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CU and PCGS featured in the LA Times
droopyd
Posts: 5,381 ✭✭✭
From today's paper
Whether or not Collectors Universe is a hit on Wall Street, dealers agree that in the last 26 years, the company's coin and sports card authenticators have revolutionized the way people buy and sell memorabilia. The company controls a large share of the collectibles grading industry, with about 90% of cards and autographs and about 45% of coins, company officials say.
...
"If you want to have your coin have real value, you have to have it graded," said Shaun Bobb, 30, who runs a coin store with his father in Torrance. "They're the standard of grading. Everything I buy is PCGS."
Longtime collectors say things were much different before Professional Coin Grading Service came along.
As rare coins began to appreciate in value in the late 1970s and early '80s, collectors say, their hobby evolved into an investment opportunity. Even then, coins were assigned grades based on their condition on the same 70-point scale, but as the stakes rose, scams spread. Many dealers gave coins higher grades than they merited so they could sell the coins for more than their worth.
Larry Shapiro, who runs a coin dealership in Palos Verdes, recalls getting scammed out of $500 as a 15-year-old.
"Too many people were being taken advantage of," said Shapiro, 57. "When they took advantage of me, they would call it 'paying your dues.' And I would call it 'getting ripped off.'"
Whether or not Collectors Universe is a hit on Wall Street, dealers agree that in the last 26 years, the company's coin and sports card authenticators have revolutionized the way people buy and sell memorabilia. The company controls a large share of the collectibles grading industry, with about 90% of cards and autographs and about 45% of coins, company officials say.
...
"If you want to have your coin have real value, you have to have it graded," said Shaun Bobb, 30, who runs a coin store with his father in Torrance. "They're the standard of grading. Everything I buy is PCGS."
Longtime collectors say things were much different before Professional Coin Grading Service came along.
As rare coins began to appreciate in value in the late 1970s and early '80s, collectors say, their hobby evolved into an investment opportunity. Even then, coins were assigned grades based on their condition on the same 70-point scale, but as the stakes rose, scams spread. Many dealers gave coins higher grades than they merited so they could sell the coins for more than their worth.
Larry Shapiro, who runs a coin dealership in Palos Verdes, recalls getting scammed out of $500 as a 15-year-old.
"Too many people were being taken advantage of," said Shapiro, 57. "When they took advantage of me, they would call it 'paying your dues.' And I would call it 'getting ripped off.'"
Me at the Springfield coin show:
60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
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We spoke about so many good things that have happened to the coin biz since PCGS started,
Larry
POB 854
Temecula CA 92593
310-541-7222 office
310-710-2869 cell
www.LSRarecoins.com
Larry@LSRarecoins.com
PCGS Las Vegas June 24-26
Baltimore July 14-17
Chicago August 11-15
...thanks for enlightening us, droopyd!
Coin Rarities Online
PCGS Registries
Box of 20
SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!