Submitting Coins to PCGS and NGC
Editor's Note: This is a three-part article about direct and dealer submissions to the top two third-party coin grading companies, with the first installment covering the basics; the second, direct PCGS submissions; and the third, dealer NGC submissions.
Hobbyists and investors pay premiums for coins encapsulated by Professional Coin Grading Service and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, but relatively few submit raw coins to these and other grading companies, in part, because the submission process can be complicated and/or many prefer submitting through a dealer--and for good reasons, too, as we shall learn later in this series.
This installment covers basics with links providing additional information.
In many ways, the direct submission process for PCGS and NGC is similar. You can read about that here and here, respectively.
Hobbyists can earn submission privileges by joining collector clubs/societies, requiring annual fees ranging from $39-49 for membership.
I can submit directly to PCGS as a member of its club and to NGC as a member of the American Numismatic Association, which has a partnership with the grading company requiring a special form. (While NGC has shortened the past process of sending first to the ANA, the so-called "online" NGC/ANA form is a PDF requiring mailing or faxing in an age when Internet browsers like Firefox have "auto-fill" capabilities.)
Before joining the PCGS club or NGC society, you should know what you are getting into, as filling out necessary submission forms require slow reading on the level or Internal Revenue Service forms and equally meticulous procedures which, once learned, can save money and launch you into a new phase of collecting--finding raw coins returned with high grades that make the effort worthwhile.
Many hobbyists falsely believe that direct submission entails sending coins to the third-party grading company whose employees dutifully identify denomination, type, variety, attribution and other distinctions, such as VAM designations for silver dollars.
Think again! You will have to possess moderate to expert numismatic knowledge to identify all of the above, find the correct numerical listing in online guides or provided booklets, pay the correct price (as some designations, such as errors, have premiums or may not even be available). Then you have to purchase and label 2 ½ x 2 ½ Mylar flips, fill out online or paper forms with adequate return postage, and mail with or without insurance in envelopes with bubblewrap or other protection.
Still interested?
You should be, because if you're like me, after decades in the coin business, you've lost as much money as you have made by purchasing coins at retail prices from dealers or at shows. To give you an idea of how profitable this can be, I purchased the 1887-O and 1897-S in a Proxibid auction for $55 and $85, respectively, and sent those raw coins to NGC earning MS64 designations for both. The 1887-O retails for $500, and the 1897-S, for $200, stored now in my safety deposit bank box.
That's like getting a $560 return from the IRS.
Part Two: PCGS Direct Submissions
Part Three: NGC Dealer Submissions
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You neglected to mention one basic rule and that is that no matter what your coin is graded and what you feel it is worth, you ain’t made nothing until you can sell it at that price.
I have had PCGS harshly clean coins which were purchased as mint originals. These coins were not returned to me after grading with original mint surfaces. I fail to see what the purpose of coin grading is if coins sent in are etched and cleaned to remove deposits which occur in the grading and encapsulation process. This is what PCGS did to my coins!
Mike’s right about counting money before selling coins; a coin is worth its face value until a transaction is complete.
C Kayt recounts an unfortunate PCGS transaction in which she sent in mint originals and received back harshly cleaned coins. This seems to me as if she received someone else’s coins with the same years and mint marks. If PCGS indeed ruined the coins, I’d expect reimbursement.
To C Kayt’s point, I would recommend photographing/scanning your coins before they are shipped out, so you have an accurate image with which to compare the coins after they return. Would be very useful for any reimbursement effort.
Yes I did photograph the coins. I do have high resolution images showing the damage they progressively did to the coins, and which they finally admitted to after much discussion. They tried to put the onus on the mint and also tried to “fish” my personal info to explore if I was cheating them. I did seek reimbursement and was turned down. I was told that these coins do not have the original mint surfaces but they meet PCGS “grading” standards. I have saved all the documentation and will write a paper on the whole process and include all the e-mails which flew back and forth. Needless to say I DO NOT do business with them anymore. Given this experience over several coins, I would CAUTION strongly if you have a valuable coin to consider not having it encapsulated in their idiot (not proof) holders.
When you write your paper, can you let us know at Coin Update where we might find it, C Kayt? Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us. I must say that my PCGS experience differs, but that’s not the point. There are many stories to be told about grading, and we will try to do that here.
Michael, I’ll certainly provide you the info when it is ready. I had put this off, just being busy with work but now that I have promised I will have to get it done!
i had no clue that pcgs even cleaned coins.but to go ahead and clean coins without permisson should not be tolerated.i will now go back and check all my coins.thanks for the info
Yes they DID clean the coins WITHOUT my permission several times over and were very evasive. One thing I forgot to mention that they dropped one of the coins (apparently on the floor). It came back to me with drag marks on the devices. I noted this to them, and they did not deny it. Their argument: It meets our grade specification (in this case a PR69DCAM !). I was sorely tempted at this point to file a lawsuit but decided against this since the total value of the processed coins was under 7K raw.
I’m new to coin collecting and enjoyed reading your reports. I bought thru auction many Morgan Dollars encapsulated by NGC and there was one encapsulated by anncs which I happened to let fall on the wooden floor, when I picked it up the cover had come open so I imediately clasped it shut again. From what I’ve read this should never have happened. I also bought Morgan’s encapsulated by a company NES and they can say what they want and toot their own horn’s the nes coins are absolutely beautiful and I’m scared to submit them for regrading to NGC or PCGS for fear they degrade them to a lower MS
Dear Coinhunter,
Thanks for reading my column and for your comments. You’re right about holders not coming apart; it makes me wonder if someone slipped a different coin in that holder. Take the coin and the holder to a local expert or dealer and ask her/his opinion.
Concerning NES, it is not considered a top-tier grading company; but that doesn’t mean the coins in its holders are subpar. You should use NGC and PCGS for sight unseen purchases (and, to a lesser extent, ANACS and ICG). I’d never do that with NES, though. Basically, I consider a coin in any holder other than top-tier as a raw coin and utilize my numismatic knowledge to make a decision about a purchase.
On NES, I’d break those coins out of the holders before submitting to PCGS or NGC. I have a future column about when to submit with the holder and when to break out the coin.