Coin Update News complained, and PCGS listened ... kind of.
Beginning August 1, 2010, PCGS "Plus" (+) designations will be awarded at no additional charge "for all qualified coins submitted in the Regular, Express and Walkthrough service levels," according to a news release this week.
For many PCGS members, this truly qualifies as "The Big One" rather than the "Secure Plus" announcement made earlier this spring, in which submitters had to pay for the plus designation.
Now you can get the "plus" without the "secure," which will still cost $65 for the scanning process meant to discourage coin doctors and identify counterfeits and stolen coins.
News of the PCGS policy change was understated and, in my view, undermined somewhat from a numismatic perspective, as the plus designation will not be awarded for Economy and Modern submissions to PCGS.
In April, Michael Zielinski published a brilliant article advising NGC on its Plus Program. NGC eventually adopted all but one of his recommendations, excluding Modern coins (1955-present) from its Plus Program. That was a mistake, again as Zielinski notes, because modern coins can be graded with plus numismatically and because those coins eventually won't be modern in the future.
Rather than doing unto NGC as NGC did unto PCGS, the latter not only excluded Modern submissions but threw in Economy ones, too.
NGC awards the plus designation for non-modern Economy submissions because, like PCGS, it can take its monthly sweet time returning those coins. That's why Economy is cheaper than Regular, because of time, not numismatics. Moreover, NGC "Economy" level is more economic than PCGS's, at $16 vs. $18, with no $8 PCGS handling fee (although you have to submit a minimum of five coins to NGC).
True, you can only send coins to the Economy level of both services if each is valued under $300. But uncirculated 1882-85 Carson City Silver Dollars fall into that category, for example, and certainly deserve to be evaluated economically and numismatically for "plus." PCGS made that point this spring when noting that some coins are half-way between grades, better than an MS64, say, but really not an MS65, justifying the plus designation in the first place.
Once again, PCGS has practiced bad public relations, failing to take advantage of NGC's oversight on Modern coins and doing the mistake one better by excluding Economy submissions.
I can see NGC's next PR move: We will now include the plus designation on Modern submissions up to MS69 and PF69!
Personally, I think PCGS and NGC have indeed bitten off more than they can chew (especially PCGS). NGC has the easier route by not offering the “Secure” service that PCGS is offering. Since PCGS offers this new “Secure” service, it should be mandatory for all submissions.
I have met with too much difficulty in getting published with my ideas to even consider submitting anything else to this publication. So, I will reveal a little information here. FACTS are FACTS! The FACT in this situation is that questions need to be answered in regards to the grades assigned to coins. As I stated in a reply before, PCGS and NGC are taking the right step in offering “+” grades, but this simply does not offer the solution or an answer to those questions (Why did this coin grade MS64+ instead of MS65?)!
The ANSWER and SOLUTION is out there! I HAVE IT and want to publish it to the entire numismatic world! Unfortunately, these mega-grading services don’t want to reveal their secrets by implementing this SOLUTION! The grading company that correctly SOLVES this problem will be the ultimate and undisputed WINNER and LEADER in the coin grading industry!
-Richard Stinchcomb
Great to hear from you, Richard. Your comment about PCGS and NGC taking on more than they can handle is reminiscent of the ANA when it first started slabbing coins in the 1980s, finding itself overwhelmed. We’ll keep tabs on this plus situation in the hope that it remains a plus in the numismatic world.
Michael
Presumably one can submit for non-Secure Plus grading and get a Plus, then submit for Secure Plus Reholdering and AUTOMATICALLY get a Plus and a Shield Holder.
People are going to feel “inclined” to take this 2 step approach because of the “stigma” attached to having a non-Plused coin in a Secure Plus Holder. So, what will happen is that most non-Plused coins will be in regular holders and most Plused coins will be in Secure Plus Holders.
Furthermore, I presume regular Plus grading will cater for crossovers from other TPG’s because scanning of the coin will not be necessary for regular Plus grading.
tback: Good points. Thanks for your comments.