I gave $200 to NGCS for NOTHING!!

I am highly dissapointed in their service, I should say Lack of any service. I have a 1861 $5 Territorial Gold coin, a photo of which is disclosed under that header in this same forum, that I decided to ship to NGCS. After consulting that I should insure it for $10,000 in 2 Day registered mail, I paid out $40.00. I paid NGCS $95.00 for their servcie however I received a call from them that they would inspect it as Walk Thru not what I had paid for which was the next service down. I received the FED Express box moments ago only to see they charged me $165.00 for telling me that it was scratched and no grading servcie could be provided!!

Thanks NGCS for charging me $165.00 for No Service!!! The BBB should know about this...

You can look at the photo under this same forum at an earlier posting (several weeks ago)- 1861 Territorial Gold

 

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11-06-2006

the photo of the coin was posted in this forum.

 

they dont grade scratched coins?

 

It is pure Robery!

That photo of mine certainly have minor scratches, but why not grade it??? If you are not, then why take my $165.00?

Thanks Drusus for attaching it.

 

PCGS and NGC do not grade or slab scratched coins. If I have a scratched coin that I want slabbed for some reason (for a certain variety for example), I send it to ANACS. They put it in one of their older sized slabs and mark the type of damage on the label.

NGC mentions on their website that they do not slab scratched coins. They even have a NO GRADES booklet in PDF that you can download. It has examples of what they won't grade. It looks like your coin has a severe scratch.
NoGrades.PDF

Don't get me wrong. I've had several coins returned from PCGS that I thought would grade. What I thought was "minor", they thought was "major". It's frustrating.

 

Irish:
I can understand your frustration, but it is their policy not to slab problem coins.
Then, why couldn't they send it across the hall to NCS (their problme coin company) and have the slab it as genuine? They had it in hand.
A lot of money for absolutely nothing.

 

I'm sorry, but I consider this another example of someone not reading the fine print.

NGC, like any other legitimate TPG, charges a fee for an opinion. Their fees vary based on the type of coin and the speed with which the opinion is to be rendered. If the opinion is that the coin does not qualify for grading under their established standards, than when they tell you that within the time limits of the tier you paid for, you have received exactly what you ordered. If you didn't want to pay for the opinion unless you agreed with it, you should have sent the coin to SGS for an MS/PF70 label (or made your own label and used a CoinWorld slab).

I can think of two equally compelling reasons:

1. NCS attempts to correct things like verdigris, corrosion, PVC residue, etc., all of which affect the overall surface of the coin. They do it by highly advanced techniques, but basically they are cleaning the coin. The only way to remove a scratch is by buffing/polishing it away.
2. The coin in question had been submitted to NGC for grading, not to NCS for conservation. They are separate subsidiaries, performing different services, through different employees.

The TPGs do enough things to complain about without being subjected to abuse for precisely fulfilling their end of the bargain. (And before anyone asks, I do not have any financial interest in any TPG.)

 

I believe that irishman was trying to follow advice given and may have not picked up on the advice to send the coin to NCS and not to NGC! Maybe when there is a problem coin involved, it would be best to advise them to send the coin to NCS or ANACS with no mention of NGC or PCGS.

 

GDJMSP & Hunstman53 -

Thank you, I do recall GDJMSPyou indicating this to me. I alos did not take into consideration that NGC would not have advised me once they open up the package and saw the scratch. Not a great customer satisfaction model. All they had to do was offer an option to take it over to NCS for an additional fee rather than charge me a higher service than I requested. I just wanted to get it slabbed and they knew full well that it would not get slabbed becasue of the scratch once they saw it.

 

So now what is all lost?

I now understand that I will have to get it net graded, but based on the photo it is geniune and rare...will the scratch and thus really what is at the center of my question the inability to get it graded from the dominant 2 grading service providers - PCGS and NGC..I will loose thousands of dollars??

Does rarity vs a scratch plus the inability to get it graded by PCGS or NGC put mebehind the 8-Ball when considering I may want to auction it off??

 

"Does rarity vs a scratch plus the inability to get it graded by PCGS or NGC put mebehind the 8-Ball when considering I may want to auction it off??"

I believe that a truely scarce coin, like this one (I honesty have no idea of the value, since I did not look it up) will sell, but (!) a buyer would/may want some security in a TPG'ers indication that the coin is genuine, that was why I suggested NCS.
I know that they 'curate' coins, but I have seen 'genuine' on their holders, and would suspect that they would be able to 'genuine' the label without touching the surfaces, unless asked to do so.

 

You need to send it to NCS and not ask that they send it to NGC...get is slabbed by NCS and you will do fine.
Sorry to hear about what happened---

Speedy

 

Now it's just me but if I had already sent the coin to NGC and they body bagged it, charged me the amount of fees that they charged you and did not even offer to walk the coin over to their NCS Section, then I would say to he** with them! However, I would at least call them and ask if they will give you a discount based of what just happened with them! If they are unwilling to give you a discount, then I would send the coin to ANACS instead as they are highly trusted when it comes to rare coins and third on the rating tier for TPG's. Within the rating tier, I have no idea where NCS falls but just because they are a Sub Section or Company of NGC, that does not also give the second position on the rating tier which NGC currently holds. If you can hold off on selling the coin, I would wait until the price of Gold goes back up to near $700 or even above. It would be a good idea to go ahead and get the coin certified and graded, so that you don't have to worry about any rate increases and the extra costs in the future!

 

Lately from what I hear and what I'm seeing ANACS is falling from that trusted plain they were at---and rightly so IMHO....with their new holders and new overgrading....
I'm just glad that Taylor and some of the others left as many they will tighten back down.

Speedy

 

How many people would lay down $2000 for an unslabbed coin in this age of TPGs ? Some, but few. Offering a high end piece unslabbed means you're drastically diminishing your potential customer base - cutting it by 80% (?).

That's particularly true of an unusual piece such as the Territorial Gold here.

Beyond any question, send it to NCS or ANACS. I've been very happy with ANACS' customer service.

I empathize with what you went through. I'm honestly sorry it happened.

 

I know not everybody has the luxury of doing this, but IF you can bring your raw coins, or those that you are thinking about buying/slabbing to a major coin show like F.U.N. or the A.N.A., DO IT!

At the show site, you will get a quick, non-binding, opinion (grade) on the coin from the likes ICG, ANACS, NGC amd PCGS. Of course they want you to submit coins to them, but save yourself the headache, embarassment, and COSTS right up front.

They will give the coin a quick look over (under the loop) and you might here: "63, 64, 64, cleaned, 63, whizzed, 63, damaged/scratched, 63, 62, dipped." Just imagine if you shelled out $30/coin (not including S&H) to get these coins graded and $120 of what you paid gets "body-bagged".

It makes you want to scream, but that's how it goes sometimes!

 

I can see why they didn't slab your coin, but I also think they should have cut you a price break. You should email them and explain the situation and see if they will lower the price.

 

I just dont get it. Why do they not go ahead and slab the coin regardless of what their opinion is? If its a fake, note on the holder, its a fake, if its cleaned or whatever put it on the holder. At leaset that would stop all disputes. I recently sent a 1909SVDB in, it came back body bagged from PCGS. I have since taken it RAW to a few shows and EVERY dealer I have shown it to is interested in buying it as real. I tell them its fake and move on, they dont care. I have yet to have a dealer tell me they think its a problem coin. It does look good I have to admit. HOWEVER, had PCGS slabbed it as a problem coin the chances of it getting back into mainstream I would think would diminish. I still have it, been tempted a few times to let it go to one of the dealers but never will. I dont want somebody to get burned on the purchase.