PCGS losing credibility

[azda 973]

I use a facebook group for Sovereign discussions and for people to upload their pretty pictures. One dealer uploaded an UNA £5 and asked if we though it was undergraded, now judging by the picture from PCGS I wouldn't have given it a second glance, but as you'll see from the next few posts I believe that PCGS are favouring higher end coins when grading.

This 1st picture is of course the PCGS picture

[azda 973]

This is the actual picture uploaded by the dealer,  the hairlines should have given this coin a details grade "excessive hairlines" there was a little chit chat to and fro, one dealer telling him to submit again for conservation as the 2nd dealer did with a 1911 £5 and got a higher grade and sold for an extra £5k, my comment was the first on the UNA and I said I was surprised it didn't actually get a details grade due to the excessive hairlines, another guy said the same, others were in the numerical camp.

[azda 973]

The next coin came from the recent BSJ sale and yet again another PCGS coin and again a coin with a large price tag attached and again hairlines that should have merited a details grade the REV for me having excessive hairlines, whether mint wiped or from elsewhere, these coins shouldn't have been give a numerical grades on the grounds of excessive hairlines, but as you can read from my first post, it's not really about the coin anymore, it's obviously about the money and greed that exists within the hobby by some.

[JLS 209]

8 hours ago, azda said:

I use a facebook group for Sovereign discussions and for people to upload their pretty pictures. One dealer uploaded an UNA £5 and asked if we though it was undergraded, now judging by the picture from PCGS I wouldn't have given it a second glance, but as you'll see from the next few posts I believe that PCGS are favouring higher end coins when grading.

This 1st picture is of course the PCGS picture

The fields look photoshopped to me...

And yeah, there seems to be a lot more leniency for high end coins or major rarities. You just need to flip through a Heritage auction catalog to see the sorts of things which PCGS or NGC will grade straight despite serious problems. 

[ozjohn 552]

Hairlines? Cleaning with a "wire brush " seems more appropriate.

Edited September 28, 2019 by ozjohn

[blakeyboy 1,601]

I cannot believe that people believe the CGS picture to be real!!!!

They would spend all that money based on that ???

I'm stunned by the contrast between that and the pic of the actual coin.

Stunned.

[VickySilver 775]

I'm not sure that at least a portion of the hairlines are die prep - I don't see them carrying over on to the devices or lettering.

 

However, I do agree that they are very temperamental - or maybe worse. Some of their coins graded "62" need to be looked at as sometimes they are really nice!