Was researching Capped Bust Halves on Heritage when I stumbled on this atrocity.

It already sold at Heritage earlier this year. Cert number is still active. It's sitting in the buyer's collection for now, I assume.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Conder101, posted: "Even if they wouldn't miss the scratches it is still an obvious problem coin and as such should not be straight graded. One of the whole points behind the grading services was that they would not put problem coins in their holders. You could trust the graded coins to be problem free. Then they started letting early coins with cleaning or minor problems into slabs, then some cleaned later date items, eventually they agreed to put obvious problem coins in "genuine" slabs with no grades, then they started giving them detail grades, and now have we reached the point where problem coins are being put in straight grade holders "Because the collector can obviously see it has a problem"? If so we may have come full circle where the grade applied doesn't matter and you will have to look at the coin and be able to grade to determine prices."

Let's hope this is not the case: "If so we may have come full circle."

Note: I'm the one who suggested that the coin was straight graded because the damage is obvious. We really don't know what happened.

"Mechanical Error?"

 

Mechanical error is a possibility, it was sopposed to say details grade instead of a straight grade.

Also gives them a out as far as compensation under their guarantee. Part of the definition of what is a mechanical error is that the label is obviously wrong. Well this label is obviously wrong, it is obviously a problem coin not something that should have received a straight grade so it qualifies as a "mechanical" error. All they are required to do under the guarantee is to reholder it with a correct label. (Having said that, I do believe though that PCGS would offer compensation to the person that bought it through the auction. The original submitter though would only get the reholder option.)

 

As horrific as this screw-up is, the PCGS Guarantee should throw off any conspiracy theories about graders being "paid off". Money talks, and there's no way a bribe paid better than giving an unhappy customer a full refund.

It's still mind-boggling how far this made it down the line without being noticed, however.

 

I guess most thought it was just another die crack.

 

The plausible reason is that they made a mistake. How they address and correct that mistake will say as much about them as the fact that they made the mistake.

Shoot, we all make mistakes. I've made mistakes, I'm betting that you've made mistakes, I'd be willing to bet every poster in this thread has made mistakes. Some are just more obvious and prominent than others.

I really, really hope that no experienced grader would ever make that mistake. It is extremely obvious.

 

@Insider , forgive me if it is inappropriate to ask, you certainly don't have to answer, but: Have you ever found out after the fact that a counterfeit coin OR an enhanced coin got by you? (eg: someone tooled full bands into a mercury dime).

To clarify, I am only asking out of pure curiosity. I have accidentally bought 6 counterfeits and 1 altered/added mintmark over the last 4 years, one of which, a counterfeit, I sold unknowingly after having bought it myself! The buyer returned it after discovering it, I refunded him, apologized profusely, then destroyed it.

 

(Sarcasm...reading another thread) Should they apply or a Green or Gold Bean for that coin?

 

C-B-D, posted: "...forgive me if it is inappropriate to ask, you certainly don't have to answer, but: Have you ever found out after the fact that a counterfeit coin OR an enhanced coin got by you? (eg: someone tooled full bands into a mercury dime).

To clarify, I am only asking out of pure curiosity. I have accidentally bought 6 counterfeits and 1 altered/added mintmark over the last 4 years, one of which, a counterfeit, I sold unknowingly after having bought it myself! The buyer returned it after discovering it, I refunded him, apologized profusely, then destroyed it."

I plead the 5th!

LOL, If I missed a rim file, or altered part of the design, I'm unaware of it as I use a microscope to examine coins. Some of the stuff I find (chemically altered surfaces) may be considered to be market acceptable. We all make mistakes. Lucky for me I'm backed up by others. Example, while conserving coins at NCS, a grader brought in a copper pattern for my opinion. I took a quick look, said it was OK, and went about my work. Two minutes later a different grader came in with the same coin as he thought it might be bad. I took the coin over to the scope and sure enough, in three seconds I saw it was a counterfeit. That was very embarrassing.

Additionally, I have called a two circulated and corroded copper coins genuine - these in the last two years as the fakes are very deceptive. I'm in good company as this new group has fooled everyone - for a while.

Inattention is an authenticator's enemy so I'll confess to my BIG ONES: I missed the first embossed Buffalo nickel sent in. Who would have thought it could be done!

Finally, ever hear of the 1959 Lincoln Cent mule? When we reexamined it, we proved it was a counterfeit. It's a funny story that I've told many times before.

 

Assuming it honors the guarantee, which is not a given. I think PCGS will call it a mechanical error and try to avoid a payout.

 

There are fine lines between opinions and representations (express or implied) of fact, but let's not turn this into a legal thread. It is always best to temper your comments when posting. Treat every post, every email, every PM, every Facebook post, etc., as if it will be read back to you in court someday.

 

You mean like all of the AT dreck (e.g. toned ASEs) that has flooded the markets? Look around Coin Facts at the True Views and you'll understand the irony of your post. And no, I'm not alleging that it is done nefariously or as the result of the bribe so much as stupidity and neglect. Every day submitters were getting the garbage through too.

 

My money's on them honoring the guarantee to avoid publicity.

Wrong dates, wrong denominations, some wrong attributions can be ascribed to "mechanical error" that, according to their terms of service, are the responsibility of the submitter to catch, but I don't realistically see assessing the market-acceptability of a scratch being put in that category. Also, the serial number pre-dates using details grades, so that's not even in play.

 

I have a proof like 20c piece with a scratch much less than that I will sell them! I have picked up some lightly scratched coins and even slightly bent high grade coins for a type set, but that is nasty, especially if you are over paying for it.

This is the reason I stopped using stapled 2 x 2s.

 

I hope you're right. Homerunhall once remarked that anything overgraded by more than two grades would be considered a mechanical error.

 

And in their guarantee they make the point that if something is OBVIOUSLY wrong it is a mechanical error. The huge scratch on the obverse quite clearly makes it a details coins, it is OBVIOUS, so under their guarantee they can call it a Mechanical error.

 

You just necromanced a month old thread to lecture me? Let it die, before you get me started all over again, dude. Wow.

 

I'll wait to see the CAC greenie, looks like someone was trying for a shooting star on 13

 

Grow up