I was checking up on one of my submissions to NGC and it's on the "Grading/Quality Control" phase. NGC describes this phase as when: Coins are graded, encapsulated, and re-examined by a grader to make certain that their labels are correct for both the grade and its accompanying descriptive information. He also inspects each coin for any flaws on its holder, such as scuffs or nicks. Is that order correct, in that the coins are graded and encapsulated after the first grader, then re-examined by a second grader? I always thought it was two graders who viewed the coin independently (so as not to create bias by showing the first grader's grade) as a raw coin. If it was encapsulated after the first grader, then wouldn't that also cause inconvenience if they don't agree with the grade and the third grader says that the grade should be different from what the slabbed label says? Or, does this Grading/QC phase simply mean that a third person grades and checks the coin? Logically, I'm thinking that it's the first two graders who grade the coin raw, and this Grading/QC phase is where a third grader comes in. But, maybe it's not how this whole TPG business works... Thanks in advance!
The grading process is done by the time it is being ready to get shipped out and getting that final check. Really what they're saying is supposed to happen is someone is checking to make sure the slabs aren't damaged and the labels match the coin in the holders, kind of like a final quality control check in a manufacturing plant before boxing something up for shipping.
Thanks that's what I figured. I thought it was too wild a thought for someone to be grading a coin through a slab.
You need to read between the lines...IMO, what you read is a general description of the way most of the four TPGS's do it. On some occasions and for some coins the number of graders who see a particular coin may not match the usual belief of 2 graders + 1 finalizer + 1 QC grader. But what do I know? PS One TPGS Summer Seminar instructor told us that at least one finalizer and one other professional grader besides himself sometimes will put a coin they have just graded back into the plastic flip to look at it again to simulate what it will look like through the plastic slab.
Where it says "graded, encapsuated....." Graded is the process of being seen and graded by two or three graders. THEN it is ecapsulated. The "re-examined by a grader" is when the encapsulated coin is then checked by the finalizer before being sent out, the quality control phase.
They're just examining the coin at that point to see if the label is correct and nothing obvious has been missed. They do miss quite a few obvious things though, so I can't imagine how many they must actually catch... I've got quite a few label errors (and have sent most back in for correction), but here's my favorite error label due to how obvious the mistake is. The klippe version of this taler is so big they only slab it in their oversized holder.
My expectation is that their QC staff should know what a klippe is. But for those who may be unfamiliar, this is what one should expect to see when seeing the label on the above coin.
Amusing you as just a free service that NGC provides. I recommend you keep quiet about it or else they'll end up putting it on their form with a $20 fee
