What would you do if NGC...

[coinman1794]

I submitted a beautiful, golden brown, totally original, luscious UNC 1753 Great Britain halfpenny to NGC for grading and it came back in an NGC MS63 slab...and it is now PURPLE...

 

 

 

 

[ant]

[EZ_E]

 

[PerryHall]

Sounds like they used acetone or similar to remove some contamination. Give NGC a call and ask them. I like the brown coloration much better.

[MarkFeld]

I would call, ask to speak to a grader who was familiar with the coin/submission, politely demand an explanation and then (also politely) tear his head off with words.

[dooly]

Nice coin (thumbs u But What was there thinking

[MunkyMan95]

Okay... What the hell...

[bsshog40]

As Mark stated, I would call to inquire of the steps this coin went thru before pointing fingers right now. I don't see where a company can make thier own decisions to perform conservation on a person's coin without thier consent.

[coinman1794]

They conserved at least 3 of the 5 coins I submitted on this World Coin grading order. The other two came out very nicely, but this one is questionable. But again, I didnt ask for any conservation, and none of these coins would have required it. They did not have any PVC or other major contaminents.

[dooly]

It sounds like they sent them to the wrong department !!!! Free conservation !!!! shame they did not need it ..

[pendragon1998]

[gmarguli]

I don't see any difference other than the amount of light used in the pictures.

[coinman1794]

Greg, there was not a square millimeter of purple on either side of the coin before it was submitted. Also, my images were taken under 200 watts of unhampered light.

[TomB]

I would like to see an after image taken by the same photographer (Mark Goodman?) with identical lighting before I would come to a conclusion.

[James_OldeTowne]

One more reason copper should not be in slabs - certainly not plastic slabs. Copper needs to breathe. That is why EACers leave theirs in simple paper envelopes.

 

There are copper coins that were so stored for many decades, and never changed appearance in the slightest. Then, they were slabbed, and voila - the "plastic effect".

 

(I'm referring to the actual chemical content, not the slabbing notion itself.)

 

I simply will not own encapsulated copper.

[coinman1794]

I would like to see an after image taken by the same photographer (Mark Goodman?) with identical lighting before I would come to a conclusion.

 

There is no question that the coin has been conserved (along with 2 others on the invoice) and that the color has changed. All the original skin is gone and the surfaces are slick...and purple, with wisps of magenta where the original mint red is/was. The only good that came of it was that a tiny, inconsequential, partical fingerprint on the reverse was removed in the process.

 

[TomB]

You have seen the coin in-hand so I will defer to your statement that the color has changed. My response was directed toward the fact that the type and amount of lighting used to image copper can yield wildly different results as to its apparent color.

[MikeInFL]

A small different in the light's angle of incidence can do wonders to changing the apparent color of copper. I wonder, respectfully, if that's not what happened here....Mike

[EZ_E]

A small different in the light's angle of incidence can do wonders to changing the apparent color of copper. I wonder, respectfully, if that's not what happened here....Mike

 

 

Why is everyone being so obtuse and casting doubt on Coinman's eyewitness account?

[ant]

(thumbs u im with EZ!

[coinman1794]

While it is true that my before pictures are not an ideal comparison to my after pics because they were made by Heritage, there is no question that the coin has been treated and that it is now purple with mauve tinges, as opposed to chestnut brown with orangy red tinges. I owned this coin for almost 6 month before I submitted it, and it was one of my all time favorites.

 

The reason for my post was not to get opinions on whether or not it happend, but rather on what you would do if it happened to you.

 

[bsshog40]

Unless you have the coin in hand my friend, I would be interested as to what it looks like when you get it back. Hope fully not as bad as the pic shows. I still would not have any conservation done on a coin of mine unless I was contacted by NGC to indicate that it might not grade unless it was done.

[TwoKopeiki]

If that happened without NGC giving me a heads-up, I would be very upset. Hard to say what my next steps would be. Perhaps speaking with the person at NGC that was directly responsible for this, getting his/hers reasoning behind it. Another option would be escalating it up the NGC chain of command and perhaps having NGC purchase the coin from you.

 

Just my 2k.

 

~Roman

[coinman1794]

I have the coin back. The first pictures are those from the Heritage auction where I purchased the coin. I had it in my possession for almost 6 months. The second pics are made with my new digital camera after the coin returned from grading this week.

[bsshog40]

I have the coin back. The first pictures are those from the Heritage auction where I purchased the coin. I had it in my possession for almost 6 months. The second pics are made with my new digital camera after the coin returned from grading this week.

 

Well then I know I would surely find out why my coins were conserved without permission. I just don't understand how this can be done without asking the submitter first. I would be upset also. I would completely understand if conservation was needed to keep it from BB'ing, but still would think permission would have been the proper route to go before doing so.

[EZ_E]

NGC, NCS & PCGS pull stunts like this all of the time. It's like a god-complex or something.

[TomB]

If the coin was truly conserved by NGC (NCS) without your prior knowledge or consent, which appears to be quite possible, then I would expect that either they made an internal error or that the person you submitted the coin through, if not yourself, requested the conservation or performed it himself.

[coinman1794]

For a few months now, I have posted on these boards that my coins were undergoing conservation on a regular basis...without my consent. Almost every toned coin I submit comes back lightened. Most of the time it looks like they removed haze so they could read the high points better and make a more accurate judgement on the grade. And, most of the time it has turned out well. But I have lost color coins to this process, and this halfpenny is certainly another one of those coins that did not turn out well.

 

 

[coinman1794]

Tom, There is no question that this coin was conserved, and conserved internally at NGC...along with 2 other coins from the order. I submit directly and I did not request this service.

[TomB]

If you are submitting directly then we can obviously remove the middle man. I mentioned a middle man because I know of instances where dealers thought they were doing their clients a favor by removing some gunk or lightly dipping a coin without prior consent.