OK. I'm a total noob so please don't flame me... So I bought this coin on Ebay... (I'm sure a lot of great stories start this way...) Item 141013782871 - Pics at the end of this post... It was listed as a gold 1/5 Crown Isle of Man 1989 MS68 so I look up the melt and... wow... it's selling for well under. Graded by NGC as a 1/5C MS68. But then I get the coin. It's a 1/25C in a perfect NGC unaltered slab, no tampering, no signs of foul play, showing 1/5C on the label. So I'm kind of disappointed because of course now what I thought was a great buy under melt is now a hefty overpayment. But then I started contemplating what my thoughts and options might be... 1. Recognize the possibility that I'm a total idiot and missing something here. I don't collect a lot of coins so maybe I'm just seeing something wrong and the 1/25C on the coin equates to 1/5C in the real world or who knows. 2. See if I can send it back for a refund or offer the seller closer to it's real value. I kind of like the coin and I like the fact that if it is graded in error, it's unique. (Not sure if it's $150 over melt unique though.) 3. Since NGC "guaranteed" this coin, do I have some recourse with them? I read their guarantee policy but not sure if this qualifies as a grading mistake or just a "clerical error." And if so, would I just get the difference in value back from them or a properly graded coin or what? I mean I'm not going to send it back to them just to get the grading corrected. (Would've been a lot nicer if I got a 1 Crown gold after paying for a 1/5C but...) 4. Could it be intentional deception? The case is really perfect. No signs of someone trying to crack it open, looks exactly like other NGC coin capsules I have, etc. I'm not sure how possible or prevalent tampering with an NGC case would even be. 5. Finally I thought maybe if this is graded in error, would it be worth something significant? Especially with what maybe a lot of folks would think is a major error in grading on a modern gold coin. I found some very scarce examples on Ebay of grading errors but they were all things like a mint mark labeled P instead of the actual D or things like that. I couldn't find anything this significant. Which is how I ended up here. If I'm not an idiot and this is really an error in grading, does it have any kind of value above what the coin would otherwise be worth? Thanks for your time and opinion...
OK so one other thing to add... On the NGC website if I look up my NGC number which is 3705967-011 it looks like the coin pictured on their site matches what I have. So the coin on their site shows 1/25C and the label shows 1/5C so I'm guessing I can rule out #4 above. Also, if you look at the next NGC number up which is 3705967-012 they seem to have gotten that one right with both the coin and label reading 1/25C.
I would advise you to return the coin to the eBay seller and let them sort out the clerical error. Their image was not clear enough for most to see the 1/25 on this tiny coin, though it's much clearer on the NGC coin verification photo. If the seller doesn't accept the return, alert eBay to the problem you had. The seller should take responsibility for listing and seek their own recourse rectifying the problem through NGC or from whomever they acquired the coin from. This really isn't worth your time and expense to try to deal with through NGC and I don't think you will get a premium for an NGC clerical error on a slab. I doubt very highly any seller will pay you the difference you have incurred to rectify the problem yourself. I'm sure you'll look much more carefully in the future when something seems too good to be true. I will also share some advice to avoid buying from sellers who include statements in listings like this one does (at the very bottom), "If this is an item with multiple items please understand the item in the photo may not be the item you receive. The item will be the same denomination grade and service but may be a different coin. Thank you for shopping with us."
The NGC guarantee applies to "mechanical errors" such as this only to the extent that they will correct the typo if you send it to them. It would still cost you the expense of shipping & insurance unless NGC chooses to give you a credit for some future submission. You didn't mention whether or not you already have an account with NGC. If you like the coin but you don't have an account with NGC, it might be possible to arrange with the seller to credit your PayPal account with a portion of your original cost. If the seller doesn't want to give you a partial refund, then I would return it to him/her for a full refund. Chris
No doubt it's a label error on NGC's part. And it's possible the seller knew exactly what he was doing when he listed it - or not. But when push comes to shove, you didn't do all that bad - if you put any credence into realized ebay prices that is ( I don't by the way). You paid $202 for what you got. From what I can see the real 1/25 crown coins in 66 & 67 sell for $175 - $180, consistently. You paid $202 for a 68. Either way, I'd return it if it were me. Or you can chalk it up to a $20 lesson to be more careful in the future and count yourself lucky this time.
here is an age old lesson folks. you think you can pull a fast one on life then life pulls a fast one on you
