What Happens When An Unknown Coin Is Submitted?

I'm guessing so, if you can actually stump them, or they may just decide it's not something they grade.

I am minded of an episode years back on the PCGS board. A relatively prominent member decided he was going to stump ICG, who advertised that they'd grade anything. So, he submitted a long series of increasingly-outlandish "coins," and good to their word they correctly attributed and graded everything. Some of the stuff he sent in had me rolling on the floor. They finally drew the line, if I remember correctly, at a wooden nickel. Good times.

That would have been quite a show!

Thanks for the responses. I figured they have to have quite a database/catalog...but it surely doesn't have EVERYTHING...which lead to my question.

The TPGs work off the catalogues. If it's in the catalogues, then they'll slab it. "Which catalogues?", you may ask. Whichever ones they decide to include.

For example, PCGS will slab world coins that are in the Krause catalogues, and perhaps Davenport as well for earlier crowns and the German States book. Anything else, ancient, mediaeval or early modern, they won't slab.

So if you're token is of a class of tokens the TPG normally would slab, but isn't actually listed in the token catalogue the TPG uses for that series, then no, they won't slab it.

I believe the PCGS rejection code will be either "86 - No Decision" if they really have no clue what it is, or "96 - No Service" if they know what it is but they don't grade those. In both these cases they don't slab and will refund you your grading fees.

I failed to mention that one of the Ancient Experts here on CCF ID'd this coin minutes after I posted it in the Ancient Section, and was surprised than NGC didn't holder this coin...