What Has Been Your Worst Grade Experience With A Third Party Grading Company?

I'm not sure if this really qualifies for what you're asking, but it's my worst result from PCGS.

Here's a 1909-(P) VDB that came back with Uncirculated "Details" and "Tooled Edge." While it was disappointing, I'm sure it was correct. The edge of the coin shows an area that has been sanded and buffed. No idea what was there, but it someone tried to cover it up.

This has taught me that there are three sides to a coin, not just two.

Click the picture for a larger image

The more I dig into the companies, the less and less I am impressed with them. They started out being seen as a sham way to make money off of the hobby. Other countries even looked at us as foolish Americans for having too much spending money and paying self proclaimed "experts" to tell us something we could figure out for ourselves! And now we have people paying the CAC "experts" to evaluate the TPG "experts'" opinions! What is next?

---

---

All joking aside:

Here are some posts form other threads plus a small bit of my own research thrown in:
http://goccf.com/t/346174#2967242

Words from a respected CCF Family memeber who, sadly, is no linger with us.http://goccf.com/t/130186


Collect what you like, but remember to buy the coin and not the slab.

Thanks - that's my goal!

I find it sad that when slabbing first started out, I remember joking with some other collectors in the area that, "watch, someone will come up with a scheme for making money for evaluating the slabbing company 'experts" opinions.
But we knew (this is not being mean, this is being factual of what we said back then) that no one would ever stupid enough to fall for a second tier of evaluation. Oh well
Dare I say, we can look back and CACkle?

If someone understands the facts behind the slabbing companies and still likes slabs, I say all the more power to them. A hobby is about fun. And the fact is that slabs can make for a great presentation and organization.

I just do not appreciate that people have been brought to believe these companies are what their marketers claim they are. until they get a verifiable and scientific system up and going (it IS 2020 isn't it?) instead of taking money for a non-verifiable product, I personally will continue to see them as taking advantage of people.

In fact I can see one day the marketers finally deciding the companies have milked the system enough and will then start a new campaign to be paid to re-slab EVERYTHING all over again:

New and Improved! Our company has moved into the new millennium (finally after the tech was available in the '90s)": LSCDG (Laser Scanning and Computer Diagnostic Grading) is here (again - we got rid of it in the 90s - too final). How you can sleep at night knowing your coins graded by the old subjective system may not have the actual/verifiable grade they deserve to have on their slab?
Special - send in your old slabs (plus any priceless heirloom) and we will re-slab them all for only twice the price you originally paid! You will forever have the assurance you have THE correct grade (until we change our grading algorithm in the computer next time we want to get money from re-slabbing everything again).

This was my worst one ever. I purchased this assuming it was graded correctly. How was this not detailed?