Where is the best place to have coins graded in Oz?

Discussion in 'Numismatics' started by Bank Manager, Jan 13, 2014.

  1. Bank Manager

    Bank Manager Member Silver Stacker

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    Hi Stackers,

    I have a few coins I want to get graded, any suggestions on the best place in oz to have it done?

    Cheers BM
     
  2. bloomst

    bloomst Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Most coin shop in melbourne can organise it for you. Universal Coin Co, and others for sure.
     
  3. Aureus

    Aureus Active Member Silver Stacker

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    I have a handful of items I want graded but the difficulty and insurance costs of doing so are a big turn off :(
     
  4. Austacker

    Austacker Active Member

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    Do you want them graded, or slabbed ? Big difference on what is available here in Australia. Let us know what you end up doing.
     
  5. thepurplepenny

    thepurplepenny Active Member Silver Stacker

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    There is nowhere in Australia to have a coin formally graded. A dealer will offer you an opinion on a grade but good luck getting any other dealer to agree to that. If you want them third party graded you're going to have to send them to the USA. Eric Eigner at Drake Sterling Numismatics can send coins to PCGS for collectors for a fee if you're not up to doing it yourself.
     
  6. whinfell

    whinfell Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Really? Somewhere like Australian Professional Coin Grading Service (APCGS) might disagree with you!

    Are you affiliated with Drake Sterling Numismatics?
     
  7. thepurplepenny

    thepurplepenny Active Member Silver Stacker

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    With respect to APCGS given that they had to be taught what the prefixes on the Sheldon grading system meant (they were slabbing coins as MS45) I'd suggest that their grades should be taken with a rather large grain of salt.

    No, I am not affiliated with Drake Sterling Numismatics. I just know that Eric will send coins for collectors if they do not want to go to the hassle of joining up to PCGS and sending coins themselves.
     
  8. serial

    serial Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    APCGS has a bbbaaadd reputation amongst collectors.
    Eric Eigner at Drake Sterling Numismatics has a good one
    I have no affiliation to either but I would suggest you do your research before you act and I would be asking these questions on Numi sites which focus on collectable coins rather than bullion orientated sites like SS.
    whilst SS has some good Numi collectors (you know who you are :p ) you will find more experience on more specialised sites
     
  9. bja

    bja Member Silver Stacker

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    I think you will also find that APCGS is owned by a coin shop that grades its own coins (and ones people send in) and the last time I looked puts them into everslabs (lighthouse). Drake Sterling does not grade coins but submits them to PCGS on your behalf to be graded and slabbed. Big difference.
     
  10. thepurplepenny

    thepurplepenny Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Here here. The Australian market isn't big enough (imho) to support an "independent" grader. They'll always be a dealer and to my eyes at least, that will colour the grading opinion of coins they are trying to sell.
     
  11. bja

    bja Member Silver Stacker

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    A PCGS or NGC grading, or even submission, office in Australia would be great though.
     
  12. thepurplepenny

    thepurplepenny Active Member Silver Stacker

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    +1 to this.
     
  13. thepurplepenny

    thepurplepenny Active Member Silver Stacker

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    I agree. They opened an office in Hong Kong recently. I spoke to the PCGS staff at the recent international coin show in Melbourne and they suggested that processing times for orders sent to HK would be faster than those sent to California. Unfortunately their submission fees are are higher. And with recent new year price rises (and the dropping Aussie dollar) getting a coin graded under the economy service level costs over $30 so getting charged more just to send to HK isn't very palatable.
     
  14. bja

    bja Member Silver Stacker

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    Was there any suggestion of opening an Australian Office?
     
  15. thepurplepenny

    thepurplepenny Active Member Silver Stacker

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    No. Despite a surge in interest in PCGS graded coins in Australia in the last few years I doubt very much that there's the volume to justify an office here. The HK office is there because of the Chinese coin market which is a lot larger than ours.
     
  16. ecc

    ecc Member

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    Really? Somewhere like Australian Professional Coin Grading Service (APCGS) might disagree with you!

    Are you serious?

    Not much credibility when it comes to grading with that mob..
     
  17. 1for1

    1for1 Well-Known Member

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    I can grade your coins for free.. and i wont waste your precious storage space by putting them in those horrible petrol creations .. pvc slabs frequently heavily over-graded as is so often the case with the US grading system when grading Britannia (and all coins)

    If keeping coins "loose" is good enough for the British Museum Numismatists then its good enough for me.. hold the coin in your hand.. its intended for this use (lol)

    1for1
     
  18. JulieW

    JulieW Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I agree. Most of the pleasure in collecting coins is holding them and pondering the hands that held them before you.

    I have a silver 1936 Reischmark - year of the Olympics, Hitler had just taken power, WW11 was about to commence - and all these years I'm another link in the chain of hands that passed that coin from hand to hand, from fortune to fortune or from pocket to pocket.

    It's the story of coins for me, not particularly the speculative value.
     
  19. Austacker

    Austacker Active Member

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    Coin collecting in Australia has gone to the turds... Several key players going down. Why would a company put a branch in place here in Australia.
     
  20. spannermonkey

    spannermonkey Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    here there everywhere
    That mob in Perth recently
    And I was told it's not the first time for the owners ;)
     

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