Complete list of 3rd party grading services

I found this extremely useful website while researching a couple of coins and would like to share it with you. It has some first class information, some of which is not widely available. Most useful (I recall a couple of recent posts where members had been burned by basement slabbers) is a complete list of TPG's, the good the bad and the ugly.

http://coinauctionshelp.com/index.html

There is an old truism "buy the coin, not the slab"  but as NGC / PCGS coins always carry a hefty premium the crooks have moved in and are trying to cash in by slabbing coins with outrageously inflated grades. There are some good companies outside of the big 2 (ANACS for example) so it's worthwhile to know which are legitimate and which have "Perfect!!!!! MINT STATE 70 coins" which are maybe EF at best and come complete with cat hairs inside the slab.

Hope y'all find this useful and maybe save an expensive mistake or two.

This is great. There isn't a lot written about ICCS (a Canadian company) and I'd just like to add that it is very respected in Canada and is the vast majority of what is seen at coin shows here. (Just in case anyone has had doubts or has wondered)

thanks for the site!

No mention of Poland's grading service providers?

PCG - An ongoing joke, they just announced expansion into India and representation in China and Thailand. http://www.cointalk.com/t111874/

http://www.pcggrading.pl/
http://www.pcggrading.in/

GCN / ECC - I've heard they're average, middle of the road, do not come close to NGC, PCGS or ANACS.

http://www.eccgrading.pl/

GIBON - New, the jury is still out on their abilities. They are guaranteeing a world class grading standard, offering money back if the same coin they graded, receives a lower grade from an American grading service provider. The company behind this grading has a pretty good reputation, so far.

http://www.grading.ksngibon.pl/
http://www.ksngibon.pl/

UPDATE: Company behind GIBON has sold a cleaned, ungraded coin at their auction, without stating the fact that it was cleaned. Hope they do not repeat this practice in their slabs.

Thank you, Phil!

DGG
Fresh out of the oven, advertising their indestructible slabs on YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMDlub-WvXU

Here are a couple of examples of their grading...

... a mysterious VF-45



... a cleaned MS-64



http://www.dgggrading.com.pl/

Are there no UK ones ? I probably won't ever bother with these but just so I know ha !

I'm not seeing the problem with the VF wannabee Hindenberg, Jacob.

The MS64 must have been graded by Stevie Wonder. Apart from the obvious cleaning which ought to mean a "details" grade or in the good old days a body bag... did they miss the hole at 7 o'clock? I'm not much into the 60-70 grades, worrying about how uncirculated a coin is seems as productive as worrying about how dead a corpse is. However I have picked up enough from those who do to know that the nicks in the upper ear and elsewhere don't warrant such a grade.

I'd love to see the demise of grading companies but as a second choice, the emergence of European based companies with enough credibility to challenge the US big three. On current evidence it won't be DGG.

Anyone remember Accugrade?

I didn't realise that Stevie Wonder collected coins!

Verweis : pnightingaleI'm not seeing the problem with the VF wannabee Hindenberg, Jacob.

No smiley face, nothing, I have to assume you are serious. Show me VF-45 on the grading scale.

Reading comprehension levels have fallen to 30% Captain, we need more lithium crystals or coffee. Yes more coffee.

Make it so, woman.

That's ok, the real Hindenburg wouldn't have noticed it either.

Pedantic basterd.

Tomato, tomatoe, potato, potatoe.......

I feel a song coming on.

You are getting married again?

This is why I don't like collecting the really high grades, there's so many minute grading and not a lot of difference between them. I whack on either VF or XF onto any high grade coins I find and leave it at that.