Certified Coins

Certified Coins are coins that have been graded by a professional service, then sealed in a slab. This provides some assurance of the grade, and other significant qualities such as First Strike or Deep Cameo.

 Unfortunately, the assurance does not exceed the reputation of the grading service. While there are many, and a few good ones, NGC and PCGS are the ones we very comfortable with.

 So, if a coin has been graded by a good service, does that guarantee its quality? No, the humans doing the grading make mistakes, albeit rarely if the service is good. Another thing to consider is any damage due to contact with foreign materials such as oils, or exposure to chemicals in the air. In such cases the damage may not be there when the coin is graded, but can still show up later. 

Poor grading services tend to over-value coins. This could be due to incompetence, grading as they think the collector would like, or running up the grading fee. And, some people grade their own, then place fake labels inside the slab. We even got one that did not bother to glue the slabs. They opened by hand. Coin slabs are also counterfeited. This is why the top services change regularly, adding obscure markings. Of course these markings must be revealed or collectors would have no idea if the slab is genuine. And, this does not change slabs that are already out.

 Grading can also be expensive, and you may have to submit postage for each coin in an order to be returned. This is because the person who specializes in buffalo nickels may not be qualified to grade Morgans, and your order may get separated. Check to see how this is handled by the service you choose.

Black Spaniel Gallery Coins