| Author |
 Replies: 16 / Views: 818 |
|
Valued Member
United States
55 Posts |
Is it possible to open a TPG slab without breaking it? I have some professionally-graded coins for sale, and I'm concerned that people might try to break the coin out, reseal the slab with one of their own coins inside, and send it back for a refund. |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
557 Posts |
Sorry, are you buying or selling this coin? If selling, why would you worry about that after you've sold the coin? Seems like an odd question.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt. Abe Lincoln
Edited by NY Islander
09/15/2023 12:58 am
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2889 Posts |
Quick answer: not possible. Don't waste your time worrying about it.
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
|
Moderator
 United States
51615 Posts |
Quote:
why would you worry about that after you've sold the coin? Seems like an odd question. Because some one could replace a high end coin with a lower grade coin and then demand a refund  John1 
( I'm no pro, it's just my humble opinion )
Searched 6.5 +/- Million Cents Since 1971
|
|
Moderator
United States
128232 Posts |
Quote:
Quick answer: not possible. Don't waste your time worrying about it. I agree.  Here is what I did to get a coin out of a slab so I could fill a hole in a Dansco album... http://goccf.com/t/431501
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
81268 Posts |
Surely there must be more important things to worry about! |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
3923 Posts |
They are tamper-evident, not tamper-proof. And there are some older slabs that are much less resistant than the current generation. But you are worrying for no good reason.
-----Burton 49 year / Life ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, OnLine Coin Club Owned by four cats and a wife of 39 years (joined 1983) PS: ANA's records are messed up, they show me as a 50-year member and I'm now Emeritus |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17819 Posts |
Sometimes you can get very lucky and the slab will split open cleanly and you can reseal it, but this happens very seldom. It really isn't something you really need to worry about.
Gary Schmidt
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6077 Posts |
Once a slab is broken you know it's broken.
You should also take high quality pictures of your coins. You can easily tell when a coin is replaced, but in the scheme of things worrying about someone replacing your coin in a slab is like winning the lottery, neither are going to happen do you.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3378 Posts |
I understand your concern. I've been dealing with a lot of craigslist people over the past couple weeks and it seems like half the people out there are working some kind of scam. Recently there was a large settlement involving NGC and a "dealer" who was cracking their slabs and replacing the coins, so you're right to think that someone could be playing a refund game using the same tactic. It's essentially the same scam in reverse. With ebay strongly favoring buyers in a refund situation, I can see where a crack and return scam would be easier and more profitable. Photograph the coins with the certs and identifying marks clearly visible. https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/11938/ |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3923 Posts |
Honestly, it didn't take much to prove that he was cracking the slabs, a side view clearly showed it. There are pictures attached to the complaint you can view at PACER if you want.
-----Burton 49 year / Life ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, OnLine Coin Club Owned by four cats and a wife of 39 years (joined 1983) PS: ANA's records are messed up, they show me as a 50-year member and I'm now Emeritus |
|
Moderator
Australia
15401 Posts |
Is it possible to open up a slab, swap out the coin for another, and reseal it? Yes. Is it possible to open up a slab, swap out the coin for another, and reseal it without this damage being obviously evident to anyone who looks at the slab? That is the much harder thing to do. You probably have to worry more about counterfeit coins in counterfeit slabs, than you have to worry about genuine slabs being cracked open and having fake or inferior coins substituted. Simply because making a fake slab is much easier than trying to stealthily tamper with a genuine slab. The TrueView system (PCGS) and Internet Imaging (NGC) are good here, in that there's a photo of the genuine coin in the genuine slab on file with the TPG which you cna access and compare your slab with. While faking or swapping out a slabbed coin is possible, doing so and keeping the fake/substitute coin looking anything like the original coin in the holder is much, much harder. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3378 Posts |
How often have you seen a side view of a slab posted on ebay though? NGC spent $100k going after that guy so it wasn't a small potatoes operation. I'm not saying it isn't difficult, but the buyer can easily claim the slab was like that when they received it, etc. The NGC guy had to buy two coins - the real slabbed one and one to replace it with. The crack, replace and return scammer only has to buy the lesser coin if they get the refund. I can see where it would be a tempting scam, that's all I'm saying.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17819 Posts |
From the NGC article (emphasis mine)
The inferior coins, which were poorly resealed in NGC holders that misrepresented their authenticity and grade, were sold with the intention of profiting off of the less-valuable coins.
Basically if you LOOKED at the slabs you could tell they had been opened and resealed. So once again, this isn't really something you have to worry that much about.
Gary Schmidt
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
5973 Posts |
Let's see ... Collectors pay a premium to acquire slabbed coins because of the extra peace of mind. And then worry anyhow ...  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3923 Posts |
The case is PROVENANCE NGC LLC d/b/a NUMISMATIC GUARANTY COMPANY, v. RICHARD ALBRIGHT, NY Southern District 23-CV-00406  -----Burton 49 year / Life ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, OnLine Coin Club Owned by four cats and a wife of 39 years (joined 1983) PS: ANA's records are messed up, they show me as a 50-year member and I'm now Emeritus |
| |
Replies: 16 / Views: 818 |
|
Posted 09/15/2023 01:14 am
