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Valued Member
United States
456 Posts |
I have many PCGS slabbed coins in several different generations of holders. I have no reason to believe anything is counterfeit, but I would like to learn what I can to minimize my chances of buying a counterfeit slab in the future. Any pointers on protecting an innocent collector against this type of insidious fraud?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
That's not a simple answer. Just as there have been many generations of PCGS slabs, there have also benn several generations of fake slabs and in some cases more than one variety of fake within a given generation of PCGS holder. Usually the easiest way to spot them is the ignore the slab an look at the coin. In a great many of them the coin is a fake as well. If the coin isn't a fake it is usually well off from the grade given on the label.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
A visual history of PCGS holders is at https://www.PCGS.com/holdersThere's no one test for detecting counterfeit slabs. If you can scan the bar/QA code on the slab, it should match the certification number (some bad fakes fail this test). You could also note the color/gradient on the label to see if it matches the generation of the holder (note the posts and rings surrounding the coin). Fake/altered slabs may have tampering marks or irregularities around the edge or on the sides. But the most obvious thing to check is the typeface on the label. The differences can be subtle but you'd be looking for things like the thickness of the lines, width of the letters/numbers, spacing and alignment. After you've seen enough genuine slabs, a badly printed label will look odd if you really pay attention to it. |
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Valued Member
 United States
456 Posts |
MikeF, Conder Thanks very much. I didn't know about the verification link, and it gives me peace of mind. And looking at the coin and disregarding the holder is always sage advice.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
Verifying the certification number alone isn't a guarantee, especially if there is no picture at PCGS. We've seen some counterfeit slabs on this site where the label had a matching certification number. The coin itself was also counterfeit, which was the better test in that case.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6514 Posts |
Thank you all. Informative thread.  Check out my counterstamped Lincoln Cent collection: http://goccf.com/t/303507 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4468 Posts |
If you suspect a counterfeit slab, the following action can be taken: 1) As noted, start with the coin. 2) Cert verification 3) If available, compare the suspect coin to TPG or auction coin photos. 4) The font, letter spacing on the label is often incorrect on fake slabs. 5) Take a scan of the barcode and run it through a online reader as it should match the Cert number. Most counterfeit slabs miss on the barcode. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
Isn't today's world nuts? You have to learn to grade a coin and determine if it's fake in order to determine if the slab is fake.
Edited by kbbpll
02/07/2019 11:26 pm
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Moderator
United States
187582 Posts |
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Isn't today's world nuts? You have to learn to grade a coin and determine if it's fake in order to determine if the slab is fake.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
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Isn't today's world nuts? You have to learn to grade a coin and determine if it's fake in order to determine if the slab is fake. What also bothers me is a dealer I know showed me a slab that had a different coin in it that was not what was supposed to be there. The dealer said it had been opened, coin replaced, resealed to look like new. Now I wonder how many others are like that. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
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What also bothers me is a dealer I know showed me a slab that had a different coin in it that was not what was supposed to be there. The dealer said it had been opened, coin replaced, resealed to look like new. Now I wonder how many others are like that. Well at least that would be an easy catch . |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
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The dealer said it had been opened, coin replaced, resealed to look like new. Now I wonder how many others are like that. Something like that happening is fairly rare because the slab rarely split open easily enough to not show evidence of fracturing along the edge. |
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Valued Member
United States
456 Posts |
Would seem TPGs could design some kind of tamper evident seal, although it sounds like Conder's fracture test does the same thing almost all the time.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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Would seem TPGs could design some kind of tamper evident seal, although it sounds like Conder's fracture test does the same thing almost all the time. The new PCGS slabs interlock on themselves internally which does that. The seal is supposed to be tamper resistent on all versions, every now and then with the NGC or old PCGS slabs one would get out that just didn't have a strong seal and if you went to crack it out it would just split in two when you hit it. I've only seen it once on an NGC one Edited by basebal21
02/11/2019 12:33 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
10625 Posts |
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The seal is supposed to be tamper evident on all versions, every now and then with the NGC or old PCGS slabs one would get out that just didn't have a strong seal and if you went to crack it out it would just split in two when you hit it. I've only seen it once on an NGC one I recall seeing a video on this several years ago. If I recall correctly the person who made the video could tell by the sound of the slab when tapped on a surface that the ultrasonic seal was weak and could be cracked opened easily. Edited by dave700x
02/11/2019 12:51 pm
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Replies: 22 / Views: 2,791 |
Posted 02/07/2019 12:22 pm
