Why not reach out to the submitter from the grading room?
Broadstruck
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Coin now needs to be cracked to remedy...
So why slab something with active growth when conservation is available?
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I agree. If the see a coin like this in the grading room, they should have someone notify the submitter that the coin should be conserved. Unfortunately that coin looks too far corroded.
Not talking about the corrosion just the active verdigris green growth which could have been removed prior to doing further damage.
I’ve had NGC contact me suggesting using NCS conservation services before a coin was slabbed (after it had been through the grading room). It would seem that all TPGs could do that if the grader feels it would clearly help the coin.
...so like fumigating a cemetery for worms?
did you submit this and just get it back? otherwise how do you know what it looked like when they slabbed it?
If it looked like that when submitted I would have expected the submitter to ask for conservation instead of giving the grading room something else to handle.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I agree with @TomB...If that verdigris was visible at time of submission, it should have went in with a request for conservation....I would be surprised if this much verdigris appeared after encapsulation....Cheers, RickO
You'd have to ask the submitter. I don't think you will get a satisfactory answer here. Not from the graders or grading room, anyway. They make twice as much, as is.
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It's too much work to expect a grading company to micromanage every coin they get through their system, I mean who do they expect to make such an executive decision? So a grader decides to flag it for conservation, which is going to add a minimum of $25 on to the coin, the submitter has to agree to that and it still comes back with the environmental damage. They get thousands of coins a day, can you guess how much extra time it would take to identify the problem, contact the submitter and wait for their response?
First of all. Some major TPGS already do what you have asked.
This can take two forms, I know one often calls the submitter. Another leaves a note to send it back for conservation.
Folks tend to think they are the only customer in the world. You are not. It takes a few full time people to answer all the stupid calls a day: "Did you get my coin?" "Did you send it back?" "Do you slab Morgan dollars?" Want to get your coins back faster? Don't call. Then the TPGS can hire more folks to handle the actual coins.
This is one stinking coin in a batch of thousands that they get. Grade it, label it corroded, and send it back. Easy and fast. **If the submitter wanted conservation, ask for it and PAY FOR IT! Then the TPGS can take care of it Easy and fast w/o needing to make phone calls.
Conservation will not pay the light bill unless you charge stupid prices. That coin can be easily fixed but it takes time. Rant over!
Time costs money. They are busy. They made the money of the submission. The time it would take for someone to call the submitter and ask them if they want it conserved, assuming they know what that is, would be expensive.. Also, they may say no. Then you have wasted more time. This way, slabbing it and detail grading it make a statement. The submitter can then choose to resend or whatever...
From personal experience, there does appear to be SOME mechanism for contacting the submitter....
I sent in a Bust half for crossover, and didn't request the variety service. BUT, I had a little sticker with the Overton number on the slab that I forgot to remove. A couple days after acceptance of the order, I got an email asking if I wanted variety service on it. (I didn't....it wasn't a rare one, or anything).
So, the other possibility is that they DID ask the submitter, and for whatever reason (cheap, lazy, uninformed), they didn't want to pay for conservation?
Added: Granted, in my case it was probably the "paperwork people" who contacted me, and not the grading room. They may be too pressed for time to jump through hoops....
Hmmmmm.
Those who appreciate 18th century copper know what probably "should" happen, but it's possible the submitter has the opposite opinion, doesn't know, or doesn't care.
How you see this probably depends on if you've ever owned a business. Trying to guess what people want is a losing proposition. It's usually best to give them what they pay for. In the long run, it's the only sensible way to do things.
I can imagine they have a lot of coins to handle but it would seem an advantage to call and offer the services that way you don’t have to re-submission the coin but that takes extra people and time but it would be a next level of customer service to do something like that.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/publishedset/209923
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/album/209923
Some of the above posts are making excuses for poor customer service. A phone call, test or email should be sent before putting a coin in a slab with active continents. Yes, it can take more time, disrupt the flow and cost a little of money, but companies that do things right for the customer win in the long run. If PCGS has been putting coins into slabs with active continents, the new PCGS management should take a look on how to improve.
I would be for all that, but how would they be able to differentiate between active continents and inactive continents? How large does a continent have to get before it would need a professional examination with potential removal? Are green continents worse than other types, what if the continent were to be transparent should it be conserved too?
This is a pre-grading problem that should have been addressed and diverted as soon as the submission was entered into the tracking system.
(A rule in organizations such as TPGs is that the people doing examinations should never have contact with customers. That is the only way to help preserve the concept of impartiality.)
Had NGC contact me on using conservation on a coin I sent in. Worked out okay.
@slider23 said: "Some of the above posts are making excuses for poor customer service.
If the coin was slabbed in a timely manner at a fair price, that's good customer service in my opinion.
Now, while I do agree what you propose would be EXCELLENT customer service - customer first, regardless of the cost, time, and loss revenue, it is not practical for the top two TPGS's (one publicly owned): "A phone call, test or email should be sent before putting a coin in a slab with active continents. Yes, it can take more time, disrupt the flow and cost a little of money, but companies that do things right for the customer win in the long run. If PCGS has been putting coins into slabs with active continents, the new PCGS management should take a look on how to improve."
Good luck. Think of a huge ship trying to change direction. VERY SLOW. LOL. Example: When a sniff of professional coin grading was in the air, the first TPGS started providing that service almost immediately for free - one week after the decision/design/and order for the grading cards was sent to the printer and returned. LOL. It took the ""big ANA ship" with a Board of Directors, CEO, etc. several months after that to provide this service and THEY CHARGED for their opinion!
I suspect our host is a big ship. Let's see what the future brings.
I've had NGC do that too but sometimes you get a problem grade after paying the extra money. ICG has done this but they (and NGC) require a form with your signature giving them carte blanche on what follows. I would of course check a box on a PCGS submission to give them permission in their professional judgment to do what was required to have the coin pass muster with the graders.
At 30 seconds per coin, it's not going to happen.
IMHO... this is the responsibility of the owner prior to submitting.
You are paying them to grade.
There is a box or a form for everything.
I guess the TPG's should alert the owner of every minor variety?
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Insider 2, I understand the huge ship changing direction as I worked in upper management of a public traded company with 200 US locations and locations in 7 countries. You are way ahead of me on how a grading room functions as I have no knowledge of the inside workings. There is typically a cost effective way to solve problems that improve the brand and customer service.
I can only speak for two "modern" grading rooms.
With the pitting and porosity that coin likely wont straight grade even if they remove the verdigris.
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Pangaea?