Thread: coin oxidation

Hi there folks, I’m a newbie here , so I hope you guys give me some love... anyway I received an interesting email this morning from pcgs.

It states a few things that I find very interesting and I would like your input on it, if you would be so kind...

among the things they mention are:

it seems to me they are bragging about over 7 million dollars they have paid out because they made mistakes regarding grading, including almost 2 million dollars they paid in 2008! Although this is very nice of them, what does this say about the accuracy of their grading?

The email also mentions the following regarding oxidation of copper coins:

"We've also made a change in how we handle the guarantee of color for copper coins. The fact is that color for copper can change depending upon where a coin is stored. The villain is humidity, and if you have mint red copper coins stored in Hawaii or Florida, for example, there's a good chance that the environmental factors can alter the color of the coins. This is obviously beyond our control so consequently we will not be guaranteeing the color of cooper coins graded or sold after January 1, 2010.


Now we all know that copper coins are not the only coins that will tone over time. As a matter of fact I have read that it’s well known that all barber coins out there are either toned or have been dipped! Im concerned that in the future PCGS may change its views on how they handle silver coins as well.

Curios to know your guys take on this...

Of the coining metals used by the US, copper is the most reactive.
(Yes, I'm ignoring zinc since there is only one year that has zinc on the outside, the 1943 cents.)
Actually the PCGS move doesn't surprise me. And frankly I consider it reasonable.

On the other hand the main problem for silver is sulfur, not oxygen.
So a moist climate alone is not enough to significantly tone silver as quickly as copper.
Plus not many (any?) TPGs have designators for toning on silver anymore.
The "W" is no longer used by NGC. (Do they still use the "star" anymore?)

Bottom Line: PCGS had to cancel their position with regard to RD and RB copper.

......there's a lot of talk on the PCGS coin forums about this as can be imagined.

it is going to affect the loyal PCGS slab guys to be sure. i'm wondering what other

"changes" will be made in the future. i guess many slabbers may opt for NGC which

now has a better warranty on the coppers as far as red goes.