Do you submit brand new, straight from the mint, modern commemoratives for grading to NGC or PCGS?  Well, I have studied and analyzed the grading reports from these two most respected coin grading services and have found several astonishing and quite surprising results.

I mostly concentrated on the few latest modern commemorative issues and found these pop reports:

COMMEMORATIVE COIN                              % OF COINS GRADED AT MS-70

First Spouse Gold $10 Washington                                          62%             
First Spouse Gold $10  Adams                                                56%
First Spouse Gold $10 Jefferson                                              70%   
Marines Silver $1                                                                     56%                
Franklin Scientist Silver $1                                                        73%
Franklin Founding Father Silver $1                                           83%
Old Mint Gold $5                                                                     60%
Old Mint Silver $1                                                                    63%
Jamestown Gold $5                                                                  71%
Jamestown Silver $1                                                                 62%
Little Rock Silver $1                                                                 67%


Conclusions:

1) Do you see a pattern?  Obviously the majority of all modern commemoratives have received an MS-70 Perfect Grade.

2) Only (approximately) one out of every 1,000 coins submitted received a grade below MS-69!


Observations and My personal comments:

1) The most common and most abundant US Modern Commemoratives are those graded MS-70 perfect.

2) For investment purposes, these coins in MS-70 grades will be a very poor investment as they will be plentiful and easy to obtain.  Most people will not even be able to recover their costs (Purchase Price from the US Mint, US Mint Shipping Charges, Shipping Charges to and from the Grading Service and Grading Fees).

3) For investment purposes, clearly US Modern Commemoratives which are not slabbed (however not blemished or damaged either) but rather in their original and complete US Mint Packaging have the greatest potential to rise in value.

4) Personally I have not submitted any post 2005 US Modern Commemorative Coins for grading.  I prefer the charm of holding the coin in it's capsule and in it's original and pristine US Mint Packaging.  Although I have purchased some MS-70 slabbed US Modern Commemoratives, I only did so when I had the original packaging, and I then broke out the coins from their slabs and placed them in the capsules along with their original packaging, coa, etc.

5) The grading services have an amazing publicity campaign in order to get you to submit your coins for grading.  In fact, PCGS even publishes completely false and unrealistic pricing guides showing grossly exaggerated values for coins slabbed by them.  And if anyone disagrees with this statement, then please contact me and I'd be delighted to sell you as many PCGS MS-70 graded US Modern Commemorative coins at the same price that PCGS claims they are worth!

6) The top tier grading services do play an extremely important role in numismatics.  For example, I will not buy an old (for example any of the early silver commemoratives) coin that is not slabbed by PCGS or NGC.  However, there is a reason for this.  The difference in value of an older coin graded MS-65 compared to one graded MS-66 can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  However, this does not apply to modern coins.

This guide is simply one coin collector's commentary on today's need (or lack thereof) for submitting new coins for grading, however; these opinions are based on real compiled data and on published facts.

Thank you for reading this guide, and please give me a vote if you find this entertaining, amusing or helpful to you.