Has anyone ever had a coin damaged during grading?

seateddime · August 26, 2012 2:54AM

I am going over coins I picked up at ANA and could not understand why a very original gem 1949 Franklin could only grade MS64 FBL . I submitted more than 50 coins so I did not look at them at the time.

This Hurricane has afforded me a lot of time now to look over things.

I found a nice and obviously fresh, deep scratch in the coin. I is still slightly hidden by the deep tone but it is something anyone would see right away and why I coin I marked as a 66FBL, shot at 67 would come a 64.

It was not PCGS. Has this happened to anyone before?

Shortgapbob · August 26, 2012 2:57AM

Yes, I have had this happen.

BillJones · August 26, 2012 3:11AM

I've never experienced anything first hand, but I've heard stories about coins shipped without fingerprints coming back with them. One dealer also claimed that he had a $10 Liberty get "lost" at a grading service for a several months. When they finally found it, it was damaged.

stealer · August 26, 2012 3:22AM

I've never understood why graders don't wear some form of hand protection to prevent fingerprinting. There must be something they can wear to not limit their gripping abilities and prevent fingerprints. An instructor at Summer Seminar talked about how graders do drop coins during grading from time to time.

dpoole · August 26, 2012 3:33AM

I sent in a Lincoln cam proof a number of years back that came back with moisture spots. I sent it back in for repair, and it came back without the cameo.

mrpotatoheadd · August 26, 2012 3:46AM

I have seen coins submitted in flips that didn't meet the minimum grade desired returned in bulk in tubes.

PerryHall · August 26, 2012 4:09AM

Several years ago there were numerous threads complaining about coins coming back with finger prints and debris such as hair, dandruff, crumbs, etc within the slab. I haven't seen any complaints in quite some time so the quality control must be working quite well.

LochNESS · August 26, 2012 4:48AM

The only issue I've had, if it can be called an issue, is the new prong holders ... some of my odd-shaped darkside coins rattle in the prongs and others are simply seated wrong (leaning forward or back, against the slab walls). I attribute this to the slabbing machine and gravity, but in fact I don't know enough about the process to rule out human error or carelessness.

Not enough of a concern to re-slab but still not the perfection for which we all strive

cmerlo1 · August 26, 2012 6:12AM

No, but I have a friend who lost coins that were in a show submission, that never made it to the grading company (not PCGS).

lcoopie · August 26, 2012 6:18AM

why don't you give them a call?

MrEureka · August 26, 2012 10:24AM

One possibility is that there was a tiny bit of debris in the flip or on the surface of the coin. Even if the coin was perfect when you shipped it and it was handled perfectly at the TPG, it could have been damaged by the debris as the coin went in and out of the flip.

BaseballAbs · August 26, 2012 10:48AM

No, but that sounds horrible. Curious to know if grading company's insurance would cover such a thing happening.

BaseballAbs · August 26, 2012 10:51AM

<< One possibility is that there was a tiny bit of debris in the flip or on the surface of the coin. Even if the coin was perfect when you shipped it and it was handled perfectly at the TPG, it could have been damaged by the debris as the coin went in and out of the flip. >>

One reason I hate flips, the staples. I have purchased a coin that was slabbed by PCGS that was obviously scratched by a staple when taken out of a flip. Not sure if it was the grader or the sender but it does happen.

mrpotatoheadd · August 26, 2012 10:57AM

If a coin is in a flip, why would you need a staple?

RevDrBlimber · August 26, 2012 11:01AM

Considering the volume they are handling the chances are that a certain small percentage is getting mishandled. I haven't had it happen. I did have a better date MS $20 that went from 63 to 62 likely because I did not package it correctly. I know a couple older dealers who swear that back in the day they had coins switched by the grading services which made them infuriated and now they refuse to submit. I can imagine many mistakes being made in the first five or so years that are not made anymore; incompetant graders who were fired; incompetant mail room workers who damaged coins and were fired. The problems have largely been remedied at this point. If a coin is damaged or mishandled there should be a reasonable process for a remedy; the grading services pay out through their guarantee, they should also pay out when a coin is damaged and either they or the submitter can prove it.

tahoe98 · August 27, 2012 3:39AM

<< I sent in a Lincoln cam proof a number of years back that came back with moisture spots. I sent it back in for repair, and it came back without the cameo. >>

...YIKES!....

Cocoinut · August 27, 2012 3:53AM

If someone wasn't careful when inserting or removing a coin, the corners and edges of flips can be sharp enough to leave a scratch.

Jim

jmcu12 · August 27, 2012 3:55AM

I submitted a coin through a service which will remain unnamed but for which will require only 1 guess.

They dropped a coin on the floor and it picked up a mark in the field. They asked me to sign a waiver, which I did. I was very young and new to the hobby and did not know any better.

The coin now resides in a NGC 68 holder but it should have been a 69 or 70 all day. Ah well, lesson learned.

SanctionII · August 27, 2012 4:01AM

A dealer told me once that he and a client looked through OGP rolls owned by the client of MS silver coins and found one coin that was the finest he had ever seen (he thought would be a Top Pop). He and his client sent the coin to a TPG for grading and before they did so they took high resolution photographs of both sides of the coin. When the coin came back it graded MS64 and it was a coin different from the one that was sent in.

abitofthisabitofthat · August 27, 2012 4:14AM

<< I am going over coins I picked up at ANA and could not understand why a very original gem 1949 Franklin could only grade MS64.

I found a nice and obviously fresh, deep scratch in the coin. I is still slightly hidden by the deep tone but it is something anyone would see right away and why I coin I marked as a 66FBL, shot at 67 would come a 64.

It was not PCGS. Has this happened to anyone before? >>

I am sure that this has happened to many people - missing a mark on a coin when purchasing at a show and then noticing it later, that is.

Unknown · August 27, 2012 4:19AM

This content has been removed.

Timbuk3 · August 27, 2012 4:36AM

I have not experienced any
problems, but interesting
stories from others who
have had problems !!!

DoubleEagle59 · August 27, 2012 4:46AM

I sent an 1864 2c that was totally brown, highly lustrous and had a super strong mark-free strike (not PCGS). An absolutely pristine original coin.

I thought it would be at least ms65 or higher.

It came back 'cleaned' and looked like it had been dipped somehow.

I called them about it and they said it couldn't have happened as mine was the only 1864 2c they had for quite awhile.

Oh well, I should have taken pictures.....I do now though.

BaseballAbs · August 27, 2012 5:20AM

<< If a coin is in a flip, why would you need a staple? >>

My bad, I guess it's not called a flip, even though I have had flips with staples in them too.

TPRC · August 27, 2012 6:02AM

<< Yes, I have had this happen. >>

me too!

paladin · August 27, 2012 6:41AM

Yes.

MsMorrisine · August 27, 2012 6:53AM

everytime a 70 comes back a 69

rays · August 27, 2012 9:41AM

<< Has anyone ever had a coin damaged during grading? >>

No.

goodmoney4badmoney · August 27, 2012 11:15PM

I had an error coin that was submitted ATS which was much thinner than normal. The "gasket" they chose to hold the coin in the slab was a little smaller in diameter than the actual coin. When it was forced into this gasket it actually bent the coin. They send it back to me that way.

NebuchadnezzarTheGreat · August 27, 2012 11:47PM

Ask any of the crack-out guys...it happens all of the time when you submit hundreds of coins...of course, there's not really anything you can do about it...

PerryHall · August 27, 2012 11:56PM

<< I had an error coin that was submitted ATS which was much thinner than normal. The "gasket" they chose to hold the coin in the slab was a little smaller in diameter than the actual coin. When it was forced into this gasket it actually bent the coin. They send it back to me that way. >>

Did you contact them to get them to "fix" your coin (not sure if it can be straightened or not) or to compensate you for the damage they did to your coin? If so, how did they respond?

tahoe98 · August 28, 2012 12:14AM

Did you contact them to get them to "fix" your coin (not sure if it can be straightened or not) or to compensate you for the damage they did to your coin? If so, how did they respond?

...i'm curious as well.

metalmeister · August 28, 2012 2:48AM

I sent in a perfect Peace Dollar. It looked 66. About a year later a big fat finger print showed up on the obv..
It graded 65. At least it was only a 22P.

TwoSides2aCoin · August 28, 2012 3:55AM

I've sent in a few questionable coins and they came back that way, too

truthteller · August 28, 2012 4:41AM

I rarely have a problem with PCGS and their handling of coins. However, I have sent coins to other grading services, on occasion, they have come back dipped, scratched, and other "surface changes" that made me question what was going on. Frankly, when I send a coin into PCGS, I feel comfortable about the coin coming back graded with no problems. The other services, not so much.

TRUTH

Colorfulcoins · August 28, 2012 5:03AM

Yep, been there had that. As noted above by many, have wondered if the "damage" occurred there or if it was just something I somehow missed......usually its something big enough that I would have expected that I would have seen it before submitting - but ya never know for sure.....

lkeigwin · August 28, 2012 5:04AM

Never had a problem. But I've only used PCGS and, rarely, NGC.

I shoot high res pix of everything I submit. Not "just in case" but because imaging is easier. Though I suppose it would be important to have if something ever happened.
Lance.

johnny9434 · August 28, 2012 5:23AM

ive heard of some getting damaged but not as of late

rmpsrpms · August 28, 2012 12:00PM

My one, and only, foray into having coins graded was a group of Cents I submitted that ranged from MS64-66RD. These were not sent to PCGS. The coins came back with a small crescent-shaped area in the same place that looked a bit darker than the surrounding fields. I think the grader, or packager, may have been wearing rubber gloves and pushed each coin into its holder the same way on each coin. In 8 years or so these coins have not changed and the crescent has not toned or spotted, so I think whatever it is (oil, latex residue, ??) is not degrading the coins further. But that was the end of my trust for TPGs. Perhaps it is not warranted regarding our host but it may be another 8 years before I have the guts to risk red copper again...

Has anyone ever had a coin damaged during grading?

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