Dueling TPG Experts - What Would You Do? 1 1

[gmarguli]

33 minutes ago, Insider said:

This thread is getting slightly better.  Now we know that NGC and PCGS have disagreed and "someone" is going to have the final word.  That's nice.  BTW, it all depends on who that "someone" is.  PM me and I'll give you the address of my blind grandmother for her opinion too.  Unfortunately, we still don't know what the coins are - very sad but this thread is hypothetical right? 

The "someone" is highly qualified. I have seen more than one TPG bring coins to him at shows to authenticate. And I literally mean that someone submitted the coin at a show as a walk-thru and the TPG had an employee walk it over to his table for him to authenticate for them. 

Why does it matter what the coins are? If I said they were gold Russian 10 roubles would it make a difference? Would your opinion change on my initial question if they really were Japanese Trade dollars? Chinese dollars? Great Britain Gothic Crown? Do I get different answers for each type? 

[Insider]

2 minutes ago, gmarguli said:

The "someone" is highly qualified. I have seen more than one TPG bring coins to him at shows to authenticate. And I literally mean that someone submitted the coin at a show as a walk-thru and the TPG had an employee walk it over to his table for him to authenticate for them. 

Why does it matter what the coins are? If I said they were gold Russian 10 roubles would it make a difference? Would your opinion change on my initial question if they really were Japanese Trade dollars? Chinese dollars? Great Britain Gothic Crown? Do I get different answers for each type? 

My opinion does not matter because I have not seen the coins.  I too use consultants - they teach us - BUT I HAVE LEARNED by personal experience several decades ago never to rely on their opinion (no matter who, how many, how world renown, how experienced, how etc.) w/o verifying their opinion with my own eyes!  Too many TPGS have been stung "dearly" since then.   

And yes...Knowing what the coins are matters to me.  SELF EDIT...don't ask me.  

[Conder101]

15 hours ago, Revenant said:

It would not sit well with me to let someone hand over $1,000+ for a coin that I know a professional called a fake.

What if it went back to the company that called it fake but this time they called it real.  Would it still not sit well with you?  After all a professional still called it fake.

[Revenant]

3 hours ago, Conder101 said:

What if it went back to the company that called it fake but this time they called it real.  Would it still not sit well with you?  After all a professional still called it fake.

I'd feel better about selling it at that point but I'd still be inclined to share the story on it before selling. I'd also be very inclined to talk to people at the company about it at that point and maybe see if they could trace back the submissions and see who looked at it each time and where the disagreement came in and why. If NGC had the disagreement I could actually see this working as they just seem more open and willing to communicate than some companies I've had the joy of dealing with. I've never worked with PCGS but what I've heard would leave me less optimistic.

Edited to add: My hang up is that, even if you find an explanation, there will always be an opinion rendered by someone that is supposed to be an authority that this thing is no good. The way I approach life, I would acknowledge that. Even if it cost me money, even if the next person didn't.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Revenant

[kbbpll]

15 hours ago, gmarguli said:

Why does it matter what the coins are?

The easy answer is that everyone benefits from knowing whether there are new counterfeits out there that are fooling at least one TPG, and what they look like. From what I've gleaned these are $1000 coins.

[Insider]

9 hours ago, Revenant said:

Edited to add: My hang up is that, even if you find an explanation, there will always be an opinion rendered by someone that is supposed to be an authority that this thing is no good. The way I approach life, I would acknowledge that. Even if it cost me money, even if the next person didn't.

Believe it or not there have been many instances over the years where top professionals familiar with the series have disagreed on a coin's authenticity.  In a few cases, the odd man out turned out to be the only "expert" who was correct. 

[Conder101]

Yes they may be EXPERT opinions, but they are still opinions, and sometimes opinions, even expert ones, are wrong.

[MAULEMALL]

12 hours ago, Conder101 said:

Yes they may be EXPERT opinions, but they are still opinions, and sometimes opinions, even expert ones, are wrong.

I thought I was wrong once but I was mistaken...