So I gave the PCGS regrading Roulette Wheel a spin and...

DennisH

1882-O Morgans are a common and inexpensive coin in MS64 ($49 Bid). But not in MS65 ($550 Bid).

For a couple of years now I've been buying the few really nice 64s I could find that have the blast-white, fresh, almost S-mint type "look" that PCGS likes 65s to have, with the idea of one day submitting a little stack of them for regrading. It's been fun looking for them; even more fun occasionally finding one; and it's been absolutely delightful lining them up and letting my imagination wander.

I finally sent in the little stack (5 coins) last month... Economy regrade; $15 each. My Morgan buddy Larry and I agreed they all had the "look" PCGS likes. We organized the batch to give the graders a solid 64 to look at first as a setup coin. And then a very nice 64 to get them thinking, "This one's nicer than the first one."

And then came the three coins that were the whole point of spinning the regrade wheel. We thought all three had a chance... a real chance. One would be plenty, of course!

So where did the regrading wheel stop spinning?

64
64
64
64
64

Disappointed? Only sort of... and certainly not sad. The coins look great all lined up next to each other, and my imagination had a blast for most of a month. And besides, the 75 bucks it cost to spin the regrading wheel was WAY cheaper than going to Vegas!!

prooflike

Let's see some pics!

I am very interested at looking at what you thought were 65s and pcgs theought were 64s, I want to learn soemthing here.

jcping

May be the roulette wheel did not spin. May be the 5 coins went from mail room to re-holder room directly. Who knows.

I simply don't understand why so many folks complained the re-grade, including yours truly.

Steve27

What scares me is the consistency, five for five, with no changes. I would have expected one 65, two 64s, one 63 and one BB.

LincolnCentMan

Hey, better to bet on what you know than something that is purely chance. However, sometimes it's not best to bet on what the PCGS graders know....

David

ireichel

I have sent in numerous Buffalo nickels for regrades. After collecting this series for 30 years, perhaps I might have learned a bit about grading. I have NEVER received an upgrade. I have even tried the expensive Rountable service, where the coins are sipposedly looked at by 5 different graders. Each coin then receives a written word or two as to why they did not upgrade(which is always the case). Amazingly, during my last Roundtable submission, the three coins were turned around in an amazing three days, while most of the PCGS graders were at a major coin show. Who were the five graders who looked at my coins???? I really feel that PCGS will not upgrade a coin because it makes it look as if they are capable of undergrading. Of course we know that this is possible, but they will never admit to it. My God, they might have to admit that they made an error. This we know will never happen. I am finished throwing out good money trying to get a grade changed. And I surely can not afford to crack out a MS63 coin to have it returned AU58. I think that it is time to stop using the regarde, crossover and Roundtable services. Unless of course you have nothing else to do with your money!!

DennisH

Hi folks!

I'm still trying to decide whether to scan the coins. The problem is, scans of Mint State coins lie every time. They don't show lustre or eye appeal; they make some things disappear that aren't nice in real life; and they make some things appear that aren't really there at all.

But I'd be glad to bring them to the Long Beach show if anyone wants to see them in person.

By the way, to those of you who are frustrated at the regrading process -- I understand and appreciate your frustrations. All I can say is, my experience has been different.

I haven't submitted a lot of coins overall (probably not even 50), and they've all be Morgans. But I have gotten 9 or 10 to go up. Some have been sizeable, too, like an 1880-O from MS63 to 64, a '93-O from MS62 to 63, a '94-O from MS62 to 63, and a 1900-O/CC from MS64 to 65.

I'm a writer, so I can also easily imagine a scenario where coins never get regraded at all and PCGS just pockets the money and reholders them. But I've toured the facilities twice and seen the process in action. Plus -- everyone can go ahead and call me a blind, silly sheep if they want -- I prefer to believe in people and systems working the way they claim to and are supposed to.

tradedollarnut

I've got a coin in for regrade right now - the most beautiful proof 1855 half I've ever seen.

Of course, compared to a modern proof, it looks a bit shabby so I'm not expecting too much!