This guide touch upon apparent differences among grading services other than accuracy, membership satisfaction and date of establishment.

While I have often debated this same question, it has been written about on Ebay and in the monthly coin magazines many times over.  While everyone TRIES to claim a non-bias in their grading service I think we all know who we prefer.  That being NGC and PCGS (depending on coin, grade, year, type and EVEN errors or problem coins).  See what I mean, its so complicated, there are exceptions for every grouping and many topics to cover.  I will keep it short (Yeah right!) so you can decide for yourself.

It seems that PCGC has an overall SLIGHT edge over NGC at the moment, but not for all coins.  The population report can have a huge influence, albeit skewed but nonetheless.  I think it's for a few reasons.  First, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE HOLDER!  Seriously, I think dealers, collectors investors tend to like the PCGS holders over the less sturdy NGC holders.  ALSO, the NGC slab has a white insert where as the PCGS is clear and all sides of the coin may be seen (this is key!) and did you notice that ANACS recently changed their holders to mimic PCGS in that respect.  I do like the ANACS idea of making the holder easier to see from above, but it's just too small and doesnt stack well to be a superior holder.  OK OK, I know the savviest collector will tell you your not buying the slab your buying the coin, the coin is worth the same without the piece of plastic!  TRUE, and yet your wrong!  When it comes to two equal grading services, wouldn't you rather have a slab that fits together with other slabs more firmly... just feels more sturdy, without the sound of a loose slab... or so that you can see the edges of the coin? 

The fact of the matter is, ANACS was leading years ago and the new President has been trying to make changes for a more level playing field.  Their service fees are reasonable and no yearly fees to pay!  The new holders they designed are revolutionary in that they serve to comfort the collectors and buyers of coins.   PCGS leads in this respect, the simple labels are so retro!

Second, The Mass Market Hysteria effect.  This topic has been widely published in relation to the stock market and now with the Real Estate market.  You see, a large group of people appear to have an EXPONENTIAL effect on results, not a multiplying effect that one would expect.  This was seen as the cause of the French Revolution (America being apart of that crowd).  Everyone jumped on the bandwagon, the people who are on the fence come over instantly while many are converted in the momentum of the movement.  PCGS is only preferred at the moment because there is an exaggerated hysteria for their coins because the popularity of coin collecting has surged since all the new changes at the US Mint.  Because more and more people have been joining the ranks of people like YOU!  the effect has been greatly increased and this is why you see a PCGC State Quarter (any year) sell for twice as much as a NGC coin.  Why the drastic difference?  Those coins are just more popular with new collectors!  There are many more buyers in the PCGS market. 

Look through any coin publication and count how many PCGS coins you see compared to NGC!  You will notice that companies display these in their ads or the publications articles show slabs.  Just buy one and do an experiment with simple counting.  I'll give you a hint...at the moment PCGS dominates advertisements.

If I were a value investor in the stock market, I would tell you to BUY what is selling cheap and SELL what is peaking.  You can fill in the blank, I will not make any endorsements.  Very simple...I dont see any reason NOT to buy the lower priced coins right now... there really is NO statistical difference in grading even if a few coins do receive different grades.  Until we figure out how to automate grading there will always be human error.

I would like to cite Scott Travers a coin expert and contributor to the coin world in so many ways.  You should remember his name because he is a very good man.  He is not like a politician who can will his influence upon the masses to make effects that favor him FINANCIALLY.  He always spends valuable coins on the street in order to generate attention for the numismatic community.  I really respect the man, I recommend you buy his books, everyone can learn something from him.  Also, Q. David Bowers, very knowledgeable, consistent and most of all honest.

In "The Coin Collectors Survival Manual" he touches upon the question that looms us all.  The most obvious answers are the accuracy that PCGS has over NGC and NGC has over ANACS and ICG.  The accuracy of a grading service is a large determinant in valuation but the idea that collectors are psychologically more comfortable or more loyal with older more established companies.  The exception being ANACS which was the first but has exchanged ownership since.   This plays into the experiments that many of you run by sending in the same coin several times to see if it changes or sending to each service.

On the idea of mass hysteria, Travers goes on to cite the CCMI index which uses the Bluesheet and Greysheet sight unseen price lists to determine price variances and compare the different grading services.  It can show you that PCGS has a lead over NGC, with certain types being greater or lesser.  Over time, however, the lead and gap has changed, but is too much to describe here.  He talks about ways to make money by investing in coins and selling them at a profit.  One of his methods is cracking out slabs and having them regraded.  One variation of this is taking out lower priced coins in specific grading services, having them regraded by another service and therefore automatically increasing the potential value simply because of the slab!  This relates to my previous idea on buying low selling high.  While this form of arbitrage hasn't been leveled out by over participation, the gap is becoming more narrow.  The point is, buyers will notice the price difference between the two grading services and buyers essentialy over crowd the auctions to buy one companies holder...therefore exagerating the price for this particular company.

ICG holders have their advantages and make for good INVESTMENT slabbed coins.  They contain the wonderful INTERCEPT SHIELD material that resists corrosion, oxidation, etc.   I will purchase ICG coins if they are coins I would like to preserve such as Lincoln cents (which can turn bad), silver coinage that may tone, or any PF70/MS70 coin.  My reasoning being that in the distant future ICG will have gained respect for the independence from the coin industry influences and therefore be truly unbiased.  Then the prices may level out a bit and my perfect coin will have risen to a respectable level. But I rarely do this because I wouldn't bet on it happening!  Especially since I always see HSN selling ICG slabbed coins. Too mainstream for me. 

I think we can all agree that there is a difference in valuation because of two things, human psychology and human error.  The former being buyer psychology and all that was discussed.  The latter being the human beings grading thousands of coins with the possibility of errors. 

The one basic problem plaguing the numismatic community is the population report.  I believe ICG is bold in not publishing a report because they provide very skewed data, however, after watching TV I think they do it for different reasons.  I will write a guide about that next.  Please let me know if this was helpful or not.  Thank you!