"Mis-labelled" coin slabs by NGC, PCGS, ANACS, ICG etc. 1 1

[Soulreader420]

I've always felt that an "attention to detail" is the first and/or at least one of the most important cornerstones of the coin collecting hobby, but ironically, it seems like most of the coin dealers that I've talked to in my decades long enjoyment of numismatics seem to be a lot more forgiving than I am whenever a major grading service makes some type of error on the description label of a slabbed coin that they've been paid handsomely by the coin's owner to specifically authenticate and grade. Case in point, I currently own a 2000 D Sacagawea $1 graded as MS-67 PL by NGC, but the label incorrectly identifies the coin as P mint. I bought this coin on eBay, so I was not the owner that originally paid NGC for the coin's authentication and grade certification. The issue I have is that now, well over 2 decades after the coin was minted, how or will NGC be able to determine or distinguish if the D mint golden dollar was a business strike coin (currently priced at $40) or is this 2000-D golden dollar from the Millennium set with a limited mintage of 50,000 (currently priced at $90). Since I also own examples of NGC graded MS 67 PL Sacagawea $1's that are the 2000-D business strike coin and the 2000-D coin from the Millennium set, I've tried to compare all 3 coins side by side (under high magnification) to determine what the 2000-D coin (mis-labelled as a P mint) actually is, but without success. Granted, I'm not professional coin grader, but I do have an eye for detail that caught the error NGC made, so there is that to consider. In truth, I called NGC a couple of years ago about this coin. The NGC rep verified the certification # on the slab and agreed (from their picture of the coin saved in their system) that it incorrectly stated it was a P mint instead of a D mint. Since I was not the original coin owner that had submitted the coin to NGC for grading, she asked me to mail the coin (insured) back to NGC so they could fix the error (for free) on the slab's label. Oh, really? You mean that I have to pay for shipping and insurance of this coin in order to fix NGC's error that they made decades ago? That's just wrong, plain and simple. I asked her how or if NGC would even try to determine if the 2000-D coin was the business strike coin (automatically) or was the 2000-D coin from the limited-edition Millennium set. She asked me hold while she checked, and after a minute or so, my call was either disconnected accidentally or intentionally. Needless to say, I didn't call back, nor have I ever mailed this coin back to NGC to fix the label (for free). Instead, I started a collection of NGC mis-labelled coins, and to date, now have 3 coins that NGC has mis-labelled: the 2000-D Sacagawea $1 incorrectly labelled as a P-mint, and (2) 2019-D Delaware "Classifying the Stars" Innovation dollars incorrectly labeled as 2018-D, G. Washington Signed 1st Patent. I guess the bottom line on all of this is that it is what it is, until it's not. Sure, I guess we as coin collectors can forgive the grading services for their coin label errors that they occasionally make, especially if based solely on the sheer volume of coins they certify daily. But should we, especially when attention to detail is vital when collecting coins? I'm just throwing this out there as food for thought to see how others feel about it. Nobody's reply is right or wrong due to relevance and personal opinions.      

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.

  While "mechanical" or clerical errors on grading service labels would be a fine topic for the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum or the "U.S., World, and Ancient Coins" forum, it probably won't receive much attention on the "Coin Marketplace" forum, which is supposed to be for "buying, selling, and trading coins".  

  These types of errors, which are all too common, are one of many reasons why collectors must learn to identify, grade, and otherwise evaluate coins for themselves, even if they only collect third-party graded coins.