Fake PCGS Slab: was duped

I bid on a MS62 Chinese Silver dollar from 1921 and when it was received the slab had chunks out of edge and white glue and finger prints inside the slab. The auction house only provided one scan that was a bit out of focus so I relied on the slab. A poor grade or fake coin was inserted. The black tar residue on the rims often indicates fakes. Anyway, I complained and received no apology but got my money back but not the insured shipping which appears to be at my expense. Just letting you folks know just in case you come across it.

 

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Did you pay for it with a credit card?

 

They only accepted bank transfer........would not take card.

 

Is it a US based auction house and if not, what country is it in?

 

That looks like the white fingerprints from superglue. Bet the coin is fake. Fatman dollars are frequently counterfeited.

 

In that case I'd count myself very lucky to receive any money back at all.

Actually, in that case I would never have been a bidder.

What was the venue and seller? What sort of guarantee did they claim to offer?

 

UK auction house..........

 

If they refused a refund I would have filed paperwork with the county court and got it back that way. Auction houses can be difficult until the court paperwork hits their inbox. In the UK it is cheap to file in court but you must give them an opportunity to resolve the matter first. I also contacted PCGS by phone as no reply to my e-mails.....they had some interest in what I had to say.....but they commented that they didn't have a database of such fakes.....so probably just being personable on the phone.

 

Scan provided by auction house.

 

Holder is fake. The font is wrong!

 

I imagine the holder is genuine but the information fake........cracked open a genuine holder.

 

Here's an image of the actual coin.

 

Yes.........I sent this to the auction house

 

Its always a good idea to check the ngc/pcgs etc. database to check if the coin in the slab matches with the verified slab.

 

Yes......but the scan offered by the auction house was not good enough for comparison for me at least.

 

No, the scan was more than adequate for you to distinguish from the verification pics, the scan clearly shows the coin from the auction house lacks any luster, and of much lower quality.

 

I was wise after the fact.........anyway........only £7.50 out of pocket right now.

 

Yeah if the font wasn't a give away look at the barcode to see the difference even with the low quality auction pictures.

In the future I wouldn't buy from any auction house that provides photos like that they're obviously hiding something putting so little effort into a simple photo.

 

Here is a good resource to see the majority of PCGS holders through the years. Familiarize yourself with what genuine ones look like so that you know what to look for in the future.

https://www.pcgs.com/holders

(there are arrows to scroll through on the sides)

 

And don't use that auction house in the future.........