PCGS coin restoration

Ron1968

Hello to anyone who may know. Will putting a PCGS graded coin through the PCGS coin restoration process improve the grade of your coin? I recently had a metal detector find graded and it came back an AU55. I am very pleased with that but I am also curious about whether or not the restoration process offered by PCGS would improve the grade. If it will and my coin even went up 1 or 2 grades it would increase the value substantially. Any thought and opinions would be appreciated! Ron

ifthevamzarockin

If you could post a photo of your coin the members here may be able to give an opinion if restoration would help.

Ron1968

There it is

Ron1968

The PCGS graders know their business. I know they can see through/around toning and tarnish. I’m Just curious.

ifthevamzarockin

Very nice metal detector find! Congrats!
Your coin has a nice original look, I would not send it for restoration if it were mine.
Is there a chance it could bump to a AU-58 with restoration......maybe.

Others will be along with their opinions.
If you don't get enough responses you could post this on the main board.

Edited to add: There is also a chance restoration would reveal hairlines that could lower the grade.

Ron1968

@ifthevamzarockin said:
Very nice metal detector find! Congrats!
Your coin has a nice original look, I would not send it for restoration if it were mine.
Is there a chance it could bump to a AU-58 with restoration......maybe.

Others will be along with their opinions.
If you don't get enough responses you could post this on the main board.

Edited to add: There is also a chance restoration would reveal hairlines that could lower the grade.

Thank you

ifthevamzarockin

Post it on the main board, you will get more eyes & more responses.

Ron1968

Main board? US Coins?

ifthevamzarockin

Yes

https://forums.collectors.com/categories/u-s-coin-forum

winesteven

@Ron1968 - I’ve used PCGS Restoration several times.
1. To clear up accidental misinformation from above, PCGS guarantees they will not lower the grade: “Submitting a coin for PCGS Restoration in no way guarantees the upgrade of your coin. If the coin is already in a PCGS holder, it is guaranteed not to downgrade, nothing more. Through our restoration service, PCGS is committed to preserving and restoring coins to their original and natural condition.”
2. I have a $20 1904 Liberty that is one of the very few coins I purchased on eBay. It was graded MS64+ by PCGS and had a CAC. It now grades MS65+, and CAC chose to sticker it again.
3. Ignoring shipping charges, PCGS Restoration will only charge $10 to examine your PCGS graded coin. If they decide they will not restore it, that’s a small cost. If they do restore it, they charge 3% of the value in its final grade. Not bad!
4. Keep in mind if it is restored, you absolutely cannot retain the same cert number.

I hope you found this helpful.

Steve

ifthevamzarockin

@winesteven
"1. To clear up accidental misinformation from above, PCGS guarantees they will not lower the grade: “Submitting a coin for PCGS Restoration in no way guarantees the upgrade of your coin. If the coin is already in a PCGS holder, it is guaranteed not to downgrade, nothing more. Through our restoration service, PCGS is committed to preserving and restoring coins to their original and natural condition.”

Thanks for clearing things up.

Jimnight

Nice find

abcde12345

@Jimnight said:
Nice find

thefinn

If it did go from AU55 to AU58, what is the increase in value? What will PCGS charge for restoration? May not be fiscally prudent.

winesteven

@thefinn said:
If it did go from AU55 to AU58, what is the increase in value? What will PCGS charge for restoration? May not be fiscally prudent.

As noted above in my earlier post, they would charge 3% of the AU58 PCGS Price Guide Value in your example. If they restored it, but it stayed at AU55 (they guarantee it will not grade any lower), they’ll charge 3% of the AU55 value, but no less than their $10 minimum. If they choose NOT to restore it, they charge $10. Round trip shipping on top of those fees.

PCGS Price Guide Value is $300 in AU55 and $450 in AU58. IF they agreed to restore it, and the grade remained the same, the restoration fee would be their $10 minimum. If by chance it upgraded to AU58, the restoration fee would be $13.50. While most of us believe this coin will not upgrade, if it did, it would then be worth it purely from a financial perspective. But that’s a BIG IF!

ifthevamzarockin

@winesteven "PCGS Price Guide Value is $300 in AU55 and $450 in AU58."

This is a D mint, the price guide is showing $1950 in AU-55 and $2850 in AU-58.

winesteven

@ifthevamzarockin said:
@winesteven "PCGS Price Guide Value is $300 in AU55 and $450 in AU58."

This is a D mint, the price guide is showing $1950 in AU-55 and $2850 in AU-58.

"Oh, I see" said the blind man. I stand corrected. As such, $58.50 is the Restoration fee if staying at AU55, $85.50 IF upgraded to AU58, and $10 if not accepted for restoration. While I'm in the minority, if it were MY coin, I'd send it in. I fully agree the chance of an upgrade is very minor, but I have confidence in the people at PCGS Restoration that if indeed the coin is restored, the eye appeal would be enhanced, which would be terrific for a coin at this price point!

Ron1968

The possibility of the coin going from AU55 to AU58 is what made me bring this up on the forums. The increase in value would jump up $800 to $1000. I have no intention of selling the coin. $800 to $1000 in increased value of something I found is not going to make or break anything. Just seemed logical to do it if it would increase the value of the coin by approximately 1/3.

winesteven

With that said, the question to ask yourself is it worth it TO YOU to pay $58.50 plus round trip shipping to potentially have this coin as an AU55 With nicer eye appeal than now. From my personal experience, along with the postings of “before and after” on this forum, in my opinion it’s well worth it. Regardless, others here (who I guess have NOT used Restoration) will disagree. If by some remote chance it upgrades to AU58, that’s the lucky cherry on top.

Ron1968

Some have said the appearance of the coin would improve and some say it would look washed out and “dipped”... if someone has a really valuable coin, I mean a REALLY VALUABLE coin it would it be worth it to get it restored??? Sounds like restoration would improve it for some and diminish the appearance for others. I guess it would be a roll of the dice or a flip of the coin😂 to have it restored....

winesteven

In my experience, they will NOT restore a coin if they believed THEIR restoration would make it worse. In my opinion, it's not a flip of the coin that if it's restored by them, it could have an equal chance of being worse or better. The coin flip is whether or not they'll choose to restore it or not. I believe if they choose to restore it, chances are extremely high it would be better than now. THEY are EXPERTS with restoration! This is based on my real life personal experience several times, along with every one of the few examples posted on this forum!

Ron1968

I don’t know enough about what collectors want to make a decision on restoration for this coin. Maybe I’ll send it in to be evaluated in the near future. Would PCGS contact me if they deemed the coin a good candidate for restoration before they actually restored it?

winesteven

No. You send the coin in for restoration, and they then make the decision. If it's not a good candidate, they charge you just the $10 fee. If they feel THEIR restoration will imporve the eye appeal, they'll proceed to restore it, and charge you 3% of the coin value in the grade it end up in.

I sense that your fear of ending up with worse eye appeal is keeping you from making this decision. If their restoration caused worse eye appeal too often, that word would spread fast! That's not the case!

ifthevamzarockin

"I don’t know enough about what collectors want to make a decision on restoration for this coin."

There is the problem, trying to figure out the best market for the coin. Even if you are not looking to sell right away.
I think there is a fair chance you could end up with at least a + grade after restoration and maybe a 58.
The coin would be brighter and and may sell better.
If you choose not to restore there is a fair chance the next owner will.
With the price difference in grade some would say it is foolish not to try.

I would like to elaborate on my prior response.
"Your coin has a nice original look, I would not send it for restoration if it were mine."

If the coin was mine and I planned to keep it I would leave it as is.
There are plenty of buyers that like the original look and it is not distracting or ugly.
Just as there are buyers that will pay extra for a brighter example there are buyers that will pay more for original surfaces.
If I found it with my metal detector I would want to keep a little of that dirty charm it has rather than having a bright coin.
It's not going to look like a metal detector find and some may think you are pulling their leg.
The first thing people will say is "Did that come out of the ground looking like that?"
Once you send it there is no going back, you can't un-restore it.
You can always restore it at a later date.

If I bought this coin to resell or needed the extra money I would send it in for restoration, it's kind of a no brainer.
I agree PCGS will not make the coin worse, but it will be different.
I think there may be more buyers that are willing to pay more if the coin was restored.
And like I said "If you choose not to restore there is a fair chance the next owner will." it's just a matter of time.

winesteven

@ifthevamzarockin - Excellent points and analysis.

Steve

YQQ

Just saying and asking?
is it fair for any TPG or restorer to assess his fees on the value of a coin after restoration?
it is the same work and effort and knowledge if it re-grades after restoration either higher or lower.