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New PCGS Holders don't fit in NCG Boxes

21 posts in this topic

PCGS does it again making their "New" holder Worse than their old ones.

 

Sometimes I wonder if the people at PCGS are just mean spirited, greedy or maybe both. The new PCGS holders which were introduced a few months ago have added security feature on the bottom of the slab. This consists of a series of capital letters. Presumably to accommodate this feature they made their slabs fatter. Okay...

Also, NGC lead the collecting community with the edge view slab and I must say that I strongly prefer it to the old style were the edges are covered by plastic. he'll notice that the new PCGS slabs no longer have this feature. Or maybe if you paid a premium you can get it. Either way...come on.

 

What a surprise, the new PCGS slabs no longer fit in the NGC plastic slab boxes. Since this is one of the primary ways that I store my slabs it has presented me with a bit of the dilemma. They do fit into the intercept shield cardboard box lined with copper to reduce environmental deterioration (corrosion/oxidation). I have a large number of these boxes but after about 5 years the protection becomes exhausted as the Copper molecules in the lining are bound to oxygen. Also the NGC boxes are more space efficient and generally nicer to deal with.

 

Granted NGC had a good thing going by selling their boxes as the only high quality all plastic boxes that fit PCGS, NCG, ICG and ANACS. That is now over.

 

This appears to one collector as one more step in the war between NGC and PCGS that will lead to complete separation and force collectors to choose one or the other. So far NGC, in my opinion, has taken the high road. They include PCGS coins in the NGC registry (exclusive of world coins). There boxes accommodated all relevant slabs, including PCGS.

 

Look at the freedoms and liberties we have given up in the name of security since 9-11-2001. No I'm not saying that something is trivial as coin collecting is in anyway on par with the terrorist attacks on New York. But here is PCGS "upgrading" there slab for "security" reasons in leaving me with a slab lab of lesser quality that doesn't fit into my system. On the whole when put in the perspective of the twin towers my concern is trivial. But this just like the twin towers, it pisses me off.

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Welcome to my world. I've always hated PCGS. I'm mainly a World collector, and their grading on World coins is terrible in my experience. I've seen PCGS German coins get downgraded anywhere from a few points to full grade levels at NGC AND ANACS!! And everyone rags on ANACS for being too lax......I'd say PCGS is much, much worse, at least on the non-US side of the house. And isn't one of their guys supposed to be a big dealer in German coins? Anyhow, I could rant for hours and hours on this but the long and short of it is I never buy PCGS graded coins, ever.

 

And now they're doing this cute thing with their holders. Of course they are. This kind of thing does not surprise me at all. This brings up the other thing I hate about PCGS, how they do business. They now want people to only be able to use their specific boxes and for their holders to be incompatible with anyone else's box. They're just getting ridiculous and I really wish the perception of them as the best TPG would end. NGC is the best TPG in my experience, hands down.

 

 

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The "NEW" PCGS slab is (air tight) to resist future spotting and toning. I have not had the pleasure of trading for a coin in the new PCGS design holder yet.

 

So next time you pull out your NGC Silver Eagles and they are spotted and milky think about NGC creating close to the same design in the future.

 

Maybe the new future NGC slabs will be created to fit in todays NGC boxes. It won't be long as when one of the two companies make a new change the other is close behind to keep up with the latest and greatest offered quality. ;)

 

Rick

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I thought the new Edgeview NGC holders were airtight. Didn't the Smithsonian test these cases and that is the reason they let NGC grade their collection?

 

I may be wrong but that was what I understood.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Cunningham's law = "The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it's to post the wrong answer."

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I've recently acquired 2 new NEWPS and they are in the new PCGS holders. I've had to store them in an un-slotted box.

 

IMO, PCGS behaves a little like Apple. They don't want to be compatible with anyone else.

 

When I started seriously collecting about 3 years ago, I saw both NGC and PCGS holders. I thought the NGC edge view holder looked much more professional than PCGS. The more I learned about PCGS, the less I liked the company. I bought some silver NGC boxes and blue PCGS boxes to store my coins. I soon learned that PCGS boxes were not universal. Therefore, the majority of my collection reside in the silver NGC boxes. Now I'll have to figure out how to store the new PCGS holders. To date, I have them in un-slotted Northeast Numismatic boxes I received free when buying from them.

 

I for one certainly prefer NGC as a TPG. I do know there is a market price bias for PCGS coins. I don't understand it, but I know it exists. Yes, I understand the perception that PCGS a is "tougher" grader, but I don't necessarily agree with that either.

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I also agree that the new PCGS holders were not worth the hoopla. The first time I saw one I had to inquire whether it was a counterfeit holder. The whole point of slabs are the ease of storage, so why make something bigger? NGC holders have always looked more "professional" to me, and the best coins look best in them. Coin collectors are ( I admit) somewhat "anal" when it comes to their stuff, and like their slabs to conform in size. PCGS just took that, literally, out of the box.

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I remember the big announcement about that Dupont developed halogram for PCGS holders and all the new security features incorporated into it. For all the hoopla, the halogram was only a sticker that easily peeled off! I can see why PCGS sent it to the scrapheap in favor of the current holder so quickly!

Gary

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I also agree that the new PCGS holders were not worth the hoopla. The first time I saw one I had to inquire whether it was a counterfeit holder. The whole point of slabs are the ease of storage, so why make something bigger? NGC holders have always looked more "professional" to me, and the best coins look best in them. Coin collectors are ( I admit) somewhat "anal" when it comes to their stuff, and like their slabs to conform in size. PCGS just took that, literally, out of the box.

 

I am empathetic regarding the storage issue. However, while "the ease of storage" is part of the equation, contrary to what you posted, it is far from the "whole point of slabs".

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"I thought the new Edgeview NGC holders were airtight. Didn't the Smithsonian test these cases and that is the reason they let NGC grade their collection?"

 

No. SI has NGC slabs that can be opened. The holders offer additional protection for the coins and help with inventory/tracking control.

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In the new PCGS holder, the edges are widened and the coin viewing surface is deeper than it used to be. Collectors and dealers can thus stack slabs and store them in boxes with less concern about scratching the surfaces. PCGS wasn't trying to one-up NGC in the storage box business, it was simply responding to a consumer nagging about scratching. The "air tight" feature is a step in the right direction too. Anyway, girls, you collect the coins, not the slabs. .

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<<< Sometimes I wonder if the people at PCGS are just mean spirited, greedy or maybe both. >>>

 

 

 

Perhaps just arrogant, elitist and incompetent? IMO pcgs over the past 5 - 6 yrs. has devolved into a company continually looking for the next new gimmick to induce collectors to resubmit/reholder/rethis/rethat the same old coins over and over, and this includes introducing so-called new and improved holders seemingly every few months of late. Couple this with their grading standards which appear to be about as consistent as the midwest weather and a customer service dept that I've always found to be completely useless and poorly trained, and you have a company I would certainly run away from, far away IMO.

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Sounds like the new PCGS slabs will require some changes in photographic lighting; and might obviate using a flatbed scanner.

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I thought the new Edgeview NGC holders were airtight. Didn't the Smithsonian test these cases and that is the reason they let NGC grade their collection?

 

I may be wrong but that was what I understood.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Cunningham's law = "The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it's to post the wrong answer."

 

I believe the Smithsonian tested the materials to be sure they were inert, but I thought the holders provided by NGC were specially made to open and close without sonic sealing. That was a while ago, and I could be remembering incorrectly.

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Sounds like the new PCGS slabs will require some changes in photographic lighting; and might obviate using a flatbed scanner.

 

The new PCGS slab is the exact same thickness as before, however, the margin around the edge is now as thick as the center.

 

The plastic is a new type that is much more translucent and completely white/clear.

 

Coins that do not fit properly into the edge view slabs (due to diameter variances) will be placed in a full ring gasket to prevent them spinning around, but the standard on the new holder is still the edge view, and the OP example is NOT the norm.

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In the new PCGS holder, the edges are widened and the coin viewing surface is deeper than it used to be. Collectors and dealers can thus stack slabs and store them in boxes with less concern about scratching the surfaces. PCGS wasn't trying to one-up NGC in the storage box business, it was simply responding to a consumer nagging about scratching. The "air tight" feature is a step in the right direction too. Anyway, girls, you collect the coins, not the slabs. .

 

 

For whomever it might concern, I buy celophane envelopes that fit the slabs almost perfectly on ebay from Chinese vendors for about $2 per 100 and put every slab in one before it goes into my boxes, which of course don't need seperators and allow me to store any type of slab side by side without concern for scratching or abrasions. Works like a charm, cheap as dirt. Try it, you'll like it...

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Sounds like the new PCGS slabs will require some changes in photographic lighting; and might obviate using a flatbed scanner.

 

The new PCGS slab is the exact same thickness as before, however, the margin around the edge is now as thick as the center.

 

The plastic is a new type that is much more translucent and completely white/clear.

 

Coins that do not fit properly into the edge view slabs (due to diameter variances) will be placed in a full ring gasket to prevent them spinning around, but the standard on the new holder is still the edge view, and the OP example is NOT the norm.

 

1. I was referring to the distance between the face of the coin and the 'rim' of the holder. Is that the same, more , or less?

 

2. "The plastic is a new type that is much more translucent and completely white/clear." Huh? Do you mean that the viewing window has greater clarity than old slabs? If so, does it still distort the coin's image? Also, has the plastic been treated to reduce reflections?

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Sounds like the new PCGS slabs will require some changes in photographic lighting; and might obviate using a flatbed scanner.

 

The new PCGS slab is the exact same thickness as before, however, the margin around the edge is now as thick as the center.

 

The plastic is a new type that is much more translucent and completely white/clear.

 

Coins that do not fit properly into the edge view slabs (due to diameter variances) will be placed in a full ring gasket to prevent them spinning around, but the standard on the new holder is still the edge view, and the OP example is NOT the norm.

 

1. I was referring to the distance between the face of the coin and the 'rim' of the holder. Is that the same, more , or less?

 

2. "The plastic is a new type that is much more translucent and completely white/clear." Huh? Do you mean that the viewing window has greater clarity than old slabs? If so, does it still distort the coin's image? Also, has the plastic been treated to reduce reflections?

 

I don't see any difference in the gasket between the new holder and the old holder. Both use a virtually identical edge view gasket. The coin in this post is NOT housed in the standard new holder, but rather, in a full-round gasket, which is only used in special circumstances, as specified above.

 

The old plastic had a microscopic pattern on it that made it less than clear, and it had a tint of blue in the color of the plastic. Now the plastic is completely clear and does not have the blue tint.

 

Just about 6 months to a year before PCGS brought out the new holder, they change the plastic to the new plastic, possibly to test it out before making the complet change. There is a huge difference and I find shooting coins much easier with a crystal clear plastic holder.

 

Note the blue vs clear plastic:

 

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