...or for those who have recently talked about so-called "body-bagged" coins.

Without getting into all the details, I know I've traded emails with some people about the services offered by NCS, part of the the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG) and therefore NGC's sister company.

The idea where I suggest that sometimes, particularly when it comes to coins which may be particularly valuable specimens (gold) or unique varieties, or have low populations or low mintages, it may be worthwhile to submit coins to NCS FIRST rather than submitting a coin to NGC, only to get it returned as a no-graded, then submitting it to NCS (which, if they still do the same thing, may offer you a discount of a few dollars if you submit the no-grade note from NGC).

What makes submitting to NCS directly better? Well, you can save paying QUADRUPLE postage -- how's that?

1. By submitting a coin to NCS first, you have NCS consider the coin. If it is something that is not problematic, they will give it to NGC for grading at the appropriate tier (I think, and you can check with NCS to be sure, but I also believe that minimum # coin requirements may also be waived to get the more economical tiers).

2. If a coin is problematic, you can instruct NCS to slab consider the coin for conservation (not all coins can be conserved, sometimes it could make a coin worse -- that's why they are the experts).

3. With problem coins, you can instruct them to either provide a slab with just a "Genuine" holder or a "Details Grade" which isn't numeric such as AU 50, but instead would be like AU-Details and would note the problem, such as Improperly Cleaned, Artificial Toning, or what-have-you.

4. Ideally, NCS tried to return your NGC and NCS coins together, saving you on postage. This way, you don't pay to ship to and from NGC, then to pay again to ship to and from NCS. You pay just once -- a significant savings on postage alone.

5. Sure, you get some increased expense there because of the conservation fees (if any) or even the fees just to consider the coin, but double the postage may just have covered that anyway!

6. On top of that, if it was a trouble-free coin that you got conserved, your coin might actually UP-GRADE with NGC, a nice bonus!

7. Even if it grades the same, it may have significantly improved eye appeal.

8. For problem coins, if it's precious in particular (for any of the reasons I noted above (or for other reasons you may think of!), you have the added benefit that NCS will encapsulate your coin in a holder that will preserve the coin for future generations, and authenticate it as genuine, or even assign a general "details grade" describing the overall condition. For very rare coins, this could be valuable anyway.

9. Sidebar: NCS coins are among those which are allowed to be listed for sale as "certified coins" on eBay. While I imagine that problem coins will not command the same premiums, I know if I wanted a coin, I would be more inclined to purchase an NCS encapsulated coin rather than a rare coin "raw" for fear that it is a problem coin. Maybe that's just me because I've been burned before, and I've had relatively good luck with NCS.

10. NCS also has that new "Modern Tier" where coins after a certain year (I want to say 1970 or so) so like Ike Dollars can be submitted in OGP and for one nominal price, they will conserve the coin, send it to NGC and NGC will encapsulate it -- badda bing, badda boom! Nice way to upgrade a coin that may be ugly or have gotten some spotting over the last few decades, etc! It's the DEAL OF A DECADE, and personally, I was very upset when it first came out because I had recently (just before the new tier was launched) submitted a LOT of Ike Dollars for grading to NGC -- and I know I could have gotten better grades had I submitted them to NCS first, all for a few dollars more.

Well, I have a lot more Ikes around, so that's a "Someday" thing.

Lastly, don't take my word for ANY of this. My suggestion is to read about NCS and the services they offer.

The NCS newsletter is sent electronically monthly, much like the nGC newsletter.

http://www.ncscoin.com/news/enews/2009/March/article2.asp

Check it out - they show sample coins, have articles, and answer some FAQs.

It's the best way to understand their services before jumping in head first. It's easy to go overboard with NCS, so it may pay to be selective with what you send, unless you have bottomless funds.

Just my 2cents.