Australian-Coins Forum

Someone has just let me know about a new independent coin grading service in Australia: APCGS. Does anyone have any experience with them yet? http://apcgs.com.au

I see that their list of grades has ALL grades beginning with an MS-prefix, that doesn't inspire me with confidence I've gotta say!

I've not had any business with them, but my observations:
1. They seem to be trying to use the PCGS reputation for their own gain
2. They obviously have no idea about grading ie ms stands for mint state and if you don't know that means uncirculated you are living under a rock.
3. Their CCF id has been banned

I agree. For TPGs, Australian-based or otherwise, prejudice is the order of the day. Assume they're a "basement slabber" until they prove themselves otherwise. These guys are starting off with three strikes against them:
- Their name is deliberately designed to associate themselves falsely with the American PCGS.
- They either don't know what the Sheldon Scale terminology means or are attempting to unilaterally redefine it, without a word of explanation that this is what they are doing. At least when the British CGS started as a "British grades for British coins" slabber, it was obvious that they were throwing the Sheldon Scale out the window and inventing their own scale.
- Using underhanded advertising tactics like spamming coin forums is a great big negative, in my opinion, even if they are attempting to build a legitimate Australian TPG. If they want to advertise, pay the few measly bucks it costs, and buy some ad space, for pity's sake.

So far I've seen nothing to alter my prejudged opinion of them.

Quote from: 'purplepennyhunter' pid='861' dateline='1348552009'3. Their CCF id has been banned

Actually, they've attempted to join CCF just to spam their "grading service" a total of three times now. :spamguy::Gigakach_01:

Ironically, any search for items slabbed by them on eBay return only PCGS items...