Why are most "bulk" coins certified by NGC?
Why are most of the coins available from the large online retailers like Moderncoinmart, Gainesvillecoins, etc. seemingly all certified by NGC as opposed to PCGS. I think and most other seem to feel as well that they are fairly equivalent in terms of quality of service. This seems to add to the price premium for PCGS certified coins (which may be a false premium.) There doesn't seem to be a major cost difference between the two services from what I can tell unless NGC offers a bulk discount.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jim Archibald on -
Because they're a good service and cheaper than PCGS. ~ Jim
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Permalink Reply by Jim on -
They're cheaper, but just a little.
If you're a member with submission privileges, they give you a discount on the published price. They also give you 5 free submissions when you join. I looked at both once and went with NGC, mostly because it was a little cheaper.
Another reason PCGS coins demand a premium is that PCGS will only allow their own coins into registry sets, which drives the price up. People will pay more to finish a set or get a key coin, and the populations are smaller because NGC grades more coins. High demand and low supply = higher prices. NGC allows both their own coins (obviously) and PCGS coins into their registry sets.
I would guess that NGC offers the big coin dealers bulk discounts on top of the fact that they're already a little cheaper. The coin dudes on the TV auction/shopping networks almost always have NGC coins, not PCGS.
NGC is also the official grading service of the ANA and the PNG - that likely doesn't mean much to very many people, but it can't hurt.
Sorry to ramble on - just some thoughts. I own coins certified by both services, and I don't think there's too much difference.
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Permalink Reply by coinnetwork on -
I think NGC is a bit easier awarding MS70 or PF70 grades than PCGS, especially for newly released modern coins. These modern 70's make up a big portion of the coins sold by Modern Coin Mart and probably Gainesville- I haven't checked them out.
As businesses, these places may have run the numbers and decided its more profitable to get more 70's from NGC that sell for slightly less, than a smaller number of 70's from PCGS.
As an example, if you look at the raw population data for 2008 Proof Silver Eagles, PCGS has graded roughly 1 out of 6 coins PR70DCAM. NGC has graded more than 1 out of 2 coins PF 70 UC. The higher premium for the PCGS grade is outweighed by the greater proportion of 70's you would receive from NGC.
Whether or not these numbers actually represent underlying quality differences in the 70's?- not sure. But I personally use NGC most of the time.
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Permalink Reply by Coinomologist on -
I believe that one of the major reasons coins have been see over graded and misrepresented are due to bulk grading.If a grader goes into work every day and knows he faces a quota of coins to grade.I think that grader becomes disenchanted with his job.Not only will he feel the pressure to meet the quota.But along the way he or she will let many coins go over graded and grossly incorrect in the grading process just to make sure that the customer who pays a lot consistently will be taken care of no matter what .I think it should be a mandate that all coins should be noticed for an error.If these companies looked at each coin the same then it would be fair to the customer and not just to the bulk rate authorized dealers who end up selling junk from graders who are over worked.What really surprises me is the claim that as many as three graders look at the same coin to assure the coin grade is accurate.I'm no coin grader.But I can tell even with my experience that any coins I have purchased from these bulk rate dealers are usually a very high risk in receiving a over graded coin.Even though there will never be a chance that bulk rate grading will stop.I think it is wiser to buy from the mint yourself and have your coins graded yourself.I used to buy from these bulk rate dealers and found that I ended up with to many coins that I did not want to risk my reputation for selling them.Case and point would be a auction I won once which involved 30 sets of 2009 S presidentials.Even though I won them for a great price.Many of them were just ugly coins that should have never been graded in the grade 69.Many of the sets were full of bad toning spots and many of the slabs were scratched from being handled like bulk rate.Out of 30 sets I receive, 7 of the slabs were cracked, 12 slabs had badly spotted and toned coins and 15 slabs had many minor scratches on them. This ended up leaving me with a decision to make in order to retrieve my investment.I can say that it only made me not ever bid on bulk rate auctions again.So if your into buying bulk or grading bulk and don't care about your reputation like a lot of dealers seem to be today.Then by all means go for the fast cash.But if you want a good reputation for dealing in quality.Go for the personal touch and get higher premiums for a more quality service.Bottom line is Bulk rate equals Low quality.
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