NGC Damaged My Medal - What do I do?!?

I'd think they'd take anything already slabbed at a show as long as it's still slabbed

 

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I understand your point. The flip is abrasive vs. the surface of the coin. If there's any movement it's susceptible to scuffing the piece some. Also, taking it out of the flip will invariably cause some friction.

I'm also not saying this didn't happen at NGC from mishandling. I'm just suggesting that the storage flip might have caused some of it. The surfaces are so delicate to even minor contact with an abrasive surface.

I worked at Custom Packaging company at one point in my career. We had a packaging engineer that I talked with frequently. I'm not an expert nor did I sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I did learn that vibration frequency plays a huge role in packaging. Even though you carefully put your bubble wrapped flip in a bubble wrap filled box does not mean that it didn't vibrate a lot during shipment. Sometimes too much packaging exacerbates the problem.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about the change in your Medal's condition. Where it was caused, I can't tell you. I'm just offering another possibility. I hope get the issue resolved to your satisfaction.

 

Is it possible it is a piece of plastic from when the slab was sonically snapped together than came off and landed on it?

 

If they did it it's on camera and they'll make it go away.

 

This. I exclusively do my submissions as show drop-offs for this and other reasons. I would never really consider mailing them in.

 

Nah. Not for a $300 payout.

 

This is why I am so afraid to mail in thousands of dollars worth of coins. I would suggest that at any stage of the game, there may be a thief. Doubt for this one little submission. It is hard to trust anyone these days. 99% great people on this site, outside of here are so many looking to take advantage, really sad we have to deal with this type of thing more and more.
Can you take a picture of each coin submission as you did, print it off, attaching to the coin in route ? Thus, when they receive it, if a discrepancy is noticed out of the box, they can call right away removing any doubt when and where the problem came about.

 

IMO: The OP did something really neat. He imaged his coin before submission. Then he did something really bad, he made a big fuss about something that turned out to be NOTHING except making NGC look poorly.

As to the images, anyone who thought the coins were from a different die WAS CORRECT! Due to the images, that's exactly what it looks like as NOTHING lines up. It took Mr. Carr to prove that the coins were the same (great eye for detail) by finding an identical mark on each image! So the folks who said the coins were the same (including Big Money - who get's a half hour foot rub tonight - read between the lines) were ALSO CORRECT - just more correct.

Now to the coin. AFAIK, whenever a coin gets damaged at a TPGS, it is to be pointed out immediately. The damage is noted. In most cases, it is something minor and that's all I will say except there is a record made.

As to damage in transit...I was not in the box. I will say that does not look like it came from a plastic flip. Several decades ago, I exposed the "Myth" of "slide damage" producing hairlines to the cheek of a coin.

IMO, the fields of the coin are cloudy and hairlined. Pr-66 is PLENTY.

 

I meant more in the sense of a couple bucks or grading vouchers, I don't think that would be one they would completely buy especially since it seems to be graded accurately.

 

Yes, I don't believe that the scratches came from the flip - these flips are so ubiquitous and recommended by TPGs for submission that if flips caused damage to coins, they just wouldn't be recommended for storage and submission.

In any case, the fact is that I submitted the coins without the damages shown, and it came back with scratches and marks on the coin. NGC has cameras and they'd be able to see if any mishandling happened. I would have noticed these marks. It's like submitting a 5 ounce coin with only the minutest of imperfections, and having the coin come back as PF-66. I'm not an expert grader but it doesn't take an expert to understand that a 2-3 grade drop doesn't add up, especially and specifically from the upper mint state range.

 

iPen, posted: Yes, I don't believe that the scratches came from the flip - these flips are so ubiquitous and recommended by TPGs for submission that if flips caused damage to coins, they just wouldn't be recommended for storage and submission.

In any case, the fact is that I submitted the coins without the damages shown, and it came back with scratches and marks on the coin. NGC has cameras and they'd be able to see if any mishandling happened. I would have noticed these marks. It's like submitting a 5 ounce coin with only the minutest of imperfections, and having the coin come back as PF-66. I'm not an expert grader but it doesn't take an expert to understand that a 2-3 grade drop doesn't add up, especially and specifically from the upper mint state range.

I'll say that since YOU are the OP, YOU definitely know what you are talking about so I believe you. My first impression was that you posted a "stock" image that was not your coin. It has been proven that you (sly devil) took "before" photos. That being the case, IMO, the only way that coin could have received those marks is on the pad in the assembly room as the insert is being applied. In that case the TPGS should have a computer record that the coin was graded 69 or 70 by the graders and the QC guy saw the coin and lowered the grade due to the scratches. The QC guy was not one of the original graders.

Rather than fool around on the forums, I should have sent a brief letter + your coin and the original image pointing out the spot Mr. Carr ID'ed to prove it was the same coin to Customer Service attn. Mark Salzberg. Then I would say that you believe your coin was scratched before slabbing, love the grading service, recommend them to other collectors, have never had an incident until now, understand accidents can happen, and would they please see if they could help you out in some way, even if only some free submissions. In other words...suck up really good. I'll bet you will be satisfied.

 

A little late with the question but how is it that a TPG can dip your coin without asking for your permission?

 

OK, NGC got back to me and stated that "The coin was reviewed by the graders and they are confident that it is in the same condition as submitted". This is quite ridiculous because of the implied honor system - essentially, they asked if the graders damaged the medal and the graders said "no" / "I didn't do it", and that's sufficient for them to settle the issue.

What's more is that each time I asked if the security footage was viewed from receipt to slabbing, they completely ignored my question and the second time, they didn't respond back at all.

 

I know I'm being cynical, but could it be that they don't care, because the coin is essentially bullion? It shouldn't matter, but I wonder if they just don't care about security footage because it's not an 1804 dollar.

 

They don't care because they are a corporation that will hold you up in a legal web that will certainly out last your determination to a resolve.
Your only resolve is the squeaky wheel syndrome keep posting in forums copy and paste your postings to them along with replies in your favor.
Show them that you're not satisfied with them blowing you off!
Keep it up until they fold......or you give up.... State facts and post images everywhere ..... do not make any false claims ,just the facts as to what occured.
Be the thorn in their side....or again give up!
This is what it takes to take on a corporation, be the squeaky wheel....

Make them your victim.... not you theirs!

 

I like NGC and unfortunate OP went through this. Hope they can work this out and have a better outcome

 

Seems to me perhaps, that even the holder shouldn't have blemishes. (IF the holder has the blemish)

If the coin got dinged, stay on them - WITH PAPER; not telephone, not email.

They [we] all screw up occasionally. What makes you good is owning up, and fixing it...

My .01, x 2

 

I'm an equal opportunity TPGS "basher" or "defender." Let's take the OP's word as true. Then it is an unfortunate situation. If the piece is worthless than $100, and the OP is an occasional customer, then it would have been good business for NGC to just settle this by either replacing the piece and selling the OP's or giving him some free submissions. Accidents happen. Unfortunately, in my experience many collectors don't have a clue what their coin actually looked like before submission. I don't think, the OP is in that group.

As far as posting the OP's problem with NGC all over the place...a really stupid idea.
News flash, right or wrong, fair or not, the TPGS's go thru this type of thing on a fairly regular basis. Much of the time the folks accusing the TPGS's are either ignorant or scammers (does not apply here).
Easy for me to say but I'll suggest you suck it up and move on rather than destroy your relationship with the TPGS (if you still use them).

 

I don't have any experience with TPG's but I'm with @Insider that it's probably not the wisest move to splatter discontent for NGC everywhere you can. It's a shame your medal was damaged and I feel for you on that front. You took some nice photos before submission, but I'm still not confident it couldn't have happened during shipment. I'm also not familiar with how the coins/medals are handled on the receiving end BEFORE reaching the graders. Not taking sides here, just playing devil's advocate a little bit and saying maybe they really didn't damage it, could have been in shipping.

 

This. You have no way to prove that the medal wasn't slabbed in the same condition that NGC received it after shipping.