BCS - Banknote Certification Service

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

Well guys,

I am looking at possibly getting a bunch of my Journey Notes graded by BCS.

What has everyone's recent experiences been with them? They have a Journey Special on at $7.00 a note.

Is it worth it? Does it make it easier to sell a note? As a buyer, would you prefer a BCS Graded note vs a non-graded note if you had 2 presented to you that looked roughly the same grade? What about PMG Grading.... Is everyone starting to lean that way cause that is what collectors prefer?

As I have been out of the inner circle for over a year now I would like to hear from you and your thoughts!

Thank You!  

Hello X-Savior

I just had 50 notes done by BCS.   They were almost all Journey notes.  There were 2 reasons why i had them done.  The first is because I have started to sell some of my notes online and wanted to make sure i was giving potential buyers a correct grade.  Allot of my notes that i thought were Gem came back Ch.Unc and some that i thought were "Original" came back as not.  I also now know who presses notes and sells them online....i know who not to buy from now   The second reason is because i believe people will pay a little more for a correctly graded note.  The buyer not being able to see the note in person and buying it on someones opinion may get less $$ overall. 

I purchased a PMG note online and when i received it the note had pencil writing on it that couldn't be seen in the pictures.  There was no mention on the PMG holder....it doesn't seem like that grader took time to do the job right.  My opinion is that BCS did a great job on my notes and i recommend them.

Thanx
Ian

BCS = Colonial Acres Coins... they are selling notes "certified" in-house... by definition, this is NOT third-party-grading... Colonial Acres Coins PROFITS from the higher grades assigned to notes they sell... comments ?

That is not correct at all. BCS is NOT Colonial Acres. They occupy the same office space, and the owner of BCS is an employee of Colonial Acres, but they are two separate businesses. I personally know the owner of BCS, and I know his grading to be very accurate, even if a little on the conservative side. The vast majority of notes offered for sale are not in BCS holders (or any other TPG for that matter).

Also, speaking from experience, I was selling several notes to Colonial Acres a few months ago, both raw notes, and a couple that were graded by BCS. The buyer was Steve Bell (acting on behalf of Colonial). He purchased a few raw notes and was interested in a few of the BCS-graded notes, but instead of purchasing them, he left them with me and sent over Todd Sandham to make the purchase. This is an example of how attentive Steve is to avoiding any perceptions of impropriety or conflicts of interest between his two roles.

I personally know the owner of BCS, and I know his grading to be very accurate, even if a little on the conservative side.

The question I have is... do you know it to be accurate... or believe it to be accurate according to your personal grading standards since obviously everyone has their own opinions. We all know mistakes have been made in the past and those grades will not be changed, regardless of the true condition of the note....it happens
As for grading on the conservative (or cautious) side, does this mean that notes are undergraded? If so, in my opinion this definitely doesn't help the owner of the note when trying to sell it. 

Semantics.... Very well, I'll reword that sentence to say "...and in my opinion, his grading is very accurate..."

If you don't like undergraded notes, perhaps you should stick with one of the American TPGs where you can consistently get overgraded notes. Or, if you really want, I can start a grading company and offer you some ridiculously overgraded notes. How about an UNC-66 with tears and grease smudges? Don't worry though, it's a certified UNC-66 so you can sell it for even more than what is listed in the catalogue for G.Unc! Want that elusive "perfect note"? Just send me anything that BCS ranks as VG-8 or better and I'll add 70 points to the grade! How's that for helping the seller?

If you don't like undergraded notes,

So are you saying that BCS undergardes notes?

I'm sure you know of a BCS graded note that is a joke if it were graded properly

I just checked what I wrote, both posts, and I did not say that BCS undergrades notes. Oh wait, technically I just did say that, if of course you ignore the rest of the sentence.

PS: Who is BSC?

PS: Who is BSC?

I guess I was so excited about the new Brent Service de Certicification

As BWJM stated, and I would like to reiterate, BCS and Colonial Acres Coins are two separate companies.  Yes, the owner of BCS is also an employee of Colonial Acres Coins, and yes, they are located in the same plaza in Kitchener, but they are two completely separate entities, both legally and in practice.  Colonial Acres coins does not get special treatment what-so-ever, and I would like to specifically mention that no higher grades are assigned to pieces that Colonial Acres Coins submits.  The statement “BCS = Colonial Acres Coins” is completely incorrect, without any argument or foundation to support it.

If you have any follow-up questions, please feel free ask.

BCS

I guess the obstacle we face with grading notes is that it's subjective to a certain point and that certain point is really the issue. The only thing that will keep a grading company in business is if the overall consensus of people buying these notes agree more then they disagree.

I've said this before and i will mention it again

I believe that grading companies should be responsible for their grading. If they made a mistake they can pay for the loss but on the flip side maybe this would make graders consistently under grade.

All we can do is not buy notes from graders who consistently over grade notes and have them go out of business. As buyers this is the only way that i know we can have our voices heard.

MG

I believe that grading companies should be responsible for their grading

I don't think that  this will ever happen and the best you would likely ever get is a refund on the cost of grading that note...

If you have any followup questions, please feel free ask.

BCS

Hi BCS

I want to start by say that when i look at buying notes when i do see your name on the holder i do feel much more comfortable about my decision because it's all i have to go by if i don't have the notes in my hands. I recently bought a few notes (They were not cheap) and i was very happy to see who graded them.

My question is ( again) sorry if i keep repeating myself.

Are you able to guarantee your grading and stand behind every note that you grade?

I admit that this request is purely selfish from my side maybe, you could clarify if this is even possible and if not why it isn't. Maybe getting a response from yourself could clarify obstacles you face in doing so.

Thank you
MG

I split off a few replies that got a bit too far off-topic. You can find them here: (link)

As a serious banknote collector, I would like to state that BCS is by far the most reliable grading service for Canadian Banknotes.

I have personally seen Steve Bell work along side several collectors in order to ensure that his grading is accurate for each Bank note series (ie; Chartered/Journey).

I would like all of the collectors on the forums to feel confident that BCS will provide a prompt, professional and reliable service. I will continue to use BCS for my primary grading service for my Canadian Bank Notes.