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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Charlie32, post: 91528, member: 4030&quot;]Here is a letter about it by Barry Stuppler. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>On March 18, 2004, Alan and Diane Hager of ASA</p><p>Accugrade, Inc. (ACG) filed a lawsuit against 46 numismatists,</p><p>many of them ANA members. I am one of the 46. It’s</p><p>an honor to be in the company of so many numismatists</p><p>who have contributed so</p><p>much to the hobby. The</p><p>defendants include people</p><p>like Ed Rochette, our</p><p>beloved and respected</p><p>former ANA executive</p><p>director; Gary Lewis,</p><p>current President of the</p><p>ANA; and ANA Governors</p><p>Alan Herbert and</p><p>Will Rossman. The Hagers allege that we and the 41 others</p><p>conspired to defame and libel ACG. The best defense against</p><p>such charges is the truth.</p><p>What led to Accugrade’s lawsuit? Until 2002, most</p><p>numismatists silently tolerated grading services that used</p><p>extraordinarily liberal standards to grade coins, as well as</p><p>certifying counterfeit, altered, repaired, and damaged coins.</p><p>As a result, some collectors, particularly uninformed newbies,</p><p>assumed that all coin-grading services were equal and</p><p>purchased certified coins worth a small fraction of the values</p><p>listed in respected pricing guides. On discovering that they</p><p>had been misled, many quit the hobby in disgust.</p><p>The veil of silence that concealed differences among</p><p>grading services was first torn away by an October 2002</p><p>PNG/ICTA grading company survey. The 151 professionals</p><p>who replied to the survey found ACG to be the only</p><p>company (among the seven major grading services at that</p><p>time) “unacceptable” in grading accuracy, grading guarantees,</p><p>and ability to detect altered, repaired, damaged, cleaned, and</p><p>counterfeit coins. The full results of the PNG/ICTA survey</p><p>are available at <a href="http://www.pngdealers.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.pngdealers.com" rel="nofollow">www.pngdealers.com</a>.</p><p>Enlightenment or conspiracy?</p><p>Thousands of coin buyers found the survey enlightening</p><p>and useful, and, as I do, want to see it periodically repeated.</p><p>ACG owner Diane Hager, however, viewed the survey as a</p><p>conspiracy against her company. According to Coin World</p><p>(October 24, 2002), Ms. Hager said, “There was no reason</p><p>to have a survey. Everyone knew what the results would</p><p>be … The whole purpose was to discredit my product,</p><p>my company.”</p><p>Ms. Hager followed her attacks on the survey by filing</p><p>an ethics complaint against me with the ANA. The complaint</p><p>was formally based on a single e-mail I had sent to</p><p>a client cautioning him about ACG’s grading practices.</p><p>I believe that the underlying cause of the complaint was</p><p>Ms. Hager’s belief (correct) that I was an advocate for the</p><p>grading survey within PNG and ICTA. I feel that the survey</p><p>helps new coin buyers make informed decisions and helps</p><p>ethical grading services improve.</p><p>An open hearing on the ethics complaint that took place</p><p>before the ANA Board of Governors and about 40 others in</p><p>Charlotte, NC, in March 2003 exposed ACG to the light of</p><p>day as never before. In a notarized letter submitted for the</p><p>record, Kristin Donnan describes how her 81-year-old aunt,</p><p>Norma Donnan, invested $356,000 in coins graded by ACG</p><p>only to discover that “Accugrade graded many of these coins</p><p>four to six grades higher than their true ranking. Because of</p><p>this fraudulent misrepresentation, Norma paid ten times the</p><p>coins’ true value. She now finds herself penniless …”</p><p>Coins change grades from room to room</p><p>In another notarized letter, former Accugrade employee</p><p>John Callandrello wrote, “I decided to leave Accugrade in</p><p>July [2002] because I was witnessing and observed a lot of</p><p>shady transactions.” Among the activities he describes are</p><p>the weekly visits of coin dealer Bob Johnson: “Bob would …</p><p>submit some 500 to 600 coins for grading. Alan [Hager,</p><p>ACG’s head grader and husband of owner Diane Hager]</p><p>would say to Bob, ‘Now well, Bob, how are you going to pay</p><p>for the certification fees,’ knowing that he would end up with</p><p>half of Bob’s coins, mostly undergraded pieces and gold</p><p>coins, as payment … After Bob Johnson would leave the</p><p>office, all of the gold coins and ungraded coins would be put</p><p>on my desk for re-labeling. What graded an MS-61 would</p><p>become an MS-64, an MS-62 would become an MS-65, and</p><p>an MS-63 would become an MS-66 … he [Alan Hager]</p><p>would then proceed to the AH-Collectibles room and have</p><p>Clayton Spencer list some or all of the coins on his eBay site</p><p>AH-Collectibles.” (Although ACG presents itself as a thirdparty</p><p>grading service, Alan Hager owns AH-Collectibles.)</p><p>Greg Rohan (another distinguished numismatist named</p><p>in ACG’s lawsuit), president of Heritage Rare Coin Galleries</p><p>and Heritage Numismatic Auctions, testified at the hearing</p><p>as follows: “I have lost track of the number of Accugrade</p><p>coins that were counterfeit that I’ve looked at. I have found</p><p>Help ANA Members Win the</p><p>An open letter</p><p>from Barry Stuppler, LM 924</p><p>PAID ADVERTISEMENT</p><p>2 N U M I S M A T I S T • J U L Y 2 0 0 4 w w w . m o n e y . o r g</p><p>“Most numismatists</p><p>silently tolerated</p><p>grading services that</p><p>used extraordinarily</p><p>liberal standards …”</p><p>“Most numismatists</p><p>silently tolerated</p><p>grading services that</p><p>used extraordinarily</p><p>liberal standards …”</p><p>Fight for Accurate Grading</p><p>3 J U L Y 2 0 0 4 • N U M I S M A T I S T w w w . m o n e y . o r g</p><p>Accugrade coins to be the coins of choice of the most</p><p>egregious, dishonest telemarketers that prey on the unsuspecting</p><p>public that I’ve ever seen. I have seen packages</p><p>of coins graded by Accugrade that are 6 to 10 points overgraded</p><p>… I have seen Accugrade coins that were both</p><p>whizzed and polished being sold as proof … I believe that</p><p>Accugrade is … basically a fraud.”</p><p>Silence not always golden</p><p>The letters and testimony quoted above, along with</p><p>other documentation of Accugrade’s misleading certification</p><p>and grading practices, is available in the ANA transcript of</p><p>the Charlotte hearing. The ANA Board concluded that it</p><p>“does not condone the ASA Accugrade grading standards</p><p>and believes that those standards can mislead the end</p><p>consumer with regard to the value of the</p><p>numismatic item being purchased.”</p><p>I believe ACG’s current lawsuit is</p><p>another attempt to intimidate the numismatic</p><p>community into silently accepting</p><p>“unacceptable” grading practices. But with</p><p>your help, this lawsuit will further expose</p><p>ACG, just as the PNG/ICTA survey and</p><p>ANA’s Charlotte hearing did. And it will</p><p>serve notice that the numismatic community</p><p>requires and demands responsible and</p><p>accurate grading.</p><p>Your help is needed</p><p>Many of the individuals named in ACG’s</p><p>lawsuit do not have the resources to mount a</p><p>legal defense. Numismatist Jason Craton, 33,</p><p>of Seaside, OR, is among them. Craton says, “I collected coins</p><p>with my grandfather until he died. When I became 21 in</p><p>1980, my grandmother gave me a portion of his collection,</p><p>and I was bit by the bug again. I’ve tried to help educate new</p><p>people about coin collecting, including advising them of the</p><p>differences among grading services. I assume Accugrade found</p><p>me by monitoring a newsgroup that I contribute to. The</p><p>hobby brings me joy, but this is chilling. It makes me think</p><p>about quitting. I stay home with our boys, ages 10 and 5, and</p><p>we just learned that my wife is pregnant. Her salary supports</p><p>our family. Coming up with my portion of the retainer and</p><p>the first month’s legal bill was tough. If the defense fund</p><p>doesn’t kick in, I have no idea where we’ll get the funds.”</p><p>Twenty of the defendants in the suit have jointly hired</p><p>Florida law firm Akerman Senterfitt. Some, like Jason</p><p>Craton, cannot independently raise their share of just the</p><p>legal fees, which could run more than $500,000.</p><p>ANA’s Executive Director, Christopher Cipoletti, has</p><p>announced the establishment of the ANA Legal Defense</p><p>Fund to “allow members to be proactive in their actions to</p><p>protect the hobby.” Mr. Cipoletti says that while the fund</p><p>“will continue after the conclusion of the Accugrade lawsuit,</p><p>contributions made at this time will assist Association</p><p>members in their defense of this suit.”</p><p>Consumer protection and/or freedom of speech</p><p>I am grateful to have made my living in numismatics,</p><p>doing what I love, for over 40 years. Numismatics has</p><p>enabled me to save up to put four kids through college, and</p><p>has given me many lifelong friends. When I learn of a new</p><p>collector leaving the hobby because of a bad</p><p>experience with certified, over-graded coins,</p><p>I’m saddened. When I hear Jason Craton</p><p>talk about the “chilling” effect of being sued</p><p>because he posted messages to help other</p><p>collectors, I’m angry. When I see 81-year-old</p><p>Norma Donnan duped out of her life savings</p><p>through the use of overgraded coins, I’m</p><p>furious. I strive to keep our hobby clean and</p><p>protect consumers. This year I wrote “Coin</p><p>Bidders Guide to eBay,” published in the</p><p>March 2004 Numismatist, to help consumers</p><p>protect themselves against the small minority</p><p>of sharks who misrepresent coins on eBay.</p><p>ACG’s lawsuit will not prevent me from</p><p>continuing to educate consumers about the</p><p>dangers of assuming that all grading services</p><p>are equal or from continuing to disclose the difference</p><p>between grading services.</p><p>Some see our defense against ACG’s lawsuit as a</p><p>consumer protection issue. Others see it as a fight for the</p><p>freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment.</p><p>Regardless of how you view it, your generous contribution</p><p>to the ANA Legal Defense Fund will enable the defendants</p><p>to shed further light on Accugrade’s grading standards,</p><p>policies, and ethics. Please make your check payable to the</p><p>ANA and mail it to American Numismatic Association, Legal</p><p>Defense Fund, 818 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO</p><p>80903-3279. Thank you.</p><p>Sincerely yours,</p><p>Barry Stuppler (LM 924), <a href="mailto:barry@coinmag.com">barry@coinmag.com</a></p><p>PAID ADVERTISEMENT</p><p>“I have found</p><p>Accugrade</p><p>coins to be the</p><p>coins of choice</p><p>of the most</p><p>egregious,</p><p>dishonest telemarketers</p><p>that</p><p>prey on the</p><p>unsuspecting</p><p>public.”</p><p>“I have found</p><p>Accugrade</p><p>coins to be the</p><p>coins of choice</p><p>of the most</p><p>egregious,</p><p>dishonest telemarketers</p><p>that</p><p>prey on the</p><p>unsuspecting</p><p>public.”</p><p><br /></p><p>BTW, I think ACG dropped all of the charges against particular people and are now are just sueing the companies. </p><p><br /></p><p>Charlie[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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