What, exactly, is the PCGS Guarantee?
kurtdog
Posts: 1,456
If you could copy it to here, I'd like to see it. Thanks.
0
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it is exactly what they say it is ........, and it's easy to find in several places on the home page
In the event the purchaser of a PCGS graded coin believes that the coin has been overgraded with respect to such standards and procedures, or is non-authentic, he may submit such coin to PCGS through the PCGS "Guarantee Resubmission" procedures and PCGS will re-examine coin to determine the coin's grade and authenticity.
If the grade determined under such "Guarantee Resubmission" procedures is lower than the grade originally assigned to the coin, or if the coin is found to be misattributed, non-authentic, PCGS shall pay the current market value for the coin in question at the originally assigned grade, or at the owner of the coin's option, the difference between the current market value for the coin in question at the newly established grade and the current market value of the coin in question at the grade originally assigned. PCGS will also refund the regrading fee and postage and insurance costs incurred by the coin owner in sending the coin to PCGS. It is understood that PCGS will be the sole determiner of the current market value of the coin and that current market value is defined as dealer replacement value, i.e. the price a dealer would most likely have to pay to replace the coin.
This guarantee shall not apply to any coin as to which an obvious clerical error has been made with respect to the description of the coin. This guarantee shall also not apply to any coin which has been removed from the PCGS holder or any coin for which the PCGS holder shows evidence of tampering. Further, this guarantee shall not apply to any coin which has been environmentally damaged due to improper storage or natural disasters such as fire and flood.
In addition to grade and authenticity, the PCGS Guarantee also covers the attribution of varieties, but does not cover obvious clerical errors in the description of the variety.
How to Use the PCGS Guarantee
If you have a coin that you feel is overgraded, misattributed, or counterfeit, call PCGS Customer Service and they will help you fill out the proper submission forms. For approximate turnaround times, please ask a PCGS Customer Service Representative. After PCGS examines your coin, if PCGS feels your coin has been overgraded, misattributed, or is counterfeit, you will be contacted by phone or email and given the current market values so you can decide which of the repayment options you wish to use. If PCGS determines that the original grade is correct, your coin will be returned to you with the original grade and you will be responsible for the regrading fee and postage charges.
What the PCGS Guarantee Does Not Cover
The following is further explanation of what the PCGS Guarantee does not cover.
Clerical or "mechanical" errors. PCGS occasionally makes clerical errors in inputting data which is shown on the insert in the PCGS holder; consequently the PCGS Guarantee does not cover obvious clerical errors, what we call "mechanical errors." The key concept is how obvious the error is to the naked eye. If you can easily tell just by looking at the coin that the description on the holder is wrong, then the coin/holder combination is not covered by the PCGS Guarantee. Examples would include the following:
A date listed on the holder that does not match the date of the coin. For example, if you had a 1928 $20 St. Gaudens, but the PCGS holder showed the date as 1929 (a much more valuable coin), this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as the date on the coin itself is obviously 1928.
A designation that is obviously incorrect. For example, if you had a 1945 Philadelphia Mercury dime and the bands on the reverse were as flat as a pancake and obviously not fully struck, but the PCGS holder showed the designation as "FB" for fully struck crossbands, this coin would not be covered the PCGS Guarantee as the crossbands are obviously not fully struck.
Proofs shown as regular strikes and regular strikes shown as proofs. For example, if you had an obvious regular strike 1907 $2.5 gold piece, but the PCGS holder showed the coin as a proof, this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as the difference between a regular strike and proof 1907 $2.5 is obvious.
An obviously misidentified coin. For example, if you have a Hudson silver commemorative, but the PCGS holder showed the coin as a Hawaiian silver commemorative, this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as a Hudson is obviously not a Hawaiian.
A variety attribution that is obviously incorrect. For example, if you had a normal date 1942 Mercury dime, but the PCGS holder showed the coin as a much rarer 1942/1 overdate, this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as the date is obviously normal. Another example would be if you had a 1945 Mercury dime with an obviously normal size mint mark, but the PCGS holder showed the coin as a "Micro S." This coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee since the mint mark is obviously normal size.
A blatantly obvious clerical input mistake with respect to the actual grade of the coin. For example, if you had an 1893-O Morgan dollar and the PCGS holder showed the coin as MS65 (a Gem quality coin), but the coin was so beat up and marked up that it would grade MS60 at best, this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as this would be an obvious input error. The rule of thumb here would be a difference of more than two points on the grading scale.
Coins Removed From PCGS Holders. The PCGS Guarantee does not apply to coins removed from PCGS holders. There are no exceptions to this policy. You remove a coin from a PCGS holder at your risk.
Coins that have tampered holders. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous people occasionally try to defraud people by removing coins from PCGS holders, replacing them with less valuable coins and then resealing the holders. Most of these "reholders" are crude and obvious. Some are more sophisticated. The PCGS Guarantee does not apply to coins that are in holders that have been tampered with. Nor does the PCGS guarantee cover coins in counterfeit PCGS holders.
Coins that have been tampered with inside the PCGS holder. Some unscrupulous people try to alter the appearance of coins within the PCGS holder. For example, they may heat a holder and/or blow chemicals into the holder in order to change the color or toning of a coin. The artificial look is obvious and such altered coins are not covered by the PCGS Guarantee.
Coins that are environmentally damaged. The PCGS holder, while excellent for long term storage and protection, does not protect coins from harsh environmental conditions. Consequently, the PCGS Guarantee does not apply to coins which have been environmentally damaged. For example, if your coins are damaged in a flood or fire, the PCGS Guarantee would not apply to those coins. This also applies to copper coins stored in environmentally risky locations (high humidity, see next paragraph.)
IMPORTANT: Because the color and surfaces of copper coins can change due to environmental factors, PCGS does not guarantee the color of copper coins, or the absence of copper spotting, for any PCGS graded copper coin graded or sold after January 1, 2010.
Changes in a coin's numismatic status. The PCGS guarantee does not cover changes in a coin's status in the numismatic community. For example, in the 1980's, there was a variety of the 1942 Denver Walking Liberty half dollar that was considered an over-mint mark. This coin was known as a 1942-D/S. Subsequent research has revealed that the coin is actually a re-punched mint mark and it is now referred to as a 1942-D/D. The PCGS guarantee does not cover any change in value due to a change in a coin's status. The following is a list of some (but not all) of the coins that are currently subject to research and would not be covered by the PCGS guarantee if their status was changed:
1856 Flying Eagle cent. The current view is that some 1856 Flying Eagles cents are proofs and some are regular strikes. It is possible that research may one day show that all 1856 Flying Eagle cents are proofs.
1831 half cent. This issue is currently viewed as having been struck as both proofs and regular strikes. There is a chance this view will change as it is possible that all 1831 half cents are proofs.
1849 J.H. Bowie Territorial coins. The current view is that these issues are genuine California Territorial issues. It is possible that research will show they were made at a later date.
Territorial patterns. This is a very esoteric area and subject to continuous research and some controversy. PCGS does not guarantee the status or authenticity of Territorial patterns. We will grade them however, and do our best to authenticate them, but we do not guarantee their authenticity.
1841 $2.5 Liberty proof. David Akers speculated in his series of books on gold coins (published between 1975 and 1982) that the 1841 $2.5 may not be a proof-only issue. Research is still being done, but should it happen that some of the survivors are proven to not be proofs, their change in status would not be covered by the PCGS grading guarantee.
Gobrecht dollars. Research as to which issues are the so-called "originals" and which are the so-called "restrikes" is continuing. There is a chance that various issues in this series would have their status changed in the future.
1852 proof half cents. Do "originals" exist? This is a question currently being researched. The same could be said for other 1850-1853 issues in various denominations, and actually many pre-1858 proofs.
Changes in a coin's status in the PCGS Set Registry. The PCGS Set Registry occasionally makes changes in set composition. Coins are sometimes added to certain sets and coins are sometimes dropped from certain sets. PCGS does not guarantee that any coin you buy will remain part of any set in the PCGS Set Registry.
PCGS Guarantee of Grade and Authenticity – World Coins (non-U.S. coins)
The PCGS grading guarantee for all non-U.S. coins features all of the elements of the PCGS guarantee for United States coins listed above with two exceptions.
The first exception is that for non-U.S. coins graded or sold after January 1, 2010, the limit of the PCGS liability for non-U.S. coins under the terms of the PCGS guarantee is $10,000 per coin.
The second exception to the PCGS Guarantee of Grade and Authenticity for World coins is that for Chinese coins graded or sold after January 1, 2010, the limit of the PCGS liability for Chinese coins under the terms of the PCGS guarantee is $1,000 per coin.
David Hall - December 4, 2009
There are 7,320,437 reasons that show,
When it comes to Your Coins...
PCGS puts its money where its mouth is!
Here's what the PCGS Grading Guarantee does (and doesn't) do for you and your coins...and here are also a few changes in the way the PCGS Grading Guarantee works.
For the past 24 years, the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) has offered collectors and dealers the strongest assurance of grading accuracy and independence in the rare coin market. A strong guarantee was one of the tenets upon which PCGS was founded. We were the first third party grading company to actually guarantee the grade and authenticity of the coins we graded.
For 24 years we've stood behind the service we provide to you not with a money back/fee returned policy if we make a mistake...not with a "we're sorry, we'll return your grading fee or give you free grading" policy if we make a mistake...but with an actual cash guarantee for the market value of the coins we grade and authenticate.
They say that talk is cheap and money talks. So when it comes to the validity of the PCGS Grading Guarantee we'll let the money do the talking. Here are the cold facts about what we've done in the past 24 years.
In the past 24 years, PCGS has (as of Dec 1, 2009) graded 18,784,536 coins with a declared value of $19,138,747,536. That's 18 million coins worth over 19 billion dollars!
In the past 24 years, PCGS has paid out $7,320,437 under the terms of the PCGS Grading Guarantee. When we make a mistake that involves your coins, we pay for our mistake. It's that simple.
Here are some detailed figures of the money we've paid out under the terms of our grading guarantee. The following are the total amounts paid in each of the last six calendar years;
2003...$365,525
2004...$222,227
2005...$507,692
2006...$382,384
2007...$562,541
2008...$1,945,755
2009 (thru Dec 1)...$498,798
You'll note that the cash figures are increasing, but this may be explained by the fact that coins are worth more today than they were in 2003. The huge amount bought back in 2008 was probably a "perfect storm" aberration (January, 2008 was not a good month for PCGS...see below).
The 12 most expensive mistakes we've paid for are as follows, and we're not doing this to show off (in fact, it's actually admitting our biggest mistakes very publicly). We're doing this to let everyone know that we stand behind the work we do for you with cold hard cash. We take our job seriously. We want to do the best job we can for you. And if we make a mistake, we'll pay for it.
Here are the twelve most expensive PCGS Guarantee "buy-backs";
1794 Silver dollar AU55 $575,000, January, 2008. This was a beautiful looking coin, but on close examination, the hair had been reworked and the toning was actually not original. It was obviously a very skillful doctoring job and it fooled a lot of people.
1849 Mass & Cal $5 AU55 $150,000, June, 2006. This is a very rare territorial gold coin that turned out to be counterfeit.
1792 Half Disme XF45 $150,000, January, 2008. This coin had actually been flattened, probably around 1800, and did not look right at all. We shouldn't have missed this one.
1969-S double die Lincoln cent MS65RD $80,000, November, 2003. This coin "turned" color in the holder and now only graded MS64RB.
1861/57-S Clark Gruber $20 MS63 $75,000, November, 2007. This coin had been known to the coin community for decades. In fact David Hall had it at coin shows for sale in the mid-1970s. But research eventually showed that this coin, and several other Clark Gruber rarities, were actually counterfeits that were probably made in the 1950s or 1960s.
1861 Clark Gruber $20 (three) MS62s $55,000 each, January, 2008. Same type of circa 1950s counterfeits as coin above.
1899 Indian cent PR69 $50,000, February, 1988. This gorgeous proof Indian cent later developed a huge copper spot covering the face of the Indian. We bought the coin back and hung it on the grading room wall with a sign that said "The $50,000 Spot" and we told the graders to be really careful when handling copper coins.
1908 $20 St. Gaudens PR63 $45,000, July, 2008. This matte proof Saint had been improperly cleaned or conserved or doctored or whatever you want to call it. We missed the subtle surfaces problems which later became not so subtle as the chemicals used by the "doctor" reacted on the coin.
1963 Lincoln cent PR70DCAM $40,768, April, 2004. This perfect Lincoln proof later developed a few minor spots. Not really our fault, but it was covered by our grading guarantee.
1849-D gold dollar MS64 $40,000, July, 2008. This was a beautiful, very high grade Dahlonega Mint specimen that unfortunately had a planchet lamination on the rim that broke loose and negatively effected the coin. This was not really a grading mistake, but an unforeseen problem covered by our grading guarantee nonetheless.
Bottom line...we're the experts, but even experts make mistakes. That's why we have the PCGS Grading Guarantee, so you don't have to pay for our mistakes.
Here's is a link to PCGS Grading Guarantee...
www.pcgs.com/guarantee.html
which gives the details of the guarantee and how it works, plus some very specific details and examples of what the guarantee does and doesn't do.
For example, if we overgrade a coin, it's covered by the PCGS Grading Guarantee. If we miss some doctoring on a coin, it's covered by the PCGS Grading Guarantee. But if there's a mechanical (clerical) error on the holder of the coin...let's say the coin is dated 1936, but the holder says 1937...the PCGS Grading Guarantee doesn't cover an obvious clerical error that shouldn't fool anyone.
If you own PCGS graded coins or are considering purchasing PCGS graded coins, you should go to the link above and review the terms of the PCGS Grading Guarantee.
We are also making two important changes to the PCGS Grading Guarantee effective for PCGS graded world coins and copper coins graded or sold after January 1, 2010. For world coins (i.e. non-U.S. coins), we will have a limit on our guarantee of $10,000 per coin. And for Chinese coins, we will have a limit on our guarantee of $1,000 per coin.
We've also made a change in how we handle the guarantee of color for copper coins. The fact is that color for copper can change depending upon where a coin is stored. The villain is humidity, and if you have mint red copper coins stored in Hawaii or Florida, for example, there's a good chance that the environmental factors can alter the color of the coins. This is obviously beyond our control so consequently we will not be guaranteeing the color of copper coins graded or sold after January 1, 2010.
For 24 years we've been standing behind the service we provide you with a cash grading guarantee. We intend to keep providing you with the best possible grading and authentication service and the PCGS Grading Guarantee to stand behind that service for the next 24 years and many years after that!
When it comes to your coins...
PCGS puts its money where its mouth is!
PCGS is a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT).
"Your coin, our plastic. So long as the two remain together, your coin is safe in our plastic. "
The second, a 1926 Lincoln also with spectacular color and luster and strike, graded 67RD. The reverse developed unsightly spots. Returned for a spot review and it downgraded.
In both cases I was offered the option of keeping the coin at its new, lower grade and a check for the difference in value. Or an outright purchase and a check for its market value. I chose the latter.
FWIW, I have never gotten NGC to agree to a downgrade, even with similar cases. This is yet another reason virtually all my slabbed coins are in PCGS holders.
Any guesses on the new grades for these two coins? You may be surprised.
Lance.
<< <i>Any guesses on the new grades for these two coins? You may be surprised.
Lance. >>
Not a chance. When I get that high up in the grades I become dizzy.