Opinions on GENI grading company

Hello!

What are your opinions on french grading service GENI?

Thank you for answers!

I refuse to use any grading company, I am quite proficient in grading coins myself without paying someone to do the same job. I also abhor coins in plastic coffins as coin collecting is a tactile hobby an I always use cotton gloves to handle my coins, slabs are the spawn of satan 

Offa

I refuse to use any grading company, I am quite proficient in grading coins myself without paying someone to do the same job. I also abhor coins in plastic coffins as coin collecting is a tactile hobby an I always use cotton gloves to handle my coins, slabs are the spawn of satan 

Well, I prefer slabbed coins, because they are much more liquid. Plus, I collect coins in very high grades. What means I try not to get any coins below MS64. at those grades it migth be very difficult to determine exact grade, and the coins also need additional protection

Ma9nWaRr10

Offa

I refuse to use any grading company, I am quite proficient in grading coins myself without paying someone to do the same job. I also abhor coins in plastic coffins as coin collecting is a tactile hobby an I always use cotton gloves to handle my coins, slabs are the spawn of satan 

Well, I prefer slabbed coins, because they are much more liquid. Plus, I collect coins in very high grades. What means I try not to get any coins below MS64. at those grades it migth be very difficult to determine exact grade, and the coins also need additional protection

I always try to buy coins in unc or aunc perhaps the lowest I will go to is XF for modern coins and f for ancients/ medieval, my coins are stored in a dry dust free atmosphere and are not touched by hand unless it is gloved. I am quite prof at grading coins as I have over 60 years experience in the field and if anything my grading tends to be a little harsh, what training do these grading companies give to their grading staff ??? I was taught by older collectors in the numismatic society I belonged to at the time ( Merseyside NS) and received a silver medal for my research into coin grading systems. 

The fact that you had to inquire about GENI should tell you what you need to know. My response is in no way  intended to disparage or judge their competency or integrity but these are some facts that you need to consider. They are new to the coin grading industry and are competing with very mature industry giants  that are recognized almost everywhere in the Numismatic world.  7 years since their start, there is very little feedback about GENI as they simply are not easily recognized or established on the world stage. Good or bad, they got in the game a little late and have yet to establish a reputation or credibility of note . I wish them well as I believe they have the best of intentions but I think they are climbing an up hill battle to compete with established and credible competition. 

I do have part of my collection graded.

I grade my investment coins such as gold coins. Reason is simple, I know I will not be around forever and my wife and kids dont really know  anything about coins and that will make it easier to know what the item is or what it might be worth.

GENI is since two years my go to grading company, yes they are mostly known in France and the Arabic World but I think they are becoming slowly more reputable also in other parts.

I have plenty of NGC and PCGS graded coins but as Im based in Europe I feel some benefit from a European grading, one being the whole processing time and second also the price.  (They did increase their prices this year)
The second reason is that I really like their cases where I feel the coins are much more visible at all angles and at the same time contain a lot more descriptive info.

All however is not perfect, they are a small team so sometimes I feel they are slow to answer, Im also not a big fan of their website even if visually it is not that bad but the usability leaves some wishes.

Offa

Ma9nWaRr10

Offa

I refuse to use any grading company, I am quite proficient in grading coins myself without paying someone to do the same job. I also abhor coins in plastic coffins as coin collecting is a tactile hobby an I always use cotton gloves to handle my coins, slabs are the spawn of satan 

Well, I prefer slabbed coins, because they are much more liquid. Plus, I collect coins in very high grades. What means I try not to get any coins below MS64. at those grades it migth be very difficult to determine exact grade, and the coins also need additional protection

I always try to buy coins in unc or aunc perhaps the lowest I will go to is XF for modern coins and f for ancients/ medieval, my coins are stored in a dry dust free atmosphere and are not touched by hand unless it is gloved. I am quite prof at grading coins as I have over 60 years experience in the field and if anything my grading tends to be a little harsh, what training do these grading companies give to their grading staff ??? I was taught by older collectors in the numismatic society I belonged to at the time ( Merseyside NS) and received a silver medal for my research into coin grading systems. 

Unfortunately, I don't have such a long experience, so for me grading in some cases can be challenging. Of course I can tell apart XF and AU or AU from UNC easily, in most cases. But it can be sometimes difficult for me to tell apart AU58 and low MS, or MS63 from MS64, for example. Protection I would say is still needed for some coins, even despite all precautions. I had this question, because I am considering to grade few steel coins from the beginning of the last century (Austria-Hungary and Germany), because despite all precautions they still can develope rust. )Unfortunately happened to one of my steel coins, despite I was storing it the way you described. 

harryg

The fact that you had to inquire about GENI should tell you what you need to know. My response is in no way  intended to disparage or judge their competency or integrity but these are some facts that you need to consider. They are new to the coin grading industry and are competing with very mature industry giants  that are recognized almost everywhere in the Numismatic world.  7 years since their start, there is very little feedback about GENI as they simply are not easily recognized or established on the world stage. Good or bad, they got in the game a little late and have yet to establish a reputation or credibility of note . I wish them well as I believe they have the best of intentions but I think they are climbing an up hill battle to compete with established and credible competition. 

Yes, they are not established on the world stage yet, but if they grade coins with their real grades, I am fine with that. Two other examples of companies that are not recognized globally, but still give credible grades are the russian NNR and RNGA, so I would be fine to get a slab from them. (Another question is that those are very rare in Europe, so I probably never will)

apuking

I do have part of my collection graded.

I grade my investment coins such as gold coins. Reason is simple, I know I will not be around forever and my wife and kids dont really know  anything about coins and that will make it easier to know what the item is or what it might be worth.

GENI is since two years my go to grading company, yes they are mostly known in France and the Arabic World but I think they are becoming slowly more reputable also in other parts.

I have plenty of NGC and PCGS graded coins but as Im based in Europe I feel some benefit from a European grading, one being the whole processing time and second also the price.  (They did increase their prices this year)
The second reason is that I really like their cases where I feel the coins are much more visible at all angles and at the same time contain a lot more descriptive info.

 

All however is not perfect, they are a small team so sometimes I feel they are slow to answer, Im also not a big fan of their website even if visually it is not that bad but the usability leaves some wishes.

 

Thank you for your opinion! I really their cases too, and obviously the lower prices than at NGC or PCGS. My only concern is that can I trust the grade they assign or not? Because there are lots of “fake” grading companies, who give higher grades. The fact that they do not have international credibility yet is a less important fator.

Ma9nWaRr10

apuking

I do have part of my collection graded.

I grade my investment coins such as gold coins. Reason is simple, I know I will not be around forever and my wife and kids dont really know  anything about coins and that will make it easier to know what the item is or what it might be worth.

GENI is since two years my go to grading company, yes they are mostly known in France and the Arabic World but I think they are becoming slowly more reputable also in other parts.

I have plenty of NGC and PCGS graded coins but as Im based in Europe I feel some benefit from a European grading, one being the whole processing time and second also the price.  (They did increase their prices this year)
The second reason is that I really like their cases where I feel the coins are much more visible at all angles and at the same time contain a lot more descriptive info.

 

All however is not perfect, they are a small team so sometimes I feel they are slow to answer, Im also not a big fan of their website even if visually it is not that bad but the usability leaves some wishes.

 

Thank you for your opinion! I really their cases too, and obviously the lower prices than at NGC or PCGS. My only concern is that can I trust the grade they assign or not? Because there are lots of “fake” grading companies, who give higher grades. The fact that they do not have international credibility yet is a less important fator.

Im going to use their services in a while and when i get my returns ill fill in what i felt about them 

Ive graded alot of mostly cards but also coins with the big companies so i will judge geni on some common ground stuff

Terrazone

Ma9nWaRr10

apuking

I do have part of my collection graded.

I grade my investment coins such as gold coins. Reason is simple, I know I will not be around forever and my wife and kids dont really know  anything about coins and that will make it easier to know what the item is or what it might be worth.

GENI is since two years my go to grading company, yes they are mostly known in France and the Arabic World but I think they are becoming slowly more reputable also in other parts.

I have plenty of NGC and PCGS graded coins but as Im based in Europe I feel some benefit from a European grading, one being the whole processing time and second also the price.  (They did increase their prices this year)
The second reason is that I really like their cases where I feel the coins are much more visible at all angles and at the same time contain a lot more descriptive info.

 

All however is not perfect, they are a small team so sometimes I feel they are slow to answer, Im also not a big fan of their website even if visually it is not that bad but the usability leaves some wishes.

 

Thank you for your opinion! I really their cases too, and obviously the lower prices than at NGC or PCGS. My only concern is that can I trust the grade they assign or not? Because there are lots of “fake” grading companies, who give higher grades. The fact that they do not have international credibility yet is a less important fator.

Im going to use their services in a while and when i get my returns ill fill in what i felt about them 

Thank you! Will be waiting for your opinion!

Hi, I'm a French numismatist and submitted a few coins to GENI and met the founder and I can assure you he is very serious about his work (maybe too serious ? I have been disappointed by grades sometimes lol)  and GENI grades are trusted in France like PCGS. 

Plus side of GENI : more affordable ( for example I think for coins made  after 1960 and worth less than 500€ it costs 14 euros to grade) and faster to grade than PCGS/NGC, it usually takes 2-3 weeks. Also as I'm living in Paris I can just go to their shop and give and collect the coins at the counter, there's no shipping fees.

Negative : I prefer PCGS slabs design but that's a personal opinion, there's no nice coin cabinets to accommodate GENI shaped slabs like there is for PCGS/NGC, you'll have to use the ugly carboard tray he gives you to store them or pile them up.

Finally and most importantly they are not that known outside of France like it's said above, so I think its useful to submit coin to them if you're only interested about the grade. Or if it's a very valuable coin you intend to sell outside of France,  grade it with cheaper GENI first to make sure its not scratched/cleaned/whatever problem coin may have and then if its fine regrade it with PCGS/NGC.

Overall considering how much cheaper to grade it is compared to PCGS/NGC and how comparably reliable the grade is, it's 100% worth it if you live in Europe, hope it helps :)

So my sendoff is partially done and im awaiting the return before i give my toughts

So long time no see i got my coins back awhile back i just forgot to update here

So overall im happy with my decision my only compmaint was how hard it was to communicate with them digitally for updates but i got all my coins graded 

Will i recommend them yes if you want to grade your PC (Personal collection) or want an authenticity stamp on your stuff go with geni hopefully you have a better time communicating with them thats all