Never had a problem myself - with any of the labels at heritage. And the cheap ones do the same thing - even the little circle ones. Still - maybe at the same time you should contact NGC and have them start working on something that does not come off so easily. Just a thought.
Did Chris ever tell you how particular i am about my slabs...If the NGC label is curvy or wrinkled it bugs the **** outa me.
OCD is a curse with this hobby. I hate coins that the obverse does not look correct. Never thought about telling NGC to put it inside. I have just not had any issue with it on the reverse from heritage. Yes - a few I got already had issues, but none caused by peeling labels off from heritage. I know some of the dealer ones were worse. I can't remember who I got one from that had like three stuck on labels(it was a pcgs slab) all 3 labels came off, but left sticky stuff on the slab. That one was a bear to get cleaned up.
They do have their inventory automated. But that doesn't solve the problem. What is needed, and needed not just for Heritage but for all dealers and sellers, is a quick and easy way to mark slabs for pricing. And that's what the labels do. There is no bar code reader need, there is no computer with a database or inventory needed, they just pick up the slab look at the label, and they can tell their customer how much that coin cost. You have to remember, most of this takes place at a coin show where time is of the essence. The technology you are advocating takes a great deal more time to use than the simple label does. And that's why they do it. And if peeling the labels off once you have bought a coin also peels a bit of the hologram off the slab - so what ? I mean what's the big deal ? Do you care more about the colored ink on the outside of the slab than you do the coin ? Did you buy the slab - or did you buy the coin ? What's more important to you ? I just don't get it.
It's outrageous that this happened to you, Hunt1, have you called Heritage yet??? I would be adament about this until they fulfill their duty to you, their customer. A customer after all is their most valuable asset. And in this case I would venture to guess you are not happy, you are really, really, peeved for the damage that was done to the original slab which is valuable in and of itself, where three graders looked at your coin and agreed as to the current grade and a finalizer also agreed, plus the company has an iron-clad guarantee as long as the slab is undamaged. I have no real doubt, maybe a glimmer, that the TPG company would reslab it. So Heritage could send a private courier to pick up said certified coin at your residence, and then have it reslabbed in an equal or greater condition slab. Would this be satisfactory to you? If they refuse to help you, you could contact the attorney general in your state and see if they would be interested in writing Heritage a letter outlining your grievances. Or you could sue them yourself for damage to the holder, emotional duress, and maybe even loss of conjugal privileges.
That does change things a little. I didn't realize they did business at coin shows. I thought most of their inventory sat in a store room just waiting for an auction to close.
There is a very important variable to consider - the lot viewing process. For any given auction, several hundred people view Heritage lots. At the auction venue, there can be several dozen people viewing simultaneously. In that setting, any given lot can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. So here is the problem - how does one allow easy and prompt access to $30 million worth of coins and yet maintain 100% security on every single coin ? Heritage has several thousand coins in every auction (almost 10,000 at January FUN 2012). Those coins are stored in several hundred boxes. Each box is marked with a beginning and ending lot number. Clients get the boxes, look through them, then put them back in the boxes in order of lot number. At that point, a monitor person can quickly look through the box and verify all coins are there. This system works if, and only if, the coin has the house's lot number on the coin. There is nothing wrong with putting a sticker on a coin.
There is a very important variable to consider - the post-auction process. For any given auction, the house has to deliver thousands of coins to hundreds of clients. It should be easy to see why both the house and the clients prefer a 4 or 5 digit lot number to 8 or 10 digit certificate numbers - which are not necessarily unique between TPGs. Obviously, when it's time to pull a client's auction winnings, the house needs their own lot number on each coin to prepare the shipment for delivery. There is nothing wrong with putting a sticker on a coin.
There is yet another very important variable to consider - the clients. How many clients want to work through a 5,000 coin auction dealing with 10-digit certificate numbers ? Don't we prefer 4 digit lot numbers ? Do clients have bar-code readers ? Clients don't have access to the coins while browsing on the internet. There is nothing wrong with putting a sticker on a coin.
