Expert: PAPAJACK - 11/26/2006

Question
I was given a 1882O Morgan dollar certified as MS65DMPL by CSA (Coin Slab Authenticators). I have never heard of this group and can find no info on them. Is this a reputable company or should I resend the coin to another company for grading.
Thank you.

Answer
Hello John,   

You are right to ask this question. I also found no trace of the CSA Certification service. so my guess is that it is not guaranteed for grade or authenticity.

"Buy the coin, not the slab" is an old, and true, numismatic maxim. Evaluate the coin yourself. Even the top coin grading services listed below make mistakes, occasionally over grading coins or slabbing problem coins.

All the 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.

High Grade coins and the higher prices you see for specimen coins are only graded and encapsulated by PCGS and NGC with ICG a close third with ANACS services. Other third-party-graders do not guarantee the grade or even the authenticity of a coin they take the money and slab the coin with a nice grade so you are happy. You won’t be able to sell these for as much.   

If the surface has been altered in any way there is only one grading service that will guarantee the grade.
ANACS (http://www.ANACS.com) authenticates and grades and encapsulate all us coins that do not exhibit active corrosion. if the coin has had the surface altered in the past it will get noted on the holder and receive a net grade as well to establish the value.
PCGS and NGC services bring the highest prices presently when a coin is auctioned. But they will not grade a coin that has been altered and send it back to you and keep your money.
IGC is a newer service only gradually being accepted in the market place. All the other third party grading services do not guarantee the grade or even the authenticity of coins they encapsulate and therefore are not recommended.

Try to borrow or buy a copy of the red-book or blue-book 'A GUIDE TO UNITED STATES COINS " by R.S. Yeoman' it will be a great start, guide you in grading and lead you to the higher priced coins in your collection. You may end up saving them, seeing if these more modern coins (made in the millions) get scarcer and therefore bring a higher price in the future.

Great question, I enjoyed answering it for you. I know what a daunting task grading can be.

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Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack