I have a friend who has some high grade early coins to send in. We are still undecided on NGC or PCGS. I have a NGC account and could submit for him. However...both NGC and PCGS's economy tiers state a maximum value of $300. Well...to know value, you have to know grade, which is kind of the point of sending them in to have graded. Well...on one coin the value is $200, and the next grade up is $400. So what happens if you send in a coin that might be graded at a value of $400? Will they not grade it, or will they grade it and send you a bill for the next tier?
That is a very good question but I think it is the value you set on your form. If if grades higher than you thought it would then I can not see them dinging you but I don't really know.
I was in exact that situation, when a silver world coin came back as MS64. I thought it would grade AU and declared $300. MS value is $1000+ but NGC never mentioned it or charged me for that coin.
Tim, the primary reason the grading services want you to provide a stated value is for insurance purposes. If you think a coin may have a shot at a higher grade and greater value, then it is in your best interest to give it that higher stated value. Yes, there are people who intentionally undervalue coins in order to place them in a lower-cost tier and save on shipping & insurance, but suppose the coins are lost in return shipping. If the coin actually came in a higher and more valuable grade, the TPG would settle your claim for no more than the stated amount on the submission form. However, bear in mind that over-valuing a coin won't necessarily mean that you would receive the full stated amount if it were lost in the mail. If a coin comes back graded lower than you anticipated, you would then have to negotiate a fair settlement with the TPG. Chris
It's a question that has come up many times. Simple answer, as long as you are reasonably close it doesn't matter. But if you send in a coin and claim it is only worth $250, when it is obvious the coin is actually worth closer to $2500 - then yeah you're gonna get a bill, and not get the coins back until you pay it. In other words, if you don't try to cheat them, no problem. Try to cheat, and yes you have a problem.
As long as you do not do this consistently, then you'll not be billed the extra fees. Over on the CU Forums, David Hall was recalling how one individual, who was well known in the industry, "consistently" sent in coins on a grading tier level which simply did not cover the value of the coins being submitted. On one particular order, David took note of this and then decided to address the issue in person. At a Long Beach coin show he looked this dealer up to let him know that his latest submission had been damaged and with full apologies offered to pay him the $300 per coin tier level for his multi-thousand dollar loss! The fellows jaw dropped! When informed of the truth of the matter, the fellow started submitting his coins in the correct tier level. New submitters are allowed certain mistakes in judgment but once it becomes apparent that the system is being played, PCGS will address the issue. It usually amounts to an email or telephone notification of some type. I can only assume that NGC and the other TPG's handle it the same.
Yes. However, declaring $300 on a coin that turns out to be worth $3,000 can be a tough rock to swallow!
