Certified coins with details grade

I tend to purchase certfied coins more often than not, given the counterfeiting in the US marketplace.  I've noticed when I shop for EU coinage on the UK ebay, certification  hasn't grabbed the attention of buyers like it has across the pond.  With silver mounting a comeback (currently $77/ounce in the US), we are likely to see inflation on silver coins. I've been trying to anticipate this and recently made a few purchase on early American coins which have a price premium for years 1795-1807 especially. 

There are definitely savings on coins with "details" grade. Usually this is because of holed (or plugged if repaired), graffiti, cleaned, and or “tooled” coins. PCGS is less like to put a grade with the details so often cryptic in my mind. They started the “genuine” and “gem” grades. Each of those label terms can sometimes baffle the novice collector, but if all you are after is a document of authenticity it works. Most of the time these terms are a result of bulk submissions (vendor sending in 100s of the same coin) and market conditions. 

PCGS can also be the most verbose for starting the obvious on the label (using terms like “tooled” and “harshly cleaned" ).  NGC usually will have one descriptor in addition to the details grade.   ANACS certified coins is the most generou ….. often the label simply says “details” but will frequently include a grade eg.  “ XF details.”

Do you sometimes by certified coins with details grade? What influences your purchase decision? 

In assembling a grading panel of Morgan dollars, I bought several details certified coins. Like many I have trouble distinguishing AU from BU and so i wanted to look at multiple samples of AU53, AU55, AU58, and MS60, the wear patterns in particular, so several of them are detail grades that serve my purpose very well. Outside of that, I prefer raw coins, but as the value of a potential acquisition goes up, I tend toward certified coins, for both the protection from counterfeits and for the professional grade. 

HOWEVER, we now have to look out for counterfeit slabs. Uhg! Everyone buying certified coins should study this issue because in most cases there is a definitive tell on a counterfeit. But not always. The very best counterfeit slabs are remarkably authentic looking.  Dealers tell of getting solicitations for made-to-order counterfeits: you can choose the coin and holder. For the coin you can choose base metal or whatever composition the real coin would have. For example you can order counterfeit Morgan dollars made of 90% silver, which is less of an issue with slabs but can help a fake raw coin pass silver testing. The newer slabs with rf chips and QR codes help a lot and everyone should know how to look up certified coins in the database of the respective TPG service. 

Good points. I recommend the PCGS verify app for this reason. Simply hold your phone over the slab and it instantly verifies via NFC … similar to credit card touch pay. A guide to fraudulent slabs for NGC: hologram on back, QR codes, UV watermarks, and differen  fonts and color shades of the label. On PCGS slabs… missing PCGS logo in the lower right hand corner, use of prongs to hold the coin (varies). Recently the counterfeiting people even faked two of these criteria here with a British trade dollar, so I ONLY USE NFC. I haven't heard of reports of issues as you use their app only.