Want advice before joining and submitting

thisistheshow

Reading the forums here for awhile, and researching elsewhere, has convinced me that joining PCGS is a good move and I plan on doing it. Before I do, I have a question.

I have seen some anecdotal evidence that grades received can be affected by submission tier, submission time, etc. But I do not quite have a handle on the ins and outs of this or whether it is true. Can anyone clarify for me? Thanks in advance.

Insider2

Don't believe all you hear or read. The only important thing is that your coins are graded correctly by prevailing market standards.

KollectorKing

It's been my experience that in the long run, you'd get better/knowledge results by having a reputable, national dealer prescreen your coins prior to submitting them yourself or through them. Dealers know of certain "tricks" of the game that many if not most collectors don't know. That way, you'd avoid throwing good money at marginal, bad, un-gradeable coins.

I have direct experience with the above and was very, very, very happy w/that decision.

Did I say very happy?

Kkathyl

Most try to prescreen coins before submission. So if you cannot do it yourself, agree you should ask a dealer or another to look at them for you. Be sure that the market value is worth grading the coin. And if you want special designations like VAM on the label then you will need to be sure to note it and pay the appropriate price for that service.
It should not matter who submits the coin for the results, but it is important that you fill out the forms correctly and understand exactly what to do upfront. I am sure if you call PCGS they will help you with all you need to do.

thisistheshow

Thank you. That answers my questions. The one coin store I deal with in person does not do much in the way of submissions even for themselves so I will have to look to build another relationship.

Thank you for your advice everyone.