SEGS? never heard of them

In my quest to find one Morgan dollar, I was trawling the vcoins' listings. I never heard of SEGS, but the particular one I was looking at was one of the more pleasing to me.

It's funny how things are graded. Another slab company called a coin FAR more scarred than this (which has pretty good surfaces) MS-64, while the one I was looking at was 63.

Doing a google search, the first listing I found was really going in on SEGS, calling it a third-rate grader.

 

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I tend to think of them as a basement grading company. Meaning everything they grade is over graded.

 

There's hardly anything too exciting in mind for my upcoming regular buy. If I don't go for a budget gold coin, I might just take the Morgan plunge.

The stated grade doesn't matter so much to me, but the toning does. I'm not going to sell it. It's strictly for personal enjoyment.

It's intimated that SEGS slabs are tough to crack, which probably means thick plastic. Perhaps the thick plastic was masking some of the mini-scars? To my inexpert eye the 63 was more conservative than the particular ANACS 64 which had dings galore.

I dont' really pretend to know the intricacies of the U.S. MS grades but scarred ancient coins wouldn't be called MS (well, except for some modern grade inflation).

 

SEGS (Sovereign Entities Grading Service) has been around since the 90's. If I remember right, Larry Briggs was the founder or one of the founders. Briggs also wrote a reference book on Seated Quarters.

I don't think SEGS really caught on with collectors.
Maybe 5 Big Dogs was too much at that time?

@Conder101 can tell you anything about the TPG's.

 

One of their more well known encapsulated series. The Felix Schlag strikes for the FSNC (Full Steps Nickel Club).

Z

 

Their are/were several itterations of SEGS.

There was SEGS Inc. which closed up on a Friday and then SEGS LLC which opened on Monday. And a few weeks later announced they would not guarantee the grades "of the former company".

Their website is still 2019.

Larry Briggs Rare Coins site references SEGS, but the show schedule is from 2017. Their page on CoinZip references current (2024) shows.

There was a 2021-2023 thread ATS (https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1056133/any-info-on-segs-grading-co/p1) but we never really solved anything.

The domain is back online, but I haven't tried to search for a new high-water mark to see if they're still grading.

 

I had a large collection of "sight seen" SEGS coins that in my many decades of collecting were established as under-graded, relative to some coins by the "top four".

The design of the holder generally prohibits a "crack-out", requiring 3 cuts, use of a small craft band saw.

I never had a problem getting my premium SEGS coins "crossed-over" by the regular TPG Submission Dealers that I used.

Several "TPG Submission Dealers" offered to purchase some returned coins, but I slabbed them for trading with poor collectors who normally couldn't afford them.

 

The one I'm looking at has an electric blue label.

We shall see. It all depends if I am more influenced by the gold. I hope my first Morgan buy doesn't suck. I'm trying to get one from the 1870's or 1880's.

The one I was looking at had pretty smooth (and toned, seemingly attractive but uneven rainbow toning - not the psychedelic variety) surfaces. One hopes they weren't into smoothing.

 

Oops, forget about electric blue. I must have conflated ANACS. I believe this one has the standard label.

https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/wa...retty_colors__both_sides/1614938/Default.aspx

I haven't purchased from them before. They also have ancients,too, which tend to be a little bit high for what they are.

This one was 4 or 5th on my list so far. One has to trawl though each listing because my various color search terms yielded little.

I might as well look at ma-shops, too, although I don't like their search feature.

 

The auction tou linked is an older NGC slab.

 

Yes, that wasn't the SEGS slab which I referenced, just shown for the general type of toning I was looking for.

I don't have a price guide, not really worth getting one for one inexpensive purchase, but if I keep it under $125 I shouldn't get fleeced too badly. Most of the ones I was looking at ranged from $100-115.

 

What the heck. Those gotta be special. Not in the red book???

 

Sweet

 

Several years ago I purchased a 1917 T1 SLQ in a SEGS slab that was graded MS64 FH. I cracked it out an submitted it to PCGS who graded it MS63 FH. I then sold it in a GC auction. I ended up getting a little more money selling the coin that I had invested buying and regrading it. So, what I'm trying to say is that one can find nice coins in SEGS slabs. Although, in my experiences with them, coins may be over graded when compared with PCGS and NGC.

 

After spending a lot on home repairs, I think it would be best for my pocketbook if I don't do a heavy buy this time. It would be the perfect time to get the relatively inexpensive Morgan, and get it out of the way.

I'm pretty good about selecting ancients, but I hope you guys don't end up pointing out, boy, you got rooked on that one! I don't care too greatly if SEGS got the grade wrong, within reason. I'm more concerned with the attractiveness of the piece.

 

Bravo Sir.........buy the coin, not the holder.

 

Yes. I'm a bit concerned that the big, stupid SEGS slab might make the coin harder to see, but we'll cross those bridges when we get there. If it's an MS 61 rather than a 63, who cares?

Some of the other pieces I had bookmarked (toners) had a higher stated grade, but it looked like Freddie Kreuger had gotten to the face, as seen from various angles.

 

I remember back about 10 or 15 years ago at a show, there was a 1921 Peace Dollar in a PCGS holder listed as a ms-61. Total woof, woof. Give me a purty '58 any time. Gotta like the look.

 

They are not real coins. They are a coin like representation of Felix Schlag’s original winning design which never reached even the pattern coin stage. They are not U.S. Mint products but nickel sized medals that represent a chapter in U.S. numismatic history.

 

The biggest problem with buying SEGS coins is that depending on when the coin was graded, it could be undergraded or vastly overgraded. They were really strict early on. I crossed numerous ones into PCGS/NGC slabs at the same grade or higher. Then as all the infant TPGs do, in order to get submissions they loosened their grades, the accurate/undergarded coins got crossed out of their slabs, and it was all downhill from there.

One thing they were known for is their variety attribution. If they could reference the variety, they would.