Google isn't helping me because t just shows any word with a t and the ngc site doesn't specify the t. I'm assuming it means toned but would like some confirmation. Can someone help me here?
I'll betcha a phone call to NGC - http://www.ngccoin.com/contact-us.aspx - would get you your answer toute suite.
The T and W meant toned and white, respectively, but were a colossal failure on the part of NGC and must have lasted only around a year.
The T is an interesting designation. I guess it means that the graders felt it was NT (not AT) and thus qualified to be slabbed as such. I have seen a lot more W designations than T.
I actually thought it was a good idea but it needed more information. The early PCI slabs did this but added a % of T or W. That could be helpful in knowing how much a coin has changed in the slab. I'm sure stuff like this would really slow down the grading process at the TPGs and few wish to pay higher grading fees.
I wasn't judging him, I just thought it was a useful thread and it's sort of difficult to find for the reasons that Vic stated (typing "T" into the search box is a little less than helpful). Back in 2011 I had contacted NGC about the dates for which these designations were used. The answer was that they were used only from the "beginning of 2000 and were discontinued in August 2002." My personal experience has been that the "W" designation (for white) was heavily used in that timeframe, but the "T" was used more sparingly. I have been fascinated for a while with the "W" and "T" designations, and have purchased a few examples whenever I see them up for sale and (of course) I also liked the coin in the slab. In the 5-ish years I have been browsing eBay and other venues with an eye out for these, I have seen only a small handful of examples of coins well outside the 2000-2002 window where the "W" or "T" designation was carried forward on a new label/holder. I did purchase one of those coins, which was re-holdered sometime in the "pronged" NGC era, and the "W" designation was carried forward to the new label. In general, it is the policy of NGC to remove these "W" and "T" designations when a coin is submitted for reholdering.
Are you sure on that @Conder101 ? I have known people specifically ask for the "T" and "W" to be retained, and NGC would not do so when reholdering. The Appalachian Nickels are almost all still in their original NGC 8 holders for that very reason. I believe I have seen one Appalachian a few years back that retained the "T", but @Lehigh96 would be better to ask about that specifically.
To my knowledge, the only way to retain the "T" or "W" designation is by mistake. NGC does not use the designations any longer and will remove them from both re-grades and re-holdering. They state as much in their press release: NGC TO DISCONTINUE "W" DESIGNATION Additionally, David Lange informed me that they will remove the "T" designation if I send a coin in for a designation review in a response to a question I posed in the ASK NGC section of the NGC Forum in March 2009 (see link below): Designation Review (Star) So if NGC will remove the "T" designation against your wishes with relation to a designation review, it stands to reason that they would remove it from re-holder submissions as well. This is the only coin I own where they did not remove the "T" designation. Paul
OK I was apparently mistaken, but in my own defense I did say I BELIEVE they would be retained on a reholder.
