Beware of Counterfit PCGS Old Slabs - Trust but always Veeeerify!!

Unless this is an error from PCGS part, I just found an ebay auction which the PCGS slab does not matches the PCGS Verification data base description. I have informed the seller hat he has a coin that possibly is not legite and that does matches PCGS Certification number. BEWARE and always check your coins before buying.

The titled is "PCGS "Rattler" 1898o MS65 GEM COIN No reserve! Gorgeous" here is the link. http://cgi.ebay.com/PCGS-Rattler-1898o-MS65-GEM-COIN-No-reserve-Gorgeous-/250708551078?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item3a5f64e5a6

I checked with PCGS Cert Verification
and According to the PCGS Certification Database, the requested certification number is defined as the following:

COIN INFORMATION
Cert Verification #: 5002685
PCGS Coin #: 9045
Date, mintmark: 1904
Denomination: $20
Variety:
Minor Variety:
Mint Error:
Pedigree:
Country: The United States of America
Grade: MS62
Mintage: 6,256,699
PCGS Price GuideSM Value: $2,040



The seller responded to my email in ahw and suprised that the certification number did not match but I am skeptical that he did not know.

Can anyone advice what are the consequences of illegally engaging and selling counterfits?

Hope this gives everyone a heads up to always check what you are buying. I am grateful that my intuitions kicked in to verify.

 

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Not sure if this explanation gonna help the sale, but it seems this is a very valuable "error" and not a fake slab

 

...as I said unless PCGS made a mistake this could be and I repeat this could be not legite.

 

Taxidermist: My two cents of advice. Close the bid until further you clarify certaintity of the certification.
This might sound very awkward but relax no one is accusing you that the you have tampered with the slab. Just trace back with PCGS, you could be resolving an error that has been hunting PCGS and the other guy who owns the $20 piece gold that he has been trying to figure why he has not been able to sale for years. It could be just an error from PCGS part. However I am not sure if PCGS counterfeiting department would be interested in buying.

Any thoughts Coin Talk?

 

If this was my bid, i might have considered closing it, or leaving it, or doing something else, as the owner of this coin. But i am not.

Would you mind sharing what makes you think i`m related to any of this? I just brought to forum readers attention the fact that the seller added some info on this issue in his lot description, thats it.

Or am i an eBay administrator and CAN close this bid... hmm... i better look into this, you sound very assertive and i believe you.

 

At the bottom of the cert page for this coin on PCGS's website it says:
"Data entry errors occasionally may occur causing the information on the coin holder to differ from the PCGS database. If the information listed above appears to be incorrect, please contact customer service at 800-447-8848 or email us at info@pcgs.com."
E-mailing PCGS now.

 

This is what I wrote in the e-mail that I just sent them:

PCGS:
Just recently, a user on CoinTalk.com posted a thread stating that a coin being sold in an old PCGS rattler holder on eBay had a different Certification verification online than on the actual coin holder label description and cert number. Please read more in the thread:
http://www.cointalk.com/t134104/

I just wanted to correct this for you.

Thanks,
********
PCGS Member

 

CoinMaster Bravo!!

 

Thanks. I think that it was good that I did, otherwise the coin's purchaser would be unhappy to see that the holder is unlikely counterfeit by checking PCGS.com/cert

 

To Taxidermist: ooops... My humble apologize.

 

It's more likely that this is an error on PCGS's part and not a counterfeit holder/coin.

 

Yeap I could have been that unhappy purchaser although all eBay and paypal transactions are protected but it would have been a waste of time.

 

ooops... My humble apologize...​

 

Still waiting for PCGS to reply.

 

Oh Man ! I have read about fake PCGS slabs with counterfeit coins coming out of the Chinese mints. They even gave pups to help spot the fake holders. I guess the easiest way to tell is to see of it matches up (nests) with a known good one. Now, if PCGS made a mistake in entering data for this, I don't think that would add value to the coin. The problem I see, that to determine it's authenticity, you need to buy it first. Then what ?

 

that is exactly what I wanted to hear and they will do practically fake anything especially when the old slabs are much easier to fake, it does not provide a PCGS certificate of authenticity logogram. Now the question is how can you spot those counterfeit slabs without buying it if the registry fails to match?

 

oh by the way ...I got an email from the seller and he has expressed apologize but, he also has expressed that it's not just one PCGS Slab with the problem but several that he owns. He also contacted PCGS by email but has not received response.

 

This happened to me once with a pcgs slabbed coin, I e-mailed customer service, and within one day they responded. Their records listed the proper coin to cert# they thanked me and updated the cert verification on the site. I had another issue with #s once also and they required I send them pics of the coin in the slab. All issues were corrected within a couple days. This is probably the same type of situation. If you are interested in the coin wait and find out what the seller says pcgs's response/correction was. Then verify the # . Its kinda scary that the first instinct was to talk counterfeit slab before clerical error.

 

Still waiting for PCGS to reply...

 

Picture isn't great but that coin certainly looks genuine to the period