Coin sniffer coins

[Kurtdog]

Does anybody pay extra for these? I'm just curious.

[Walkerfan]

PCGS Secure Plus coins? I do not pay extra for them. I own two. One I paid less for (relatively speaking)----the other one was more for the issue but I based my bidding on the coins and not the holder. Also, the one that I paid more for has a bean while the other doesn't-----not that that makes any difference to me, either.

[RWB]

I have my dog check for chemical residue and "putty."

[coinman_23885]

Does anybody pay extra for these? I'm just curious.

 

When it first came out, there were some coins that sold for a premium. Since I am not as active in the coin market as I was several months ago, I am unsure whether this still holds, but if it does, it would presumably be for more expensive coins or those that are likely to be altered (puttied gold for instance).

[Kurtdog]

PCGS Secure Plus coins?

Yes, I'm wondering at how that went over. It started rather coincidently with their federal complaint against the "coin doctors," if you'll recall. There was a lot of hysteria generated at that time, and something like this seemed a cinch to go over. I think when that hysteria finally abated, so, too, did the perceived need for this coin sniffer "technology" (if you will) abate. For the record, neither do I know of anybody who pays extra for these.

[Mr. Smith Guesser]

I'm personally not going to pay a big premium for the Secure Plus. And I don't understand why PCGS doesn't just use the coin sniffer technology in the regular grading process. Well...I do understand...it's something they can charge you extra for.

 

But I see Secure Plus similar to extended warranties. Why not just include it in the original purchase instead of nickel and diming your customers?

[Walkerfan]

I've always wondered, if coins that have been dipped, would/could be slabbed as PCGS Secure Plus. I have seen Secure Plus coins that look to have been obviously dipped and re-toned.

 

PCGS uses wording such as "coins cannot be altered since their last submission", implying that they are permitted to be altered at some point in time.

[AHFreak]

I could totally be wrong about this... I was told a while back that PCGS secure plus not only "sniffs" any chemicals/residues on surface of the coin, but also photographs coin and then uses high tech software that will recognize if/when that same coin is ever submitted again, based on the unique characteristics of the coin... supposedly meaning that if a secure plus coin was cracked out, "altered" in any way, and then sent back to PCGS secure plus, that the software would automatically flag/recognize, whatever, that the coin is a coin that was previously submitted (as secure plus), and that it has had some surface alterations done..

 

that is my thoughts on why they would use the terminology that they do about it being altered since last submission, however I am not 100% on this.

 

If anyone knows anything more about the high tech photo's and software that can detect any changes on the surface of a particular coin, I would love to get straightened out on the matter.

 

 

 

[Walkerfan]

I could totally be wrong about this... I was told a while back that PCGS secure plus not only "sniffs" any chemicals/residues on surface of the coin, but also photographs coin and then uses high tech software that will recognize if/when that same coin is ever submitted again, based on the unique characteristics of the coin... supposedly meaning that if a secure plus coin was cracked out, "altered" in any way, and then sent back to PCGS secure plus, that the software would automatically flag/recognize, whatever, that the coin is a coin that was previously submitted (as secure plus), and that it has had some surface alterations done..

 

that is my thoughts on why they would use the terminology that they do about it being altered since last submission, however I am not 100% on this.

 

If anyone knows anything more about the high tech photo's and software that can detect any changes on the surface of a particular coin, I would love to get straightened out on the matter.

 

 

 

The photos that PCGS makes available to the public for Secure Plus coins AREN"T that good at all. They are dark and out of focus (not very detailed or hazy, at best). Also, I have seen a few dipped coins in Secure Plus slabs, so my guess is that, if a coin was already dipped and submitted to PCGS----it could be put into a Secure Plus slab after that fact. As far as putty and what-not-----that is a different story. But YES any alterations after being put in a Secure Plus holder and later cracked and resubmitted to Secure Plus AGAIN would be detected. This is my understanding based partly on what I know and partly on what I've seen.

[Kurtdog]

I think most collectors simply see this technology as a little extreme, guys. Supposing a coin "fails." It's a felon, now, that just got "booked." How often do they calibrate that sniffalyzer machine, anyway? How does one know it was working properly? All one really knows is, it was plugged in, .

[Conder101]

I was told a while back that PCGS secure plus not only "sniffs" any chemicals/residues on surface of the coin, but also photographs coin and then uses high tech software that will recognize if/when that same coin is ever submitted again, based on the unique characteristics of the coin

It isn't a "photograph" but a scanning of the coin to create a "digital fingerprint" of the coin. They have had this technology for about 23 years now. It was part of their Expert System that they introduced back in 1991 when they rolled out computer grading. It was intended at that time to be used with ALL submissions. But when the idea of computer grading died after a month or two the idea of digital fingerprinting went with it. Frankly it was the only part of the Expert System that I thought was a good idea.

[James_OldeTowne]

Does anybody pay extra for these? I'm just curious.

I've been wondering the same thing. After all the hype and hoopla about the sniffer utterly terminating the livelihood of coin doctors, it seems to have amounted to a whole lot of, well, hoopla.

[Kurtdog]

Does anybody pay extra for these? I'm just curious.

I've been wondering the same thing. After all the hype and hoopla about the sniffer utterly terminating the livelihood of coin doctors, it seems to have amounted to a whole lot of, well, hoopla.

Did you ever see the list of the products that are banned by the coin sniffer? It reads like an "America's Most Wanted" list, .

[AHFreak]

I was told a while back that PCGS secure plus not only "sniffs" any chemicals/residues on surface of the coin, but also photographs coin and then uses high tech software that will recognize if/when that same coin is ever submitted again, based on the unique characteristics of the coin

It isn't a "photograph" but a scanning of the coin to create a "digital fingerprint" of the coin. They have had this technology for about 23 years now. It was part of their Expert System that they introduced back in 1991 when they rolled out computer grading. It was intended at that time to be used with ALL submissions. But when the idea of computer grading died after a month or two the idea of digital fingerprinting went with it. Frankly it was the only part of the Expert System that I thought was a good idea.

 

Thank you for clarifying that for me...

 

 

[RWB]

PCGS can not only create a digital fingerprint of your coin, it can trim your toe nails. Just pop your tootsies into the USB port and visit the web site....