ANI (American Numismatic Institute) Grading Service (defunct)

I will be doing a long evaluation of coin grading services. This includes ones that are still slabbing, ones that are out of business and ones that went back into business. As I get more coins to analyze I may change my overall opinion of a particular grading service. We should not forget that coins can decay in slabs if: dust gets into them, slabs are not airtight, there is an interaction with materials of the slab or if the coin has been cleaned. We also need to keep in mind that not all grading services are able to determine whether certain coin specimens are genuine or fake. It has been noted that some coin grading agencies neglect or ignore critical aspects of a coin they should be looking for when they grade (especially problems that render a coin ungradable). When grading services fail to detect certain attributes about coins one has to determine how seriously their opinions are to be taken.  

Here is a specimen I picked up off of Ebay recently. This is my only ANI specimen I've seen. This is an ANI graded 1955 Denver Mint Wheat Cent in what is graded MS67RD. The reality is the grade ANI assigned to this coin is considerably higher than what the coin deserves. Given all the copper spots, hits, hairlines/scratches and weakly struck areas of this specimen (both front and back) its real grade is probably MS-64 Red and no better.

What I do like about the ANI slab is the looks of it. The design is simple yet the graphics compliment the looks of the coin. The coin is perfectly snug and protected in the holder. However the obverse of the coin is pushed in so deep that it can block some of the light with shadows, especially when sitting down with a lamp to observe and enjoy this specimen.

Would I recommend coins slabbed by ANI? Again, they do come in nice simple holders however from what I have seen based on this one coin specimen I believe they grade a bit liberally. The verdict: not sure, undecided, especially since copper coins are notorious for getting copper spots even after being slabbed.