Here is a beautiful Barber Dime in a PCGS slab in which the inner plastic insert has rotated dramatically from its proper orientation. Note that the dime is correctly positioned within the insert. 1), Why does this happen so often? 2), Can the slab be tapped on a hard surface to correct the insert's orientation, the way one could correct coin orientation with older, pre-pronged slabs? https://coins.ha.com/itm/barber-dim...6-3377.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515
I've had success rotating coins in the old circumference gasket slabs (especially NGC). I've not had much success rotating the prong style slabs (although, to be fair, I usually only buy NGC - I don't know how PCGS slabs behave. I'd assume they're similar).
You should be able to edge tap it and get it right again since it was a little lose allowing the rotation in the first place.
Some ideas that have been given in the past: "Either repeatedly tap the corner of the slab on a hard surface (not hard enough to break it)" - @illini420 "get one of those sonic toothbrushes, turn it on and touch it to the edge or corner of the slab." "Do not place on the front or rear face, as it will not work - and it could scratch the case. After a couple of seconds, look for the direction that the coin is rotating, if it going the wrong way just flip the holder around and then it will not have to rotate "the long way" to get back to the proper orientation." bump them on the heel of your hand on the opposite side from the direction you want them to rotate
If it were me I'd just tell myself to "live with it". There's the potential to do damage especially if it's been that way since the "gitgo", i.e., the TPG did the mis-orientation.
Ditto, I've had success with the old NGC slabs, too, and maybe with a PCGS as well. But the composition of the new inserts in both is different—seems to be softer and "foamier"—and I've not had success with these either, particularly when the insert seems to be properly oriented but the coin is not.
You're right, it had to have been allowed to move in the first place. I've pondered this problem for more time than I'd care to admit. The inserts have to be designed tight enough to hold the coin securely but apparently not so tight that it becomes cumbersome and slows down the process (cutting into profits!) for the "staff" (i.e., the carpal tunnel crew) who spend their days inserting coins. But really, can't they design an insert which is the right size and has the right amount of friction so that it can't move? Doesn't sound that difficult to me. What I also don't understand is that, if it takes so much effort to correct the orientation of a coin by banging it on a desktop, how was the coin able to move that much in the first place? How does basic handling of slabs—even years of driving them around to shows or shipping them—produce so much movement? Btw, this isn't my coin, just one I chose as a dramatic example. I do like it though.
Thanks for digging these up. I've seen the video before but had not heard of the sonic toothbrush idea which sounds interesting. I'm still wondering how successful these techniques are with the new inserts. I've not had much luck with the new ones, particularly when the coin is out of whack (in PCGS slabs) and not the insert. But I haven't spent that much time trying all techniques, either.
It's a presentation thing and it really bothers me. But your comment brings up another question I've always wondered about and have never seen a thread on. Do TPGs allow slabs to be sent out with coins improperly oriented? I've always assumed they try to get it right (or very close) and that most movement occurs afterward. It would bug me to find out they allow a lot of sloppiness in the process.
They have, it is designed not to have move and most won't. It could have just been slightly off when it was made or exposed to extreme weather at one point that caused the ring to become lose.
I can see coins rotating in their inserts due to the effects of weather since metals—particularly copper—are sensitive to temperature changes but I'm not so convinced this explains why a plastic insert would rotate within its slab (as with this dime example). Plastic has negligible heat conductivity. That the insert would move at all suggests an unsuccessful design to me.
The vast majority of them won't. Every now and then some do as with anything in manufacturing. They are different plastics though. You can deform the inner rings being a soft plastic if you expose them to enough heat, there's a thread somewhere where part of the inner ring collapsed so it is more like a triangle from extreme heat. The coin is undamaged though
