I can't claim a lot of love lost for PCGS, but this is certainly turning out to be the Slab From Hell for them.
Mr. Larry Pelf: PCGS wants the coin back for evaluation. Contact Alma Salgado at PCGS: Good Afternoon, This coin will need to come back to be reviewed. Please provide the following information: Full Name Shipping Address Phone Number I will be sending you step-by-step instructions on how to return this coin to PCGS to have the designation reviewed, I will also provide you with a pre-completed FedEx label to ship the coin back to PCGS for review under our account. This will all be free of charge and we will try to have these corrected and returned as quickly as possible. Thank you, Alma (Stephanie) SalgadoCustomer Service Representative p 800.447.8848 | f 949.567.1253 | PCGS.com
I do hope they pay the man something though. Like a couple thousand bucks or something.... even though all he deserves for his conduct here is a swift kick in the rear.
This has been a painful thread to read. At first I could only feel heartfelt sympathy for the OP as the knowledgeable members on here (a bit too gleefully and forcefully than is seemly IMHO) pointed out the issues with his coin's attribution. It would have been nice if he would have kept the high road but I can somewhat understand lashing out a bit in dissapointment. I hope PCGS at least makes an attempt at reasonable compensation and everyone ends up more-or-less happy.
I don't want this thread to end. It's like the tv show lost, ups and downs, you think you know what's going on then Ben pops up out of no where. Then you realize it's all a dream. Man. I might actually float over to the PCGS page just to read their thread.
Even though I won't defend the gentleman, if this is real, you approached it in a self-serving, unnecessary, and utterly classless manner. If PCGS doesn't know who he is already, his profile here is open, so sending a private message would've been a more fair and reasonable first option. PCGS blew this one, not the OP, so regardless of his behavior here, the onus is on them to handle this in a respectable manner. You also said yesterday that PCGS had already taken down the cert, but it's still there. Something isn't adding up here...
I honestly feel bad for the guy. To think you just made $35,000+, then to slowly see it slip away. Some of the PCGS guys have been a little too harsh in my opinion. Yes, if the coin was mis-graded, it should be corrected, but I honestly feel like they should do SOMETHING to make it right for him. Maybe not $40,000... but probably a couple.
PCGS is a harsh forum. It speaks volumes about the company, that they'd allow such behavior in a venue they're legally-responsible for maintaining. A far different thing than CoinTalk, whose sole purpose is to act as an online community. And I have no sympathy for a man who brags about his faith, and then begins hurling insults the moment things stop going his way.
I was wrong about them taking it down. I was looking it up and made a mistake while inputting the number. I actually thought it had been taken down. I made a mistake and I'm sorry about the error. It does appear that the coin is no longer in the CoinFacts gallery though. As far as how to handle the situation, it is complicated. People that have paid to legitimately acquire a genuine VDB proof need some guarantee that coins that aren't genuine don't find their way into PCGS holders. The OP shut down dialog and has taken the position that he wants to charge money just to see a picture of his find. He had already taken the posture of closing the conversation. People need to be protected. It could be a very costly fraud if this coin was sold as a proof if it isn't a genuine one. Someone could get hurt badly financially and that is something I believe should not be allowed to happen. He has already spoken of selling it. Ball is in his court and the next move is up to him.
Um....the OP posted a screen-shot in his first message here. Still able to be viewed there. I also took screen shots of the Cert View page, and saved out the full-size PCGS TrueView images for my (ongoing) record of stupid PCGS mistakes.
The posters were correct. PCGS voided the certification number so that the text reads, "We're sorry. That PCGS Cert Number was not found in our database. Please double check the number and try again" if you try to verify the original serial number.
It is incredibly rude of you to refer to knowledgeable posters as "Crybabbies" (sic). The posters were apparently right as PCGS has pulled the serial number from its online verification database. Oh well...