If anything Larry has been accused to being TOO descriptive. If it's been cleaned it will say so on the SEGS slab. There seems to be a lot of confusion between SGS and SEGS. While SEGS may not be one of the glorified "Top Two" it no way sinks to the level of SGS. I've been in the coin shop of SGS in Mansfield Ohio and the whole operation leaves something to be desired. As I said in another post here-Larry should change the name of SEGS to avoid any POSSIBLE confusion between the two.
I've seen cleaned coin slabbed regularly by the big 2 as well, don't kid yourself. 7 seconds to look at a coin to be graded isn't enough time to analyze it.
With Abon/SGS being shut down by the feds and Ebay I think SGS will not be of much concern to SEGS after enough time passes unless of course SGS decides to reappear.
"With Abon/SGS being shut down by the feds and Ebay I think SGS will not be of much concern to SEGS after enough time passes unless of course SGS decides to reappear." I read something about this. Did it REALLY happen?
There is a difference between cleaned and harshly cleaned. Harshly cleaned coins in PCGS/NGC slabs are quite rare. Yes, they have happened...but it is unusual. It is quite common in SEGS slabs.
True. I would also note that an older coin, let's say a French 5 francs in the 1840s, would stand a better chance of getting a clean grade if it was cleaned rather than a more modern coin. I just bought one that was graded F15 and it was definitely cleaned at some point, but such cleaning wouldn't pass if was 50 or 75 years more recent.