NGC slab tampering

[benjmurts]

Should I be worried?

 

I bought a 1909S Indian head, the picture matches pretty clear with the NGC verification but the slab may have an issue.

 

??

[MarkFeld]

It looks like a chipped (not a tampered-with) slab to me. I would focus on the coin and see if it looks OK.

[Raisethis2]

I agree. I've seen them with the whole side cracked out from hard contact. These things are more brittle than Derick Rose.

[FishyOne]

Are you referring to the V in the plastic? I don't even see a chip. No worries.

[PerryHall]

Look at the coin. If the grade matches what's shown on the slab label, it's probably okay. Of course this only works if you know how to grade.

[AHFreak]

I know of coin dealer here locally who bought a slabbed coin, although it wasn't NGC, it also wasn't any lower tier or generic either, leaving only one other choice... it was a 1916-D dime, in VF or somewhere close to that. the slab definitely had signs of tampering, but the seller happened to have a very fitting story of how it happened,... (guy was in a hurry, and slammed his safe door shut, without realizing the coin was in the way, which put some pressure on the slab, but didn't hurt the coin....). Anyways, my buddy bought this, and after started really looking, and got concerned, so he sent the whole thing in to PCGS for review, or whatever it is called... Turned out the coin had been swapped out with a counterfeit. The Secret Service took possession, and wouldn't give it back.

 

this is an extreme example, but I wanted to share because it is important that those of us who become confident, remember that we cannot get to complacent.

 

 

I would say that it doesn't hurt to take a good look at the edges of slabs, and avoid anything that might give any reason for suspicion. (If nothing else, just ask the dealer to send it back to NGC and have it reslabbed before you buy it. I know I would have no problems doing that if I were asked by a customer).

 

I hope it goes without mentioning too, but the biggest most important thing here is to have enough familiarity with what coin/series/etc you are buying that you can look at/inspect it under the right conditions and have confidence that it matches up with what the number on the holder says...

 

 

[Architecht]

Do an NGC cert verification look up, and if there is a security image it may be helpful to compare the coin in the holder to the security image.

[yonico]

this "v" or triangle on the sides is a part of the slab, if that's what you're referring to. but yes, always good to inspect the holder when you buy a coin. not only for tempering reasons - sometimes a bad crack that is deep enough allows air and moisture to get into the slab and makes the coin inside turn really fast and ugly.

this one here looks fine to me

[Keigwin]

It's good to be vigilant about this. It is not all that difficult to break open a slab with only minimal damage, difficult to detect.

 

When I crack an NGC slab I wrap the holder in a towel and gently rap the edges with a hammer. Once one side cracks open I can pry it open enough to pull out the white holder and coin.

 

NGC slabs are actually not brittle. They have a lot more flexibility than PCGS slabs, e.g. Snips or bolt cutters work great on PCGS holders. Snip an edge and the slab cracks cleanly across. Try the same with an NGC slab and you'll find it crushes rather than cracks.

 

Immediately below is an example of an opened NGC holder. The paired images below that are all four sides of an unmolested NGC slab and an opened one. The opened one is darker in color (no white holder inside).

Lance.

 

 

 

[Treashunt]

. The Secret Service took possession, and wouldn't give it back. ...

 

 

since when?

 

Do they also take the eBay Chinese fakes?

 

 

I think not, not enough staff!

[Conder101]

Anyways, my buddy bought this, and after started really looking, and got concerned, so he sent the whole thing in to PCGS for review, or whatever it is called... Turned out the coin had been swapped out with a counterfeit. The Secret Service took possession, and wouldn't give it back.

Really, who gave it to the Secret Service? PCGS doesn't do that. So if anyone did it must have been your buddy.

[AHFreak]

If ya'll really wanna know, I bet I could find out how or why the SS ended up with it, but I was never told that part of the story. The guy who this happened to is a coin dealer, and he had never heard of it either nor did he know it was a possibility... What he told me, was that the SS ended up with it, and he said something to the effect that the SS told him they were keeping it and that it was they best counterfeit they had ever seen.. They told him that whoever did it, removed the "D" mint mark from another mercury dime, and then attached it on a 1916 dime from philly, to make it appear as a 1916-D. They said it was done by an advanced professional, with lazers.