I have a couple of PCGS slabbed coins labeled Genuine(an indian penny and one 1899-p morgan) that are a little bit dirty, They were found with a metal detector. I have been thinking of sending these to get professionally cleaned for a chance at an actual grade instead of just genuine. Has anyone got input for this service? NCS i mean?
There is only 1 thing that I know of that could maybe be reversed - PVC. If the coin was slabbed Genuine for any other reason then NCS do could nothing to change that. If you would list the code numbers on the slabs for us we can tell you what the reason was.
NCS is on my (deleted expletive) list. I sent a gold coin in to them that I KNEW had PVC issues. Fortunately PVC damages gold coins at a much slower rate than other metals. I purposely didn't mention the problem with the coin. Hey, if they are the professionals they're suppose to be, they would spot the problem. They took my money and returned the coin untouched with some sort of nonsense reason about them not altering the toning on coins. In other words they couldn't or didn't bother to recognize the problem. They are now on my blocked list. And I will bad-mouth them if asked or given an appropriate opportunity.
I'm a bit confused. If those coins are in a PCGS slab, are you indicating the slab is dirty or the coins. Odd that someone, somehow lost a large hunk of plastic but I guess that's possible. If the slab is just dirty, that should be easily cleaned using the plastic rejuvenator stuff found in most auto sections of auto parts stores, Walmart, Kmart, Target, etc. If the coins are a bit dirty, could you explain exactly how they appear of show a photo of them???????
Well, they were dirty after retrieving them from the earth and I rinsed them off with distilled water and gently patted them dry with a lint free cloth. As expected some dirt remained in the denticles and on the devices and what have you, I sent them in to be graded without trying to "clean" them-read scrubbing with a brillo- and they were returned in a slab as Genuine 97 environmental damage. I was hoping to send them to NCS to have them cleaned better than I could do and regraded with at least something better than XF. I do not wish to clean them myself, and I was hoping for some good consumer reports about the service. Thank you to all responders.
Im not sure why you would bother, at least with the Morgan unless you are certain it would go MS 66-67. Otherwise the slabbing charge has to be worth more than the cost of a new clean coin.
As I said before, there is nothing NCS can do. Enviromental damage cannot be reversed. No matter what you do to the coins they cannot be improved and the grade raised. However, doing more to them could lower the grade.
Sure, they can call it "damage" if they glance and see it is too dirty to be graded. Is it really damaged if NCS can clean the dirt off? I will send it in as an experiment. Perhaps it is not damaged underneath the dirt. Maybe it's preserved! I know, its my dollars at stake. The cost of getting it re-slabbed and actually graded this time might recupe my initial expense. Or not. What would you do?
I sent in a problem coin to them to see if they'd catch it (on a free offer). They did catch it and body bagged it. I guess that that speaks in their favor.
Being dirty does not prevent a coin from being graded. Dirty coins are graded all the time. And removing the dirt seldom increases the grade. What you have to realize is this, environmental damage means that the coin is corroded (portions of the surface have been eaten away) and there is nothing in this world that change that or improve it. The dirt on the coin has nothing to do with it and removing that dirt will change nothing. As to what would I do ? Sell the coins as is and get new ones that you are happy with.
I guess dipping is not out of the question since I don't see any obvious corrosion. Couldn't they just give me a lower grade for the corrosion after I gamble with acetone? Thank you for your input. You have explained a scenario that which I presumed to be true, but my denial might produce a favorable outcome. If you are right and I believe you are, I just might have to crack it out and put it in a cloudy scratched flip and unload it.
Acetone is not a coin dip, nor will it remove dirt & grime and/or organic material. Acetone only removes PVC and oils and that's about it. So you could try it, but I doubt it would do anything to change the appearance of the coin. Now don't misunderstand me, you could dip the coin and probably remove the material, whatever it is. But if you did that all it would do would be to expose the damage that lies underneath all the dirt and grime. That's why the coin was labeled environmental damage. You may not be able to see it, perhaps recognize it would be a better term, but they can and did see it. There is a basic truth in numismatics, you can change the appearance of a coin, but rarely can you can improve the appearance. You can remove one problem, but that will most times only expose or even cause another. That's why only certain coins should ever be dipped. Or why only certain coins should ever be submitted to NCS. After all, all they are gonna do is dip them.
Sounds like your just really unhappy with that coin the way it is. So why bother cracking it out at all? Why go throuhg the trouble of having it reslabbed by anyone? Just sell it as is. Not even sure why your so bothered with whatever is on the coins or the slab since you found it and it didn't cost nothing. I'd be just happy to have found that as is.
