The churn amongst the third-party grading services continues as David Lawrence Rare Coins made the highest bid to acquire PCI. The sale was announced on February 21, 2008, John Feigenbaum, President of DLRC on the PCI website.
As part of the announcement, Feigenbaum said that he will be moving PCI from Georgia to Virginia Beach. During the move and the reorganization, PCI will stop grading coins and return those currently in their pipeline. PCI will reopen for submissions in 30-60 days with a new holder and label.
This is a good opportunity for Feigenbaum to extend the DLRC brand. DLRC has been doing very well. Sales are growing and the Internet auctions are becoming more popular. They introduced a guaranteed auction program that reduces the volatility for sellers and attracts better coins for sale. Now, if you are selling an entire collection, DLRC will name the auction for you. These innovations by DLRC has set them apart from other auction sellers.
DLRC seems to be very technology aware. It would not surprise me if technology is not involved in fixing PCI. Here are some other predictions for the new PCI:
- A well known and respected person will join DLRC/PCI to help with the turnaround.
- The new PCI slab will look like a cross between the ANACS Clearview holder and the NGC holder.
- When PCI resumes grading, submission will be restricted to United States coins. They will expand what they grade over the next year and move into the “we grade anything” by this time next year.
- PCI will re-introduce itself to the market at the Baltimore show in June 2008 with on-site grading.
- PCI will announce a new program that is different from any other service at the ANA World’s Fair of Money this summer in Baltimore.
With DLRC having a good reputation for coin auctions, it would not surprise me if Feigenbaum turns PCI into a service that could compete with ANACS and ICG.