Grading the Grading Companies

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Author: Bill O'Rourke

The Professional Numismatics Guild (PNG) and The Industry Council For Tangible Assets (ICTA) recently compiled the results of their 2006 survey. The results of this survey would be very important for coin collectors to familiarize themselves with. Basically, they (PNG and ICTA) rated the overall performance of several coin grading companies. These Grading Companies also known as Third Party Graders have become truly important in the field of numismatics as they provide professional opinions as to the authenticity and conditions of coins.

Coins that are encased in plastic are often coins that have been examined by one of these grading companies. Since the GRADE of the coin GREATLY influences the PRICE of a coin, it is critical that the Third Party Grader be accurate as far as standards that have been set by reputable grading companies and respected members of the numismatic community.

Simply put, the more accurate a grading service is, the more respected it is by numismatists and consequently, the more trusted that grading service will be. Grading Services can range in quality from companies that have established excellent and high standards for the grading and authentication of coins, all the way down to services that take coins directly from banks, assign ridiculously high grades to them and then sell them at inflated prices based upon falsely assigned grades. It is therefore important that you view the results of this survey in that light.

You must be familiar with the "SLABBING" companies and their practices before you venture into the world of "SLABBED" coins. When we say a coin is "SLABBED", we are using a slang term that derives from the fact that once the coin is encased in plastic it is labeled and placed in a little plastic case that to some look like a Tomb Stone. These "SLABS" will have the name of the Grading Company on it, as well as a description of the coin and its condition placed on a small label that is encased within the slab along with the coin.

The results of this survey indicates the professional opinions of numismatists who buy and sell coins for a living. So, here they are:

SUPERIOR : NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America) of Sarasota, Florida

SUPERIOR : PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) of Newport Beach, California

GOOD : ANACS of Austin, TX

GOOD : ICG (Independent Coin Grading Company) of Englewood, Colorado

POOR : PCI ( PCI, Inc.) of Rossville, Georgia

POOR : SEGS (Sovereign Entities Grading Service) of Chattanooga, Tennessee

UNNACEPTABLE : ACG (ASA-Accugrade, Inc.) of Longwood, Florida

UNNACEPTABLE : NTC (Numistrust Corporation) of Boca Raton, Florida

UNNACEPTABLE : HCGS (Hallmark Coin Grading Service) of Vancouver, BC, Canada

UNNACEPTABLE : ACCGS (American Coin Club Grading Service) of Beverly Hills, CA

UNNACEPTABLE : SGS (Star Grading Services) of Bellville, OH

None of the GRADING SERVICES were given an OUTSTANDING designation as even the best of them are not perfect. You can see more about the survey here:
CLICK HERE TO VISIT PNG/ICTA SURVEY RESULTS

Based upon the results of the PNG/ICTA survey it would seem that some of the less respected Awful Coin Graders can potentially be Scam Grading Services who are considered by many numismatic professionals to be UNNACEPTABLE, It is important for me to state that I personally do not endorse or condemn any of these companies by virtue of this article. I am merely reporting on the existence of the PNG/ICTA survey and I am urging you to be cautious when purchasing slabbed coins.

marccreate commented on 23 Dec 2007, 12:08:16
I have seen NTC coins from Boca Raton, and the quality is just as good as PCGS and NTC. Another good company is BCGS in Merrick, New York. After examining coins for a while, you begin to see differences between say MS-63s and 64s. Companies like PCGS who also own COINWORLD have some kind of cachet like they're Cadillacs, but in fact, many companies are just as good.