Anacs?

[kloccwork419]

Not sure what you have to pay or what kind of limits they have on it but i know of it being done

[admrose]

Not sure what you have to pay or what kind of limits they have on it but i know of it being done

That is a nice feature, I'll have to look into pricing. I have some silver eagles I'd like to have slabbed for my daughter as a keepsake.

[liveandievarieties]

Why is it that NGC and PCGS are so slack about not wanting to attribute any varieties that aren't CPG?

Because they are experts in coin grading, not varieties. To be honest, PCGS has a hard enough time getting the FS varieties straight. I just sent them a box of over a dozen slabs that needed correction, mostly attribution errors. They were really great about it, returned the group within 3 weeks, all corrected, no charge.

PCGS and NGC are always going to stick with the mainstream- it's where the money is. Conversely, I don't think ANACS would still be in business if they didn't do die varieties, they've filled a needed niche that the other 2 don't want to touch.

Additionally, "minor" varieties are a liability to PCGS who guarantees their attributions- Unless they were to hire Bob, Wiles or Wexler, I think that guaranteeing the less-than-major varieties would probably cost them more money than it would make them. Anyone here interested in paying $70+ to PCGS for attributing a CC variety?

[josht]

Conversely, I don't think ANACS would still be in business if they didn't do die varieties, they've filled a needed niche that the other 2 don't want to touch.

Is that to say Anacs grading standards just aren't up to snuff? I'd believe it all the way after my recent purchase of an '09-S graded VF-20 by Anacs. I wouldn't have went a stitch over Fine on that coin.
Also this coin is in the blue and white holder, is there any significance to these?

[liveandievarieties]

The blue and white holders are before ownership change, in 2008 I believe.

I won't speak to ANACS' grading, I'm trying to turn a new leaf and not dog the TPGs... let's just say I never know what to expect in the way of grades from ANACS, in either direction.

[josht]

The blue and white holders are before ownership change

Are they generally considered more/less desirable or really no difference?

[GrumpyEd]

I don't think there's anything truly wrong about ANACs grading, it's an opinion and all can be different. It's more of an issue that for most coins when it's time to sell them, the market prices PCGS/NGC higher. If it's an expensive variety and it's one that PCGS/NGC will attribute I'll go with them because the value added might be higher but if it's a variety they won't attribute then I'm fine with ANACS. The reason that attributing varieties helps ANACs is that it gives them a niche, many minor varieties have value based mostly on the variety and a grade shift won't kill it so they are the only choice and their grading is decent too. My only gripes are that around the time they switched from small holders to blue holders I had some cents that seemed to change color in the blue holders, mostly fresh red moderns that got funky colors within the first 6 months and those holders were sort of flimsy. Given a choice, I prefer the old small ANA/ANACs holders above the newer blue or gold ones. In general I like ANACs for varieties. For non varieties where a point of grade makes a big difference then of course I'd want PCGS or next choice NGC. For modern normal coins graded 70, the plastic matters a lot and anything other than PCGS or NGC is meaningless to me.

[liveandievarieties]

Grading truly IS an issue with ANACS. I make my living by knowing how to grade, literally. In the last 38 months I have certified just over 2,600 coins.

I have a '72 Die #7 that is full red, lustrous and bright, not a trace of toning or brown. It's graded AU55 by ANACS. I bought the AU55 Red because PCGS will be putting it in an MS63 Red or better holder. I frequently buy ANACS coins because they either cross over into PCGS straight across, or if really nice I've been bumped several grades, especially when the coin is cracked and submitted raw. I'm certainly not suggesting that ANACS over-grades much of anything, rather that the grades they give can be conservative to the point of defying logic and offending even the experienced submitter.

We've had discussions before about full red AU ANACS coins, they are plentiful and costly to the person paying the submission fees. Either of the other TPGs would, without hesitation, give the same coin an MS Red grade. This may seem trivial until you consider that MS grades are usually many multiples of AU values.

Grading and knowing how others grade is one of the most important aspects to ensuring that your collection appreciates.

[rianal]

i've been wondering which sources are considered most fairly reliable in assessing value. it doesn't make much sense, i think, to spend $15 to have a coin worth $4 encapsulated and attributed.

[GrumpyEd]

I've seen some of those ultra conservative ones. Those are the ones to buy

[GrumpyEd]

i've been wondering which sources are considered most fairly reliable in assessing value. it doesn't make much sense, i think, to spend $15 to have a coin worth $4 encapsulated and attributed.

The best source might be to look at closed auctions. Be sure to compare similar raw coins if it's raw and for graded coins compare with ones that are similar and graded by the the same TPG.