Is your NGC holder scratch resistant?

[eband-migration]

I wanted to share another way I don't believe was mentioned on the boards that would not involve potentially making marks on how to discover if the holder you get is scratch resistant one or not. This is besides using the sharpie method described in the post below:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4753504

 

 

What I come to realized between the two was that when you look at the outer edges of the holders. You will the see the part of the plastic surface that is glossier than the rough edge center section. This is area I focus on using light reflection and have been able to tell if it has the scratch resistant coating on it or not. The ones that don't will usually have a very smooth surface with very little disturbances like little bubbles or impressed surface irregularities and they will usually have deeper gouges in it from the sonic seal process. The scratch resistant ones will have a slight textured surface that resembles a spray material was used and may still have the sonic sealed gouges but on a lesser effect. It's kind of like the surface texture that happens when you take spray paint and coat something with it. If you see that happening on either side of the edges where it's glossier then it's probably scratch resistant. I can glance at my holders and pick out ones that are scratch resistant pretty quick this way and rarely require the sharpie method to be sure. A little tip to help someone to distinguish when buying at a coin show or something. Of course, if NGC just made a little mark in the process this would be even easier someday.

 

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

Do you perceive any difference when holding both up to a light source?

 

I do.

 

Then again, I am not sure if I am experiencing a true difference or it is due to a warped sense of the world.

 

Respectfully,

John Curlis

[FishyOne]

All my newer NGC holders are more scratch resistant than PCGS's.

 

That said, Slab-Renew doesn't do much for them.

[coinman_23885]

I like your method a lot better than the Sharpie method; I feel that the latter ruins a perfectly good non-scratch resistant slab.

[bartlesvilleok]

I am kind of shocked they have not have slab protectors that work like cell phone protectors.

[noow]

My scratch resistant holders are scratched.

[Lablover]

I can't tell if they're scratch resistant due to the scratches.

[eband-migration]

Do you perceive any difference when holding both up to a light source?

 

I do.

 

Then again, I am not sure if I am experiencing a true difference or it is due to a warped sense of the world.

 

Respectfully,

John Curlis

 

 

I didn't see any difference when trying to hold them both up to light. It would be nice if NGC used a UV dye in the hard coating spray and we could just use a blacklight to know or see a mark somewhere. Here are two good example pictures showing differences I was talking about between a standard and scratch resistant holder. Not all of my scratch resistant holders are this easy to tell but they all have that sprayed textured effect on them to some degree.

[BillJones]

The new NGC holders are less prone to scratch, but you can still scratch them. Nevertheless they are an improvement over the old holders, and they are FAR MORE durable than the PCGS holders. I think that the plastic is clearer too. I recently had my 1794 half in MS-61, Brown re-holdered, and it looks great! The view I get of the coin is much clearer, and I can now see the edge which is an important aspect of this coin since there are two styles of edge lettering with this variety. (Cohen #1a and #1b) Sadly this confirms that my coin is the much more common Cohen #1a.

[RGT]

My scratch resistant holders are scratched.

 

There is a difference between "scratch resistant" and "scratch proof", much like the difference between "water resistant" and "water proof".

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

My scratch resistant holders are scratched.

 

There is a difference between "scratch resistant" and "scratch proof", much like the difference between "water resistant" and "water proof".

 

I assume information concerning the last implied difference comparison is also available thru the Marketing Dept. @ Trojan?

 

I seem to recall they had some unfortunate experiences with their wording of the difference between "proof" and "resistent" also, when the product was tested. The waterproof version did not seem as clear, either, and this was solved by artificially toning the product in multiple colors.

 

 

Respectfully,

John Curlis

[ultra-crepidarian]

Thank you for this information. I really like the scratch-resistant holders and would like to have all of my permanent collection in these holders. I like the feel of the holders and I agree with BillJones that the coins look "clearer" in the holders. I have tried to train myself to distinguish the holders based on the "feel" but I am not very consistent when I test myself. Your "textured surface" method works for me. Thanks for the pictures and thanks for sharing your keen observation.

[BruceTucson]

Thanks for he information. The photos are very helpful in understanding the difference.

[Chris1976]

While the theory sounds interesting enough, I am not so positive that it could be consistant. While in our plastics class at the local community college we would make simular items (picture frames) from various plastics and we would see simular results depending on the age and care of the equipment used in the production along with the quality of the materials used during the production. Again I will say that the theory sounds interesting as the spray that they use on the holders to make them scratch resistant could very well cause the bubbly look on the sides of the case, but at the same time I would think it would also show on the display ends as well and not just on the rim of the holder.

 

Because of prior experiences, I would be interested in hearing from someone at NGC if they have noticed this on 1000's of unused holders to varify the difference. Seeing it on a couple hundred holders only could be due to improper care of the machinery used in the production.

[eband-migration]

I wanted to update on this method and how it's been accurate so far. I'm pretty sure now that others would get the same results. I've been getting proven results after a couple more orders of scratch resistant holders throughout the past year and also with NGC confirming from what I believe was their internal notes on a couple holders that didn't get encapsulated as scratch resistant when ordered. It maybe good to review your orders or NGC holders being advertised as scratch resistant with sellers using this method untill a mark or confirm process is featured on them. I think this could be a future upgrade request that would be welcomed by collectors for holders to have a marked field on the NGC verification lookup tool or a simple reflective stamp on the edge holder area before they are coated.

[coinman1794]

While the theory sounds interesting enough, I am not so positive that it could be consistant. While in our plastics class at the local community college we would make simular items (picture frames) from various plastics and we would see simular results depending on the age and care of the equipment used in the production along with the quality of the materials used during the production. Again I will say that the theory sounds interesting as the spray that they use on the holders to make them scratch resistant could very well cause the bubbly look on the sides of the case, but at the same time I would think it would also show on the display ends as well and not just on the rim of the holder.

 

Because of prior experiences, I would be interested in hearing from someone at NGC if they have noticed this on 1000's of unused holders to varify the difference. Seeing it on a couple hundred holders only could be due to improper care of the machinery used in the production.

 

This method works every time. The current NGC slabs are not bubbly on their sides until they are coated, and every scartch-res. slab I have handled over the past 4+ years has the bubbles.

[BillJones]

All my newer NGC holders are more scratch resistant than PCGS's.

 

 

I'll drink that. (thumbs u

 

PCGS holders, with their convex windows, have always been scratch collectors for me. Unfortunately I've had trouble finding plastic baggies that dealers use to protect slabs that work with PCGS holders. The stacking ridges catch into them which makes it almost impossible to slip the slab into the bag. NGC holders go right in with no problems. This has forced me to put NGC boxes in my safe deposit boxes, which takes up more room.

 

As for the NGC holders, they are really great. The windows are clearer, which makes the coins more visible, and now I can see part of the edge. The only thing that would improve them would be clean prongs. Then we could almost all of the edge.

 

[newprepper]

I used to work for an eyeglass store, when cleaning any lenses, we would always rinse the lenses under running water before we ever wiped them with a soft cloth, the reason being that this process rinses away the dust or foreign matter that CAUSES the scratches, if you dont remove the foreign matter first, you actually cause the scratches yourself by rubbing the foreign matter into the plastic, now that being said, if the holders arew not water proof, then you could potentially damage the holder by running it under water, in case this is true, use a can of compressed air to blow them off before you wipe them.

There is a product for cars called scratch out, it hides scratches on paint, its pretty inexpensive, I don't know if it would work on these slabs, but it might.

[Walkerfan]

I have 3 different generations of NGC holders. An older number 7 (still not old enough to be a Fattie), the number 13 or 14s and the new ones. The new ones are supposed to be scratch resistant from what I gather.

[DirtyGoldMan]

It's been my experience that the newer NGC holders are the most scratch-resistant on the market.