Coin Collecting Club

The most trusted, reliable and reputable coin grading services are provided by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and The Numismatist Guaranty Corporation (NGC).  These are the best available services in the United States. So when you have coins that have a PCGS or NGC seal, you can be assured it is of a very high quality.
The grading policy or the stance they take is very conservative, so you need to know that they don’t just go stamping coins and declaring that they are of good quality just because they feel like it. The coin must be worth it and of very high quality to get either seal. It’s rather unfortunate that other grading services will put a seal of good quality on a coin just because of how it looks at face value rather than actually putting work into it. You then find a lot of disgruntled buyers for example when a coin has been graded high when its not. The buyer then goes to a coin grading service like PCGS or NGC for a second opinion and gets disappointed.

You have to look out for coin graders who claim to be at par with PCGS. If it’s not NGC claiming that, don’t trust them. NGC are the only ones who have grading services that are second to best of PCGS. An unscrupulous grader might grade a coin highly then mention that their grading is almost as high as that given by PCGS. Woe unto you when you buy it at a high price, then go to PCGS for a second opinion and you find that you were duped. Be careful when dealing with coin graders.

Many people have been unfortunate enough to buy a coin and then find out that they are in possession of a fake. These things happen to the best of us. The first person in our line of attack is unfortunately our coin dealers. Whether they have been our dealers for years or this was the first transaction, the wrath they incur is something else all together.

This does not always mean that your coin dealer is in the habit of selling fake coins. There are very many dealers who have handled dud coins and not known it. Sometimes even the best and most experienced of dealers have been duped with forgeries that almost as good as the real thing. Only a few dealers can tell fakes from the real coins, especially when a lot of work has been done to recreate the coin.
Grading services are provided to coin collectors and dealers to be able to differentiate between real and fake coins. Well, they are there to provide you with an estimate cost of your coin and also to determine the state of the coin. The most reliable grading service is provided or offered by PCGS. Most coin dealers and collectors find that they do the best work. They are the most conservative and have been around for a long time. There are some two timing graders though, who will allow some things to slip by with no word at all.

The next question is, will the dealer compensate you after you found out it’s a fake? I think that it all depends on the dealer and the solvency of their dealership and the good faith of your dealer.

Just what is coin grading? It is the practice of assessing a coin and assigning it a particular grade. As a collector of coins, you should never entirely trust coin grading services otherwise you could get thoroughly disappointed. Not all coin grading services are equal. They are not standardized, so you will find that there are some grading services that are inferior to others. There are some top coin grader out there, but they are far and between and so aren’t accessible to everyone who might want to solicit their services.

If you are willing and patient enough, you could teach yourself how to grade coins. This isn’t hard if you have the time to dedicate and the will to learn. Some people will learn from beginning to end, but you will find those people who will learn the basics in the beginning, enough for them to get by, and then learn the rest through experience. As I said the grading is not standardized, so there is no common standard that can be used to grade coins. What there are though are some accepted methods of grading, and this depends on some standards. This also means that the grade you assign to a coin depends on the scale used.

After a coin is graded, it carries the value assigned to that grade and different coins can fetch different prices even if they are in the same grade. Coin grading takes into account different factors such as luster, scratches, abrasions, even the wear and tear it has undergone. The unfortunate thing is you can find that your coin has been graded too low or too high, because different people will interpret differently. So you can end up paying too much or getting too little for it when you sell it.

Amateur coin collectors generally start their coin collection by collecting coins that belong to their own country, as this is the easiest and the most cost effective way to start a coin collection. With time this may give way to specializing in collecting coins that belong to a particular type. Coin collectors may specialize in coins of a particular country or of a particular period or metal. Commemorative coins, such as those released during sporting events or those that mark the independence day of a country, can also make an appealing collection. Coins with faults or defects are also popular among serious collectors.

As with any other hobby, the coin collection market is flooded with fakes and if you are not an expert in this field it is very difficult to separate the original genuine coins from the counterfeit coins. Before buying expensive coins it is a good idea to get the coin authenticated by reputable coin grading and coin authentication services. The condition of a coin is denoted by a coin grade. For a detailed study on coin grades, read Photograde by James Ruddy. Currently, the more reputable coin grading services are Professional Coin Grading Service, Numismatic Guarantee Corporation of America, ANACS and Independent Coin Grading Co.

The best places to buy coins are reputable coin dealers, auctions, coin shows or from other collectors, though you should avoid buying from the internet as it is hard to judge online whether the coin you are interested in is genuine or counterfeit. Coins may be stored in coin cases, coin trays and coin albums. However, you should avoid storing coins in jars, as keeping them in a jar may scratch the coins.

Amateur coin collectors may mistakenly think that cleaning coins is an important part of caring for the coin collection. However, the opposite is true; it is best that coins are not cleaned at all. Collectors prefer the original look of coins and cleaning coins may bring down their value. If your coins need any cleaning, you should first consult a professional or an expert. Olive oil or soapy water may be used for cleaning coins. Harsh cloths should never be used to clean, and tap water is a strict no-no as they contain minerals that may harm the coins.

Coin Grading Services are available online and off. The grading of coins or coin grading is a very important practice, In coin collection.

Grading of coins began in early 19th century, then grading was done with the help of letter grading system ,in this system alphabets were used for grading for example PO was used for Poor ,Fr was used for Fair G was used for Good VG was used for Very Good F for Fine VF for Very Fine XF/EF for Extra fine.

In 1950 an American Doctor and a well known coin collectors evolved a Sheldon scale in his book called Penny Whimsy a numeric grading system which would scale coins on numeric grades of 1-70.

This numeric Sheldon scale was particularly useful for grading of copper coins ,and was a well known practice with copper coin collectors.

In 1986 a professional service of grading was launched in Newport Beach California ,this grading system was a combination of 2 older grading systems ,the combination of numbers and alphabets.

This form of third party assessment service of grading coins came to be known as PCGS, Professional Coin Grading Service.PCGS used the following grades for coins- PO-1, FR-2, AG-3, G-4, G-6, VG-8, VG-10, F-12, F-15, VF-20, VF-25, VF-30, VF-35, XF-40, XF-45, AU-50, AU-53, AU-55, AU-58, MS-60, MS-61, MS-62, MS-63, MS-64, MS-65, MS-66, MS-67, MS-68, MS-69 and MS-70.

The whole idea behind grading was to make the dealing of coins easier in the open market .Around 2006 finer means of coin grading became assessable like NGC -Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, ANACS and ICG.

Though there are some limitations as these services technically grade coins where as the market value of these coins can many a times differ.

Recently computers were too being used for grading ,this practice was known as Compugrade this system soon lost its flavor as computer grading could not replace human grading.

Coin grading services have been very useful in getting rid of fake counterfeit coins.

Coin grading services are to determine genuinely the condition and the authenticity of a coin and grade it to provide coin collectors or buyers with a grade on which they can rate the value of the coin.

Coins are graded keeping in mind various aspects of its design its country of origin its uniqueness the date printed as well as the mint mark on it.

Coin grading can also be performed by individuals who have the knowledge and the skills of identifying a true coin and a fake coin.

Nowadays the quality of counterfeit coins has gone up increasingly it has become nearly impossible to distinguish between the original and the fake coin with a ***** eye ,here is when it is highly recommended to sought help from professional coin grading services .

Coin Grading services are authorized companies who not only grade coins but also give limited value guarantee to the coins graded by them.

Coin grading services are known to grade the coins with authorized certificates ,which provides further assurance to a buyer for investment.

Coin colleting is an expensive hobby ,if one is not well experienced it is better to use the advice and service of Coin grading services to avoid any misfortune in future.