I think PCGS misattributed my coin

They make mistakes, best to content customer service and you can send back in. They normally cover shipping on their mistakes. If you had bought this coin the grade guarantee would be in effect though I need to see if they guarantee varieties foreign coins.

For those bashing PCGS, this is why you buy PCGS!!! They gaurentee attributions others do not. They are human and make mistakes, just remember nothing gets solved on an online forum, you need to call them.

 

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Todd, we are not bashing PCGS. It is well known in the market of non-USA coins that they are lazy and horrible at making attributions. To be "bashing", what we are saying would have to be incorrect.

I love how when PCGS makes an obvious glaring mistake like this one they are lauded for fixing their mistakes, and people say "This is why we buy PCGS" -- as if it's some sort of convenience for the OP to send his coin back, even if PCGS fixes their error. When NGC makes a mistake like this, we get to hear the same Kool-aid crap about how "That's why we use PCGS".

In the words of Joe Biden -- it's mullarkey.

 

here is my point of view from a buyer, I want to buy a coin with a guarantee. I get the hassle for the OP and that is not cool but I rarely submit coins.

They are human, I make mistakes and hope people don't go overboard on every single mistake I make. With the volume they do, PCGS and all other grading firms will make mistakes.

 

Not just world coins, variety collectors have known for a long time that you can't trust their attributions. You buy something attributed by them or NGC you MUST confirm the attribution.

Don't count on that. In the last Pre Long Beach sale there was a fairly good run of Conder tokens all attributed by NGC. Error rate on attributions was 10% Including one fifty dollar token that was bid up and hammered down as $1250 because of a botched attribution.

 

Not just world coins, variety collectors have known for a long time that you can't trust their attributions. You buy something attributed by them or NGC you MUST confirm the attribution.

Don't count on that. In the last Pre Long Beach sale there was a fairly good run of Conder tokens all attributed by NGC. Error rate on attributions was 10% Including one fifty dollar token that was bid up and hammered down as $1250 because of a botched attribution.

Yes they probably would since they do include attributions under their guarantee. NGC on the other hand does NOT guarantee attributions.

 

Not to split hairs, but Conder tokens are sort of a beast onto their own. I have several mis-attributed by NGC. We can't dog PCGS on them because they won't even touch them. My comment was with regard to World coins -- i.e., coins PCGS and NGC would both grade.

 

Personally - it does not matter the case - world or US, both NGC and PCGS make mistakes. And so do sellers - it just happens. I just think the buyer should attribute any coin before buying. In this case I would just send it back to PCGS to get it attributed correctly. I also do not think PCGS gurantee's these type attributes, but do not know it as fact. This is one reason I want good clear pictures on ebay so I can attribute the coin before bidding on it.

 

so i gather that most of you are quite content to let someone make a vast amount of money at your expense? i have a massive range of catalogues and grading books, and would rather look up a coin myself although sometimes it can take a few hours than to pay someone say £30 to do exactly the same thing. what makes the pcgs or ngc graders any better than you? stop and ask yourself that question next time you happily hand over your hard earned cash...............

 

I can grade most coins fairly well and the coins I collect very well . The thing is most coins are already in slabs and if you want that particular coin you buy it . The old saying buy the coin not the slab comes to mind here . If you refuse to buy slabbed coins you;re missing out on a lot of great coins . Also PCGS and NGC do a better job than most at grading , does this mean you should trust the grade or attribution , no I think most collectors should and do try to become the best graders they can and to attribute the coins they collect .

 

There are hundreds of thousands of slabbed coins with NGC, Anacs and PCGS.

There are still tons of coins out there that are raw, but for a lot of American coinage, a lot of raw coins are problems coins not worth the cost of slabbing.

If you buy a coin with a bad photo on eBay that's raw, you can get burned badly.

But if you buy slabbed with a bad photo, the grade is still good, allowing some room for a good deal.

Your not really paying for an "opinion", your paying for security and peace of mind.

 

i bought this hammered 1/2 penny from sthelena for £150, would you have it slabbed or keep it "raw"...................

 

Just as a follow up to my thread here, it takes another twist. So I decided to speak to Heritage Auctions about consigning my coin to them, just as another way of seeing if the coin is in fact misattributed. Well I sent an email away along with pictures that I took and that PCGS took and a few days later a "Numismatist" from Heritage sends me back an email telling me that I do indeed have a rare coin that would bring around $2500 in their auction and they would put it in. Talk about a head scratcher with this coin.

 

Did you explain to Heritage that there had already been some controversy over the attribution? This is strange, indeed!

Chris

 

No I didn't. My idea was to see what Heritage had to say without bias of any sort. I'm actually kind of surprised they said it's the rare variety. I guess we'll see what the auction brings.

 

Geez. They guarantee attributions? And how do they do that? Would they pay the poor kid who potentially could spends hundreds too much on this coin?

Or will they reimburse the seller who sold this incorrectly attributed half-penny to me, thinking it was only a farthing (1/4 D)?



Listen, I like both PCGS and NGC (although I think NGC is far better on world coins), but don't drink the Kool-Aid. The grading services are great guides, but they are not the final word. We must all remember to think, learn, and be humble...and always question unchallenged dogma.

guy

 

Heritage will happily take your consignment fee and the buyer's premium for misrepresenting a coin and selling it for $2500. Just remember, Heritage will not take responsibility for the coin, they are just happy to collect their piece of the pie for it to be passed around a little until it makes it back to PCGS and someone has to eat their mistake.

The responsible and moral thing to do is send the coin back to PCGS and have it properly attributed.

 

That's right. They're on the hook for it.........

 

Maybe they could spend more than 6 seconds looking at a coin and actually look something up if they are not experts on coins from whatever country ?

 

The auction company really wants one thing, a consignment. Once they have the coin in hand they may look harder or wait for comments during the auction preview. When you email all they do is shoot a price and try to get the consignment.

 

This is why I believe that the OP should have made Heritage aware of the contention that the coin was (supposedly) misattributed.

Chris