Expert: Ronald Fern - 8/19/2011

Question
Hi Mr. Fern
Hope your doing well. Haven't asked you a question since April.
My question is this: Is 'Numismatic Authentication Coin Service' grading reliable? I always think of NCS or PCGS as top of the line. I am unfamiliar with "NACS' and wanted to get your feelings about their accuracy.

Answer
Hi Robert:

Thanks for the opportunity to answer your question.

NACS is not recognized as a reliable Third Party Grading Service. A Third Party Grading Service or TPG Service is a company that provides the service of authenticating and determining the state of preservation of a coin. They are called Third Party because they have no vested interest in either the buyer or the seller and are independent of both. Most TPGs utilize three graders and one or more finalizers so that means at least four people's opinions were used to determine the grade of a coin. All TPGs use the Sheldon 70 point grading scale.

The following is a list of the most recognized TPGs :

ANACS - 6555 S. Kenton St, Suite 303 - Englewood, CO 80112

ICG - Independent Coin Grading - 7901 East Belleview Avenue, Suite 50 - Englewood, CO 80111

NCS - Numismatic Conservation Services, L.L.C. (a division of NGC) - P.O. Box 4750 - Sarasota, FL 34230

NGC - Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America - P.O. Box 4776 - Sarasota, FL 34230

PCGS - Professional Coin Grading Service - P.O. Box 9458 - Newport Beach, CA 92658

All of the top services today that grade, authenticate, and slab coins "market grade." That is, they grade a coin according to its technical wear, using industry-accepted standards epitomized by those published in the book Official A.N.A. Grading Standards for United States Coins and the book Photograde: A Photographic Grading Guide for United States Coins, and they subjectively factor in the coin's eye appeal. They weigh positive eye appeal factors such as luster and toning and negative eye appeal factors such as scratches and spots, all of which affect a coin's market value. A coin grading service's evaluation of a coin's market appeal, though, may differ from your own. In the minds of some, the coin slabbing services give too little weight to spots and stains and too much weight to scratches and dings.

Other Grading Services

New grading services pop up all the time. Some may be bona fide attempts to create legitimate, industry-respected operations. Nonetheless, caveat emptor (buyer beware). Many of these services appear to be deliberate attempts to fool inexperienced collectors by "certifying" the practice of overgrading. They grade coins more leniently and sometimes far more leniently than published standards such as those in the Official A.N.A. Grading Standards for United States Coins and Photograde: A Photographic Grading Guide and more leniently as well than the standards used by legitimate grading services. Most of these services appear to be "self slabbers"-- small operations run by a single coin dealer. The holders, or slabs, of most of these services provide no more value than a dealer marking a grade in pencil on a 2x2 cardboard coin holder, with the dealer wanting you to think that an independent service graded the coin. As with all slabs, however, the slabs themselves can be an attractive way to store coins. But with U.S. coins, it's generally safer to go with one of the above four reputable and established coin-grading services (PCGS, NGC, ANACS, or ICG).

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Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.