectors and Internet sales continue to rise, the future of slabbing is assured and probably will expand into overseas markets. However, if the "fly-by-night" coin slabbers and Chinese fakemasters continue to gain ground, confidence in slabs for Internet trading will decline.

Just my opinions...

ajaan

I have sold at least a half dozen slabbed coins to Australians in Australia. These being 1/2d and 1d coins. I think slabs will make a headway in Australia, but you know more about this than me. Perhaps the coins I sold were immediately broken out of the slab.

Conder101

There is at least one grading service in England, they appear to use "certificates".

There have been at least two services in Australia, both of which seem to have folded. ACGS used two varieties of flip within a flip type holders, and Coin Grading Austrailia (CGA) which used a COA type very certificate very briefly and then went to a very well done slab. Their website is now gone though.

There has been one legitimate grading service that was located in Hong Kong back in the late 1980's. It has been gone for quite some time.

There is one service located in Japan with certificates being issued by the JNDA (Japanese Numismatic Dealers Association). These are normally only done for high value items.

And of course there have also been at least three "grading services" located in China tha have been "certifying" fake dollar sized coins in slabs that have been appearing on eBay.

So far with the exception of Canada the idea of the TPG has not been accepted anywhere outside the US.


Sapyx, can you tell me approximitely when ACGS in Australia stopped operations? (I say in Australia because there are two other companies that use those same initials.)

Sapyx

<< <i>Sapyx, can you tell me approximitely when ACGS in Australia stopped operations? (I say in Australia because there are two other companies that use those same initials.) >>


I can't say for sure, but I can give a clue. Pacific Rim Coins used to prominently advertise in every issue of the local coin mag, "Australian Coin Review", until that magazine folded in January 2002. Their ads used to have a plug for ACGS, too - until that was suddenly dropped from their ads in April 2000. The cessation of ACGS probably wouldn't be too far away from that date. Have you tried contacting PRC's proprieter from the link I posted above?

tonyhar

I was just reading the December issue of Coin News (UK) when I saw reference to a new UK grading service CGS UK.
There web site is CGS UK

It looks as though it is run by London Coins, Kent.

Looking at the prices and turnaround times I will stay with PCGS.

ajaan

I see they use a 100 point grading system.

coinkat

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