With PCGS, I always use regrade rather than reconsideration. With reconsideration, you'll be charged the 1% increase in value if it goes up; this isn't the case with regrade. True, a coin can't go down in grade with reconsideration, but it can with regrade. However, if it goes down in grade with regrade, they pay you for the decrease in value. I've never had a coin go down in grade with regrade, but have had them go up. However, downgrading can and does occur. A couple of other advantages with regrade: a. you get a nice new holder whether the grade changes or not. b. For only $5, you can get PCGS Secure and will almost always get a free high resolution photo with it. There is no guarantee for the photo, but I've always gotten one. With reconsideration, you can have Secure only if it upgrades unless you want to pay the $5 plus an additional $12 for reholdering. I also feel the graders are less biased if they see the coin out of the holder, even if they know the previous grade. If they are staring at a coin in a holder, they have to decide very consciously that the current grade, which is right in their face, is wrong in order to upgrade it. Where might reconsideration be an option? It would be in several circumstances: a. where a downgrade would break your heart even though you'd receive monetary compensation, b. where you think the current holder itself (e.g. a rattler) adds value regardless of grade, c. fear of negative changes in grade or designation for which you'd not receive compensation (e.g. browning of copper, different Judd number), d. you're interested in only a suffix upgrade (e.g. CA to DC), but don't want to risk the numerical grade going down even though you'd be compensated, e. don't agree with the compensation schedule. Cal
Not entirely true. They have stated on the CU forum in the past that anytime they have a coin the reserve the right to downgrade it if they see fit even if it is just a reholder. It would have to be way off to jump out enough to get flagged on a reholder though. Secure is supposed to always have a trueview now. If it doesn't something went wrong and either got lost in the system or a mistake was made. Usually contacting Phil can get the photo put up but once in a blue moon you might need to send them back but they will pay for it if you were charged for the secure and didn't get the picture. E. You have a CAC ect sticker on it and only are willing to lose it for an upgrade.
Kind of makes paying for $10 for Trueview a waste because you can get Secure plus Trueview for $5. Good point on the CAC sticker. I think on every coin that I've submitted for regrade, I would prefer to get an upgrade and lose the CAC sticker if it had one. Even though I've submitted many coins for regrade, I have yet to do one with a sticker. I understand that if you take a pic of the original slab with the sticker and the grade doesn't change, that CAC will resticker it for a fee. Cal
Only time it would really make sense if if you just wanted a picture on one or two or a small percentage of a large submission. I usually just use secure to get the half price Trueviews. Switching from the scans to the Trueviews for secure plus was one of the best decisions they have made in recent times. I would prefer the upgrade over the sticker too or I wouldn't have sent it in in the first place. An old holder or the CAC are the only times I have ever considered reconsideration over regrade or a crackout and raw submission. I completely agree the vast majority of the time the regrade would be the way to go.
