Holder Tampering ? 1 1

[victors_valiant]

I have purchaed 6 coins from 3 different sources and each coin holder looks to be tampered with.   There are signs of glueing or melting of the holder in spots.   One vendor told me that

the coins came from NGC that way and it was part of the sealing process.    To me the coin is no longer marketable and the value is zip.  Please check out the images and

tell me if this is something you have experienced or if this is actually how the holders are sealed.

[AllisonC CS]

Hi @victors_valiant,

Thank you for reaching out. These marks on the side of the encapsulations are the seal marks. These marks are sometimes more evident than others, but they are on all slabs. Please let us know if you have any concerns.

Thank you,

[victors_valiant]

I never have seen those marks before until 2 weeks ago. I have over 75 graded coins from NGC, PCGS and ANACS and not any show these marks.  Just how does a person know that a holder hasn't been tampered with?   

[Sandon]

On 9/13/2024 at 11:25 AM, victors_valiant said:

Just how does a person know that a holder hasn't been tampered with?   

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.

   If a third-party grading service was tampered with, it would likely have been to remove the coin and replace it with a counterfeit or lower grade example of the same issue or a coin of a more common issue. (See, for example, NGC Wins Justice with Coin Tampering Settlement | NGC (ngccoin.com).) Since about 2008, NGC has generally made images of the coins it has certified in their holders, which images are included in the NGC Certificate Verification database, accessible through NGC Cert Lookup | Verify NGC Certification | NGC (ngccoin.com). It is a good idea to use this tool whenever you want to purchase an NGC certified coin. Even if there are no images of the coin, this function will still verify the identity and grade of the coin with that serial number. PCGS, CAC Grading, and ANACS have similar tools on their respective websites.

   More fundamentally, third-party certification is not a substitute for the knowledge that should enable you to identify most counterfeit or overgraded coins! Even if you only buy coins in the holders of reputable third-party grading services, you should still learn at least basic authentication and grading and the overall characteristics of the coins you want to collect. Most of the counterfeit coins I have seen in counterfeit or tampered with grading service holders were readily identifiable as fakes by anyone who understands what the genuine pieces are supposed to look like. You should carefully examine any coin that interests you, certified or uncertified, before purchasing it and be able to exercise your own judgment as to the authenticity and grade of a coin, the latter factor being an issue even for genuine coins in unaltered holders.

   As with most other issues encountered in life, there can be no absolute certainties about this issue. Knowledge and common sense are the best defenses.