How do I pop a coin into PCGS holder?

I'm sure most of you have had one of these PCGS slabbed coins where the coin is not centered within the holding contraption. In other words the coin's edge is not snug within the grove of the holder prong.

I'm trying to tap the slab so that it pops into place but that's not working. Anyone know of a trick to fix this?

 

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I'm attaching a photo showing how the edge is pressed against the prong lip. I just need it to literally drop about half a millimeter to fall into the grove. I tried to tap the slab in the direction where the coins momentum would have it slide into place, but that's not working.

 

Tapping dese not work! You need to slam it and cross your fingers. Cup the slab in your hand and slam it down on a wooden desk covered with a piece of thin gray cardboard from the back of a legal pad. If that does not work - back to PCGS.

 

I have a coin in an NGC holder like yours. Every time I see it I want to correct it. Maybe a twist on opposing corners? Or hit it harder on the table like insider said?

 

I will try this when I get home, thank you.

 

And then you don't have to worry about whether the slab is centered anymore.

 

I just tried this in my car. Have a legal pad so I laid it on the passenger seat and started slamming away to no avail. At least it released some stress from traffic, haha.

When I get home I'm going to put it in the freezer for 30 minutes then try slamming again.

 

Is that what they mean by 'cold cash'?

 

No Raul, freezing will make the plastic get colder than the coin, as plastic and metal have different thermal properties causing the plastic to even get more tighter around the coin - What you want to do is heat up the plastic holder area so it expands faster than the metal in the coin, Hair dryer (probably not, not enough heat all at once), Heat gun, Steam, Dip in boiling water? I don't know if those are water tight. But you have to thermal expand the plastic holder faster than the metal coin that is in it - then a tap to the holder should settle it into the slightly expanded grooved slab from the heating!
Oh, forgot to add - a little heat at a time untill it works - don't melt the SOB the very first try - LOL!!

 

Your car seat is too soft. If you are going to play around, leave the slab in the sun for a few hours, then while everything is soft and hot, start tapping it or give it a slam. This method (heat) may affect the coin inside so I don't use it. Nevertheless, I'll submit this suggestion to "fit in" with the guys who mentioned using an erasure to remove spots on coins.

 

Or , Like The Silver Searcher kid said he uses Windex to shine up his silver?

 

Nobody really stated - Melt the crap out of the slab! Just a little heat time period on plastic goes a long way!!

 

I got to admit - When I was a biker over 25+ years ago a "tapping" and a "slamming" meant the difference of about 5 years in prison - LOL!!!

 

What did each refer to?

 

If the coins slipped in the holder once then it's going to slip again. I would send it back to the grading company and have them put it in a new holder. That way your sure that the coin is in a proper holder. If the coins value is worth the expense.

 

I'm not sure that is right, Markus.

If the plastic contracts faster than the coin, wouldn't the ring shrink in diameter while also expanding the inner diameter of the ring... at least for a while in the cooling curve?

Anyway, you might want to just email or call PCGS and show them the coin. They might be willing to re-set it free of charge, if you received it like that from them.

 

Let's make sure we DON'T get condensation inside the holder from the "freeze job."

 

It is very likely that the coin was inserted into the prongs slightly crooked when PCGS assembled the slab. I've had it happen before. It probably didn't actually slip, and will probably be held just fine once corrected. The plastic is usually just a bit tight, and will hold the coin just fine. If you can correct it yourself, it is much cheaper than a reholder.

I would be more concerned that freezing the slab will cause the plastic to become more brittle. Any smacking or thwacking with a brittle plastic will cause it to crack.

As for the OP - I've had coins a bit crooked in prongs before. It may sound brutal, but seriously all you need to do is slam the face of the slab on a desk (try and get the face as level as you can - you don't want to slam just a corner, because you will damage your desk, and crack the slab). You want to evenly distribute the force across the entire face of the slab.

Your legal pad didn't do anything because it is not a hard surface. You need a hard surface like a desk, counter, or table top - the legal pad and seat absorbed all of the force, instead of transferring it to the slab.

And also, you want to do it upside down - that is, opposite of the actual direction you want the coin to move.

 

My first inclination was to try heat but then realized that would probably tighten the pressure between the coin edge and plastic lip. I need for the coin to slip from the colliding edges and down into the groove. I'm hoping cold will make the plastic contract and therefore free up the necessary space.

I don't know for certain if the coin was slabbed that way but if I had to bet I would say it left PCGS that way. My reasoning is how tight it appears to be that slamming (and I mean really hard) did not budge the coin at all. Also, the coin is reeded and it looks like the reeds might be pressed into the plastic edge. The outer part of the plastic lip also seems to be slightly raised where reeds are located. It could be an optical illusion though.

 

I thought about this also. I don't know how much this might help but I was going to first place it in a sealed zip-lock bag. At least it will prevent the frost air in the fridge from coming in contact with the slab, if not do anything for the air already in the slab.