PCI Scam Coin?

I found the coin below in a bin of common SEs. It was priced as a common SE in spite of being slabbed and graded MS70. I noticed a few obvious dings on the eagles shield and dark spots on the reverse.

My questions are:

Would this coin have any chance of grading MS70 at NGC or PCGS?

Would you consider this coin's grade to be intentionally fraudulent?

 

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Yeah, I would of guessed MS-69 at best .

 

Looks like a 68 to me. A few too many marks for 69 or 70. Not intentionally fraudulent, but just not particularly accurate grading.

 

Each grading service have their own standards. PCGS or NGC would not have called it a 70. Not fraudulent.

 

Looks like your dealer was honest anyway. I do have one in an NGC slab that doesn't deserve the 70 it got. These bullion coins are not carefully graded IMO.

 

PCI was overly optimistic at this point...

 

"Optimistic" is too nice. I worked at PCI at one time and we were conservative. That company was sold with this result. Therefore, in my experience, ANY gold label slab (as this piece of junk) should be approached with caution. They are rarely graded correctly.

 

I have a few green label "conservative slabs" from that generation but yeah, gold label slabs should be treated as raw.....

 

IMO,I think even 68 is being generous, and I'd put it at 67 at best.

 

But an example of graded 'slab' history.......early days, when all were running amuck with no direction or purpose.........much like today.

 

Just for example, I have two “Hercules” 5 Franc coins, both uncirculated. The 1874 was graded MS 66 by PCI; the 1876 was graded MS 67. I knew they both were insanely over graded but bought them at an estate sale for a great price. They both got sent to NGC, and came back as MS 63, which I believe to be very accurate. They both were posted here in the past.

 

Heck Dave, I'd have let them 'be', but that's me talkin' in modern times. Back then, I do believe that I would have been 'snookered'.....

 

I would have, my friend, but just knew they were overgraded. I sent them in, with a group of my UK coins, and was not surprised.

 

I agree. It seems like it was sold more than once. Someone even brought back the 10 digit green label for a while but they did not get the fonts correct. There are some nice coins in the gold label slabs but I have never seen one I thought was graded correctly. It seems like they graded everything a 70.

 

If I recall correctly…the real key with PCI is silver coins beautifully tone in their slabs.

 

Did PCI exist in 1991 or had it already gone toes-up?

[Pause a couple minutes for research]

Apparently they were live at this time.

 

Only problem is, is getting PCGS and NGC to accept it as NT. I think it's a coin toss depending how the grader feels that day, even if submitted in the PCI holder.

 

kanga, posted: "Did PCI exist in 1991 or had it already gone toes-up?
Apparently they were live at this time."

I worked there full time from 1990 to about 1996 or 97. Larry Briggs tried to buy the company around then. In 1998 or so I worked part time there and for a coin dealer. In 1999 I went to NGC.

PCI was the first TPGS to slab "detail" coins (red label). Dealers loved them because in very many cases they could buy the coins cheaply and get them straight graded at the major services.

PCI offered free coin conservation.

World coins went into a slab with a blue label.

PCI was the first TPGS to offer "Signature Series" slabs with coins graded and attributed by experts in the coin series such as Briggs, Oxford, and Stanton+. The labels were signed.

 

I have a few PCI coins in my collection but, as far as grading by PCI I think it depends on when the coin was graded. The same can be said about NGC, PCGS or ANACS.

 

Q. #1...not a chance in hades, even if it were indeed a legitimate 70 in a PCI slab. PCGS will cross NGC and visa versa at same grade (or higher), but neither at same grade if by any other "inferior" (to them) competitor, in their slab, etc. Not to say it hasn't happened, but very very rarely. Better to crack out and submit to them raw if you think it's worth it.
Q. #2...no. It's just what it is...a wrong grade by PCI in a PCI slab.