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Label pedigree question...

lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,759 ✭✭✭✭✭
Suppose you buy a coin with a pedigree from a reasonably well known old-time collection or individual, and you submit it to a TPG.

How do you get the pedigree on the label? What sort of documentation is required to send along to the TPG?

Maybe if it was part of a major auction of a particular collection, you could write, "Lot XX of XX sale" on the TPG invoice, I suppose, but what about a coin purchased through private treaty from a dealer? Say maybe all you have for documentation is an old-timey paper tag or something, or somebody's flip insert; something like that? Do you include that with the coin when you send it off?

Just curious. I've owned a few pedigreed coins, but most of them that were from noteworthy collections already had the pedigree on the label (i.e., they were already slabbed).

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Comments

  • MidLifeCrisisMidLifeCrisis Posts: 10,550 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If the pedigree is from a collection that was sold at auction, obtain a copy of the auction catalog. If the coin is plate, you can match the coin to the plate and describe for the TPG the attributes you are matching. If the coin is not plated, look at the description provided in the auction catalog. If it has sufficient detail to allow you to match the coin to the description, explain that to the TPG. And, of course, including the auction tag with the coin when you submit it to the TPG also helps.

    All of this is usually best done at a show where the TPG is accepting coins for on-site grading and you can submit the coin directly and discuss it with them.
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,759 ✭✭✭✭✭
    In my semi-hypothetical situation, this would not be a coin from an auction, nor would it be a plate coin (to my knowledge), nor am I likely to attend any major shows for the foreseeable future. Best one could hope for in this situation would be an old collection tag or maybe a receipt from the dealer, which could be attached to a printing of the web page from which the coin was bought.

    Maybe too lame for a TPG. I dunno. Nor would this be a pedigree the likes of a Norweb or Eliasberg or anything like that. Or of a published numismatic author, to my knowledge. But let's say a coin from the personal collection of a person who also happened to be the curator of a world-class institutional collection.

    May be too esoteric; who knows.

    Which also brings up the question of what sort of "notability" (i.e., prominence) is generally required for such pedigrees. I mean, just as Wikipedia has some kind of standard of notability so Joe Schmo from Poughkeepsie can't just have his bio on there, one wonders what qualifies.

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  • lavalava Posts: 3,286 ✭✭✭
    I think you first have to ask whether the "well known old-time collector" could have pedigreed his coin had he tried. Being well known, by itself, would not get a pedigree. Did he have a high grade complete set of something?
    I brake for ear bars.
  • MidLifeCrisisMidLifeCrisis Posts: 10,550 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Lord M - all good questions for the TPG you want to pedigree the coin. I'd say for your scenario, just send them all the evidence you can come up with and see what happens.
  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,941 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Photocopies of lot tags auction listings etc are OK
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,255 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Not sure if this will help, but you probly need to ask customer service.

    A valuable pedigree. In the rare coin market a pedigree is a contributing factor in the pride of ownership and value of the coin. Coins from famous collections such as Eliasberg, Norweb, Garrett, etc., usually command a premium in the marketplace. In some instances, PCGS may recognize, at their discretion, pedigrees for people, living and dead, or of hoards or accumulations of coins that are of historical significance. Pedigrees recognize important collecting achievements both within and without the PCGS Set Registry.

    If you participate in the PCGS Set Registry program your set may qualify for the free pedigree service. The free pedigree service policy is as follows:

    The set must be 100% complete.
    The set must be in the top 5 in the Registry.
    PCGS does not pedigree modern Mint and Proof sets (1965-present), Everyman Collections or Low Ball sets.
    Sets with less than 10 coins may be pedigreed if warranted. The decision will be that of PCGS experts.
    The Registry member is responsible for shipping and handling costs.
    The fee for pedigrees for upgrades to your set submitted after the initial pedigree is $12 a coin. PCGS will not pedigree duplicate coins. You must submit both the upgraded coin and the coin it will be replacing. The coin that will no longer remain in your set will be reholdered without the pedigree and returned to you along with the newly pedigreed coin. Your set must remain 100% complete and in the top five to qualify.


    To confirm that your set qualifies for the free Pedigree Service, contact customer service at setregistry@collectors.com. Then mail with your coins a PCGS submission form and a printed page from the set registry that lists your set in the top five.
    Please note: Pedigrees can be up to 22 characters in length. If the coin has a variety designation (i.e. Type 1, Type 2, etc.), this is included as part of the total character count. Indicate on your submission form if you would like your coins sequentially numbered. PCGS no longer certifies coins with green inserts.

    Submission instructions for sets with both PCGS SecureTM and regular holdered coins:
    PCGS processes these two types of holders differently. Therefore, in order to keep your coins in Secure holders, you must submit your set on two separate submission forms, using the Secure form for the Secure coins.

    You may ship to PCGS in one shipment, but must provide postage and handling on both submission forms for return shipments as the coins will be returned to you in separate packages. Cross reference each submission form with the other and attach a copy of a printout of your set from the Registry to each submission form. Sets with mixed holders cannot be sequentially numbered.

    If you would like to have all of your coins put in Secure holders when you pedigree your set, you may do so. The per coin fee is $20. You may submit your entire set on a Secure submission form. The coins, in this case, can be sequentially numbered.

    theknowitalltroll;
  • WaterSportWaterSport Posts: 6,911 ✭✭✭✭✭
    No Problem, I will just send you a new one! image

    WS

    image
    Proud recipient of the coveted PCGS Forum "You Suck" Award Thursday July 19, 2007 11:33 PM and December 30th, 2011 at 8:50 PM.
  • This is a good read on this subject. A lot tag alone I feel would be useless without secondary information to back it up as someone could very easily swap coins.
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,759 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>someone could very easily swap coins. >>

    Oh, no. Not on this one. Truly one of a kind, it is. image

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
  • I have submitted a lot of coins to PCGS for pedigree service and my sense is that each request is handled on a case by case basis. I try to send as much supporting documentation as I can, in order to build a solid case. At one time, PCGS would only pedigree to a certain list of famous collections (not counting Registry collections). Once, I asked them to add a famous Dahlonega collection (Arthur Montgomery) to the list, which they did, after I sent information about the importance of the collection.

    A high quality auction photo which clearly corresponds to your coin is the best way to establish provenance. I have had a few coins certified to a certain collection without a photo, but in those cases I had a lot other evidence (and the coins in question were rare Dahlonega gold pieces, which cut down on the odds that the coin could have been misidentified).
    "Clamorous for Coin"

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