Cert number on new purchase not in PCGS database?
Casey
Posts: 1,502 ✭✭
I won an Ebay auction for a better date Barber dime yesterday but have not paid for it yet. The cert number is unknown for some reason in the PCGS database.
Would you recommend calling PCGS on Monday to confirm before making payment to the seller? Or is this a common occurance that I shouldn't be worried about?
It got me wondering if PCGS has any procedures in place for identifying stolen coins. Would PCGS remove the cert numbers in the database of slabbed coins that were reported stolen (and the thief was dumb enough to try selling without cracking them first)?
Would you recommend calling PCGS on Monday to confirm before making payment to the seller? Or is this a common occurance that I shouldn't be worried about?
It got me wondering if PCGS has any procedures in place for identifying stolen coins. Would PCGS remove the cert numbers in the database of slabbed coins that were reported stolen (and the thief was dumb enough to try selling without cracking them first)?
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Comments
But it can occur.
I got a 1926d merc that shows as a 1927d merc in better condition on the pcgs database.
Larry
<< <i>It got me wondering if PCGS has any procedures in place for identifying stolen coins. >>
This has been suggested many times before and allegedly is on the "to do" list. Apparently it is not a priority like the 100pt grading system discussion.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
I am bringing up an older thread because a similar thing happened to me. I bought a coin on eBay for my registry set almost a couple months ago. When I received it, I punched the numbers in to update my set. I got the dreaded cert number unknown. I have gotten this a couple times in the past, once sending pictures getting cleared up and the other time sending the coin to PCGS for re-slabbing. So I made customer service call. She gave me her direct email and I sent pictures. nothing...
A week later I sent pictures and repeated information to the info email address. Nothing (which I guess did not surprise me because of all the shows and move). The next week I messaged the eBay seller and asked them if they had submission number or anything to help find coin in database. They said they called and everything should be fixed soon. nothing...
Yesterday I called and got another customer service person who took the information and put me on hold for a couple minutes. They said they needed to talk to some people and would call me back in next couple hours. Another person called me back and said PCGS has removed the cert number from the database because it had been reported as stolen. I asked what I was supposed to do with this coin - they said return it to the person I bought it from for a refund. hmmm..
I messaged the seller, they called PCGS again and got the same 'stolen' response this time. They asked if they should send the coin to PCGS so they could return to robbery victim and they said no, return for refund from person they bought it from...
I am curious how this 'tracing back' will get the coin back to the victim and help find the perpetrator, does anyone know? PCGS said the original person reporting stolen needs to let them know it has been recovered before they will reinstate in database. The coin is a higher grade variety and although not really rare, still worth just under $300.
Wow, what a mess. Sorry to hear about this issue. What a headache, to say the least.
Sorry, I’m no help, but I’m interested to see how this gets resolved. I can see this happening to others.
Good luck,
Dave
I did not realize they removed stolen coins from the database....While it makes sense, it also creates an issue such as above when a coin has changed hands multiple times since the original thief sold it. Not at all sure how to resolve this chain of events. Would be nice to get it back to the original owner... but sorry for the intermediate - and unknowing - parties. This makes it imperative to check the database on slabbed coin purchases prior to acquisition... of course, this does not guarantee a product is not previously stolen... it may not have been reported to the TPG. Even worse would be acquiring a coin and later have it reported and removed. Wow, how complex...makes one think of cracking all acquired slabs and sending in raw... nah... Cheers, RickO
Can you find any information here? http://www.numismaticcrimes.org/
Poking around on their website I'm actually surprised that they don't have any place to inquire about a whether the coin you have is stolen. Doug Davis is on the forum @Numismaticcrimeinfo
The person I bought from has already refunded and I just mailed it yesterday, so I am not out any money. It was kind of disappointing it took so many contacts before PCGS told me what the problem was.
The person I bought from has already refunded and I just mailed it yesterday, so I am not out any money. It was kind of disappointing it took so many contacts before PCGS told me what the problem was. It was a nice coin, but close to retail and similar coins come to auction every 3-6 months. It would be a different story for me if it was a sandwiched $10K rarity and fake coin / slab ...
This Hobby gets more complicated every day. Now collectors have to know not only if a coin is genuine, but if the holder is too.
I saw a sandwiched 1916-D Merc somewhere online in I believe a fake PCGS holder. The coin looked real good.....it even had the correct style mintmark!
Scary stuff
Pete