What do the colors on the PCI Slabs mean?

fcloud

I have seen red, green, and gold. Do these mean anything? Are there more colors?

littlewicher

Red is for problem coins. Green is their normal color. Gold is just a promotional gimmick. There are also blue ones, but I believe they've been discontinued? Those were for foreign coins, I think.

maddox

Has something to do with matching the color used on the slab with the color of clown makeup the grader is using for that specific day.

fcloud

Littlewicher, Thanks for the serious response.
Maddox, Thanks for the funny response.

Tony

abuell

"Red is for problem coins" Yea, here's one with a real problem! It's a Gallery Mint copy that has been artificially distressed and the 'copy' stamp removed from the reverse.LinkyPooPoo

K6AZ

Red means a coin with a problem such as cleaning, whizzing, or damage. Green was the normal color, now it has been replaced with Gold. To really get into what various PCI slabs mean, and how accurately graded they are, you need to look at how many digits are in the serial number on the reverse:

10 digits- Older green label, the grading is usually very accurate. However, be aware that some of their early inserts cause PVC.

14 digits- Green Label, usually the grading on these is acceptable. I have had many cross and upgrade at PCGS (cracked out first of course).

9 digits- Green Label, very erratic grading, some grossly overgraded, some grossly undergraded. Beware.

9 digits- Gold Label, horrible grading and authentication. Most are horribly overgraded, and many altered coins have been slabbed in these holders. Grading is, to be polite, incompetent. I have found some really undergraded coins in these holders, but with altered coins and a lot of cleaned coins in them without the problems noted, not something you want to buy sight unseen.

K6AZ

<< <i>"Red is for problem coins" Yea, here's one with a real problem! It's a Gallery Mint copy that has been artificially distressed and the 'copy' stamp removed from the reverse. >>



Not surprisingly, in a nine digit slab. This makes the eighth bogus coin that I know of in a nine digit slab.

BigDipper

GOLD LABEL IS TOTAL GARBAGE!!!!!!!!DO NOT SPEND A DIME ON ANY COIN IN THE GOLD LABEL. TOTAL GARBAGE. the war is right outside your door

bloodhound1

Some more info.... I picked up a rather good looking buffalo nickel. It was however two grades overgraded - I submitted it to both PGCS and then to NGC. I then e-mailed PCI asking if they had a policy on misgrades. It did not come as a surprise to me that they would not answer my e-mail...

The earlier advice is probably best - stay away from PCI until such a time as they become more accurate in grading or have a 'grading guarantee'...

Barry

<< <i>10 digits- Older green label, the grading is usually very accurate. However, be aware that some of their early inserts cause PVC. >>


This is the first I'm hearing about PVC (other than Hager's claim). Are you sure about this, Eric?

dorkkarl

it means their labels are a-t'd!

K S

AbesNeighbor

I don't / won't buy their slabs!

kieferscoins

Blue labels were made for a few months for world coins, but then discontinued.



Cameron Kiefer

dorkkarl

blue labels were/are also used on colonials, which , btw, they do an excellent job of grading.

K S

braddick

They also used the Blue Label for Exonumia.
PCI won't grade some types of Tokens or Modern Replicas anymore.

Conder101

This is at least the second altered GMM 1793 cap piece that PCI has slabbed in the past 6 months and the second time this one has been offered on ebay.

hughesm1

Heiligen Scheiß!!! Not the first time this guy has sold counterfeits.
<FONT color=#ff0000>Complaint </FONT>: COIN WAS A REPLICA...NOT REAL GOLD.....AVOID - - - - -

His 3rd neg, when he started out. Thought he would have more sense not to sell a fake after his first two feedbacks on Ebay were negatives. Then got 2 positives, then this negative. He had a very rocky start, should have quit after that 3rd neg.

BillJones

This is the real scary aspect of the Gallery Mint products. Some of their coins are just good enough to fool the less competent slabbing services so that you end up with stuff like this.

When I was a YN, I would loved the Gallery Mint stuff because I could afford the real thing. Now after seeing what can be and has been done with their products, I’m starting to dislike their work more and more.

dorkkarl

i've heard that pci is now adding the disclaimer "cannot attribute" to the holders for such coins ....

anyone else know if that's true?

K S

K6AZ

<< <i>This is the first I'm hearing about PVC (other than Hager's claim). Are you sure about this, Eric? >>



Absolutely positive. Since last year, I have broken out 35 old PCI holders. 14 have been contaminated with PVC. At some point, they changed the insert, the ones that caused PVC as in flips, are very soft. The second type is much stiffer. If this was just a couple of coins, I would believe that maybe some got through the grading already contaminated. But with 14 out of 35, that is just too much. And these coins with the PVC are unmistakable, green dull film over the surface and the shower curtain smell. One good thing is I have been able to save every coin by using acetone, the amount of PVC contamination is nowhere near as severe as the old soft flips.

Russ

<< <i>10 digits- Older green label, the grading is usually very accurate. >>



K6AZ,

Is that what this one is?

Russ, NCNE

K6AZ

Green was the old color, they now use gold. Red always means it is a problem coin. For a while, they used blue for foreign coins, but those are now gold labeled as well. The true gauge of how the coin is graded depends on the serial number. I wrote this summary a few months ago:

Green Label, ten digit serial number- Very conservative grading, at all grades. These slabs with a PQ
designation almost always upgrade a point at PCGS. All PCI slabs seem to be lumped together on
eBay as far as price goes, so you can find some real steals on these slabs.

CAUTION! Some of the early PCI inserts cause PVC contamination. Be very careful buying old PCI slabs.

Green Label, fourteen digit serial number- Accurate grading up to MS65. Very liberal on MS66 and above.
Again, great deals can be had on these, but stay away from MS66 and over.

Green Label, nine digit serial number- The serial numbers on PCI slabs went to nine digits when the ownership
changed. Grading became atrocious, usually Morgans overgraded by at least two points, cleaned coins with no
mention on the holder, and altered coins slabbed as genuine. Absolutely stay away from these slabs.

Gold Label, nine digit serial number- Same as above, atrocious grading.

Russ

So the one I linked above is one that may be conservatively graded? If I'm looking at the reverse correctly, it seems to have a 10 digit serial number.

When I went after it, I had in the back of my foggy brain that this was one of the good ones, but I wasn't sure if I was recalling the information correctly.

Russ, NCNE

K6AZ

Silly me, this is an old thread that I had already posted that information.

Yes Russ, that is an old ten digit slab, the grading should be very conservative. Keep an eye out for the PVC though, it looks like that may have it. To be safe, I would bust the coin out and give it a good soak in acetone. For what PCI slabs are bringing these days, you are probably better off ditching the PCI label.

Russ

The hammer is already warmed up.

Russ, NCNE

K6AZ

OK, by the way Russ, if you take a small flat edge screwdriver and a hammer, and drive the screwdriver right in at the seam, the PCI slab will separate perfectly in half. Something to keep in mind if you ever consider buying an expensive date in one.