As more people enjoy the hobby of kings (or perhaps the king of hobbies) more people are turning to the internet to buy their coins.  There is a plethera of material having every kind of coin information. Everything from type of coins for "investment return" to storage supplies to selling your treasures. Along this line there is a lot of information relating to third party grading companies.  It seems like a new grading company pops up every couple of months. They will tout their fast turn-around times and perhaps their holder and even their low price. It can all be very confusing. Hence the first rule of buying graded coins is...   Be careful ! Be very very careful !! 

This is not to say third party grading companies are not reliable. There are indeed some excellent grading companies. The best companies listed in this section will first "authenticate" your coin. They will make certain your coin is real. Next they will assign a numerical grade from 1 - 70. 70 being the best. Then they will determine if your coin is a business strike (MS) or a "Proof" coin (PR/PF). The oldest of the third party grading companies is Anacs. Based in Colorado, they began around the late 70's or early 80's. They have a small, compact holder and have some of the best graders in the business.  Depending on who you talk to, they currently rank number 3.  The top dog is PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Company). They are based in California. They do more volume than all of the others combined. Personally, being the biggest doesnt mean you are the best. They do have top notch graders, however, the sheer volume they represent means many more mistakes can be overlooked. They are currently ranked #1.  The #2 company, and my personal favorite is NGC. Numismatic Guarentee Corp is based in the soggy state of Florida.  They have an excellent staff and I believe grades coins on a more consistant basis. The last of the top grading companies is ICG (Independant Grading Company). They also have excellent graders and some of the fastest turnaround times in the business.  All of the above companies guarantee their coin grades (with minor differences in company policy) they assign. This is a very important aspect in determining which coin to buy.

There are many new companies that have sprung up recently. NTC, SGS, NNC to name a few. There have been numerous reported problems with these companies.  Typically, they do not authenticate a coin. They do not make certain the coin is REAL. Nothing like trying to sell your "heirloom" coin only to find out it is a fake. Only the companies listed in the previous section can make certain your coin is real.  When it comes to assigning the numerical grade, most of these companies do not subscribe to the ANA (American Numismatic Association) grading standards. The ANA grading standards has been accepted by all 4 of the major grading companies to ensure that the grade a coin gets will represent the true nature of the coin.  I, personally have sent coins from SGS in to NGC to have them regraded and put into a NGC holder. the SGS grade was PR70 (Proof 70) and it came back as PR66.  4 grades lower. This is typical with coins graded by the newer companies.  They will offer super cheap prices, very fast turnaround times and the like. Do not be suckered. Do your own homework.  Go to a couple of coin shops and ask them who grades their coins. Who do they trust to have holder their coins.

I have had coins graded by Anacs, PCGS, NGC, ICG and PCI.  2 of the 10 coins PCI graded came back with their holders unsealed. In addition, I asked for certain attributes for one of my coins and PCI failed to make the necessary notation on the holder.  I had PCGS grade 5 of my coins.  2 came back in "body bags" (money wasted) and 2 of the other coins had problems in the holder/grade.  Anacs was completely satisfactory as was NGC and ICG.  I personally prefer NGC as they have a national registry where you can show off your collection and compete with other collectors, all in the safety of your home.

There is a saying... "Buy the coin, not the slab". This is true for the most part. Before you spend alot of money (in your opinion) on a coin for your collection, make certain it has been graded by one of the better companies. As you do more business with each of them, you will decide which you think is best.

OK... now I have a favor... :-)  If you find this guide helpful,  please, PLEASE cast a favorable vote, as I would like to get into the top 1000 reviews.  If you did not find this helpful... DONT VOTE...lol.   Really, though... please vote no matter how you feel.  Many thanks for reading this guide.  I would be happy to answer any questions you have on slabbed coins.  Just drop me a line and I'll get right back to you. 

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