Should PCGS and NGC agree to use identical slabs?
Who would benefit? Who, if anyone, would be hurt?
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
5
Comments
I'd be happy if they just fit in the same box.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Yes, it would be nice if they fit in the same box.
If they had the same slabs, it would just make it easier for the slab counterfeiters.
Also, I strongly prefer PCGS and don't need anything to confuse me more.
I don't care for such a change. I hope it never happens.
Gee Andy , they can't even agree on the same grade on coins . How can they manage the same slabs ?
Only if they use the old white Anacs slab.
quit it! the competition may got retro eeeeeeh


Part of the company identities are tied up in the end product look and feel. So I don't think they'd jump on that bandwagon.
Agreeing to standard dimensions that would allow for standard storage, shipping, display, (whatever), products? That would be good.....
Which would admit that theirs was inferior?
I would assume something completely new.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Then both would have to admit that there was a better idea that neither incorporated.
This will happen when the car companies all agree to used the same auto designs for each class of vehicle. Never happen.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Nope. I like them just the way they are.
Such a move would limit their ability to respond to changes in the marketplace. It won't happen since the ability to respond to such changes is critical to their survival as independent companies.
Will market forces allow them to remain independent companies? Now there is a question that needs to be answered.
" I would be happy if they just fit in the same box."
You just have to keep the old Studebaker running, Perry.
Totally agree............and have fantasized about that for years.Like the Beach Boys once said.....wouldn't it be nice.
No! It would be harder for me to, at a glance, immediately exclude the coins that I do not want to consider.
Brand Identity - Is the collection of all brand elements that the company creates to portray the right image of itself to the consumer. So the answer would be that both companies would not benefit with the same brand identities making this a non starter.
Not a concern for me. Each has its own following sort of like Chevy and Ford.
What is needed is somebody outside the TPG star system to make a universal slab storage box like the Teletrade slab storage box which holds all sizes. Glad I kept mine! When they do they will really bank.
I was looking at the Amos metal storage boxes in a cw ad and wonder how these would work.
Currently on eBay there are 231 k ngc / Pmg items and 187 k Pcgs items.
If I had know how or business partner would do it myself. An eBay listing with a good photo showing how all gen Pcgs, ngc, anacs, ICG fit in it would sell like wildfire!
I absolutely hate the white NGC inserts.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
It would be nice if there were more counterfeit measures incorporated into slabs. They could be called smart slabs and would have some kind of ultra violet laser marks and would be impossible to duplicate. Just a thought.
Just call it a box of 19
Good idea, and they could 'recall' any model over 20 years old for 'new holder'. I vote for this type...
I'd say merge
I'd LOVE a common size slab that fits into all my boxes.
Don't care if it is the SAME slab.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
Product design is essential to brand identity. PCGS would be crazy to make their product look generic compared next to the competition.
It would nice if the holders fit in the boxes perfectly, but those days are gone unless somebody markets a “universal box. HINT: Take the PCGS box bottom and make it slightly taller.
Just thinking aloud .....
Yes the slabs should all fit in to the same box!
that does not mean they should be the same... just the box.
they could make a deal that one is using certain colors on the top 1/8" so identifying would be easy...
furthermore, the "color" could be embedded with a ever so tiny microchip so details could be easily identified with a reader. Similarly the "color" could be undeniably used to see if the slab has been tampered with.
example: if there has been an attempt to open or tamper with the slab and any part of it has moved away from the other part by a certain tolerance, the chip will not read and the color will change to whatever.
May as well ask the board of directors at Rolls Royse and Maserati to build identical looking cars!
It would be nice if representatives of each company sat down and designed future slabs that have state of the art anti-counterfeiting measures that ended up the same size. They have no idea how much of a PITA multiple sizes are for the collectors.
Then again, chances of sanity winning out are minimal.
Until PCGS's latest design change all would fit in an NGC Box. Personally I don't like the new PCGS design because they don't stack as well.
Clearly there is a market for a third company to make boxes that will hold slabs from both NGC and PCGS.
The answer is that each TPG agree to design a holder that fits over the other TPG's holder. This outer holder would be the same size across both TPG's You could send a coin in to NGC, get it graded 64, send it to CAC, get a green sticker, send it to PCGS, get it graded 63, send it back to CAC, get a gold sticker and then put it into a new style box designed to fit the generic second holder used industry wide. Tons of box sales, tons of coins to grade, tons of stickers to get, all double quadruple graded coins fit in the new boxes regardless of grading order. Makes total sense.
Only if we can get the engineering right on the dies and sealers and get a head start on the design for a more compact box for that "Box of 20".
"Folks, do you realize how many more coins you can fit in your SDB before you run out of room? And these (holders) are American-made from environmentally-acceptable recycled plastic"
@MrEureka's mind-bending question on that topic from earlier this week may have clarified your views

Totally different labels for each company.
Smaller print for the old guys

I liked a lot of @YQQ's suggestions
I think slabs are way too large. Half the size would still leave plenty of real estate for descriptive and control data.
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I think we’re very fortunate that PCGS holders have all fit rather easily in boxes and stacked so well for decades now. If the next wave of anti counterfeiting features comes at the expense of losing some backwards compatibility I won’t hesitate to push us forward towards more security.
Brett Charville --- I work at PCGS
Of course, those fit in the same garages, parking spots and lanes
Yup this is what I was going to say. I could care less whos slab looks like what just have a dam box that can fit them all.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
BOOMIN!™
I like having different slabs. It makes finding certain coins easier when they are mixed together in plastic boxes.
Let's take it one step further and suggest that all countries use the same coin design.


Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Yes, they should use the old style ANACS white holder
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Just look for the ones without the sticker.
Cardboard single an$ double row boxes fit all Tpg slabs pretty well. Just sayin.
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The trouble with boxes that don't have holders for each slab is scratching. Slab to slab contact is a problem. You can use the plastic sleeves, but that just adds one more step or a layer of film to viewing the coin.
This may be true but asking the TPGs to create a slab that doesn’t scratch when rubbed against another slab makes more sense than asking them to make them uniform with the competition.
Ask all the makers of tissue paper how they feel about everyone calling their product Kleenex.
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They can't even agree on where the lug nuts fit on a rim. Try putting a Dodge spare tire on a Ford.
No. One of the slab making companies would lose substantial market share.
What makes you say that?
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Assuming (which I should not) that the TPGS are using different SOS’s for the plastic/slabs. If they went to one SOS then the other SOS will no longer have a buyer.
Holders are a central part of each company's marketing/branding strategy. Using a common holder would not benefit either company, although it would make storage of plastic easier for collectors and sellers.
as long as they fit in the same box either/or on who made them its fine by me, just saying
I was just going through my slabs and remembered that it's worth requesting a slab design that can be read from the top when in a PCGS box. A couple of TPGs have slabs like this and it really helps when there's a lot to look through.