I was most decidedly unimpressed with the U Tube video attached in one of the replies to this topic. I am very glad I watched it. What caught me most by surprise was the statement that (paraphrase) "collectors will recognize the difference between a regular uncirculated piece and a high grade uncirculated coin in a PCGS capsule"...or something to that effect. Did he really say that?? I would hope that any collector with some degree of experience (except perhaps a beginner or young collector) would be able to examine 2 examples of a same design coin and be able to recognize which is the "better" of the 2. Of course, for the "investor", the certification may give SOME degree of confidence that the coin is hopefully, reasonably close to being accurately graded if certified.
I say "reasonably close" because, as I believe Peter suggested, resubmissions are a much too frequent occurance and will continue until a boarderline coin gets the upper grade. (I wonder what this does to the statistics of certified coins in each grade??) I mentioned in a previous post that PCGS slabs of American coins often carry a premium if the labels are green instead of blue (green labels are earlier certification labels). Gradeflation!! I wonder what would happen if I "cracked out" some of my green label PCGS coins and resubmitted them...would they come back with a higher grade? What would happen if I DIDN'T crack out my green label coins and resubmitted them? I expect that they would not be regraded at all. Teletrade.com I believe has a section exclusively for "Green label PCGS coins". It would be fascinating to have time to compare like coins with like grades and see what the price difference is between Green and Blue labels. There should be NO DIFFERENCE between accurately graded, same grade coins with green OR blue labels!
I used to be a slab nut...especially when building my early U.S. type set. I only bought certified pieces and had many others slabbed by PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ICG and SEGS (the later turned to be a very costly disaster!!) Today, I don't buy any more U.S. material so I can't judge how accurate I think the current grading is. If I were to buy certified coins now..U.S., foreign or whatever...it would be because I could not find a nice RAW example or there was a concern about a coin I was interested in being a copy. Goodness knows there are enough of these "out there". I would also consider having a coin certified if I was unable to identify a potentially rare coin or rare variety. Certification also seems to do a very good job in preserving coins for future generations. Finally, for insurance purposes, it's helpful to have a "slab number" for listing a particularly valuable piece (of which I have only precious few!!!). I guess time will tell if these merits make the whole "slab business" worth it to the hobby. So, certification can have merit in some circumstances.
I am befriending a new collector, 17 years old...and he has decided to zero in on Franklin U.S. Half Dollars (1948-1963). He wants to build a complete set in "MS 63" or higher. I gave him a copy of the ANA (American Numismatic Association) grading book to help him out but in a brief bit of research, I learned that certified examples can be had for often very little premium over RAW in the same grade. As a new collector, he does not have the skill yet to determine an MS-62 from a 63...and so on...let alone an AU 55 or 58 from an MS 60. He works hard for his coin money and I didn't want him to buy badly for his first goal. I recommended PCGS certified coins for his collection. Liklihood is that grading of these non-rare pieces would be close to or "right on" accurate when certified. No guarantees of course. (As a side note, I also suggested to buy only fully lustrous pieces with "Full Bell Lines" as these seem to carry a bit of added demand in the collecting community.)
(On a tangent...I wonder if these tiny distinctions in U.S. coinage grades really make a difference in the long run. It is of little interest to me if a Mercury Dime has "full lines" in the torch, or a Jefferson Nickel has full steps....
Full head" Standing Liberty Quarter Dollars I think I can appreciate as opposed to "flat head" coins, however. I am curious...do other nationalities have this obsession with the minute details on their coins as here in the States or are these tiny distinctions also just a boon to the Slabbers?)
So I have come full circle ...from an absloute die hard slab lover to a collector who sees some limited
usefulness to certification. I think the "crack out for a higher grade" game did me in (and now we have to deal with counterfeit slabs too I hear). I miss the days of coin shops where honest dealers would grade to the best of their ability and they could be trusted. Many still can...but I wouldn't "bet the farm" on it. Alan
