PCGS Guarantee of Grade and Authenticity

PCGS guarantees that all coins submitted to it shall be graded in accordance with the PCGS grading standards and under the procedures of PCGS.

In the event the purchaser of a PCGS graded coin believes that the coin has been overgraded with respect to such standards and procedures, or is non-authentic, he may submit such coin to PCGS through the PCGS "Guarantee Resubmission" procedures and PCGS will re-examine coin to determine the coin's grade and authenticity.

If the grade determined under such "Guarantee Resubmission" procedures is lower than the grade originally assigned to the coin, or if the coin is found to be misattributed, non-authentic, PCGS shall pay the current market value for the coin in question at the originally assigned grade, or at the owner of the coin's option, the difference between the current market value for the coin in question at the newly established grade and the current market value of the coin in question at the grade originally assigned. PCGS will also refund the regrading fee and postage and insurance costs incurred by the coin owner in sending the coin to PCGS. It is understood that PCGS will be the sole determiner of the current market value of the coin and that current market value is defined as dealer replacement value, i.e. the price a dealer would most likely have to pay to replace the coin.

This guarantee shall not apply to any coin as to which an obvious clerical error has been made with respect to the description of the coin. This guarantee shall also not apply to any coin which has been removed from the PCGS holder or any coin for which the PCGS holder shows evidence of tampering. Further, this guarantee shall not apply to any coin which has been environmentally damaged due to improper storage or natural disasters such as fire and flood.

In addition to grade and authenticity, the PCGS Guarantee also covers the attribution of varieties, but does not cover obvious clerical errors in the description of the variety.

How to Use the PCGS Guarantee

If you have a coin that you feel is overgraded, misattributed, or counterfeit, call PCGS Customer Service and they will help you fill out the proper submission forms. Turnaround times for "Guarantee Resubmissions" are approximately two to four weeks. After PCGS examines your coin, if PCGS feels your coin has been overgraded, misattributed, or is counterfeit, you will be contacted by phone or email and given the current market values so you can decide which of the repayment options you wish to use. If PCGS determines that the original grade is correct, your coin will be returned to you with the original grade and you will be responsible for the regrading fee and postage charges.

What the PCGS Guarantee Does Not Cover

The following is further explanation of what the PCGS Guarantee does not cover.

Clerical or "mechanical" errors. PCGS occasionally makes clerical errors in inputting data which is shown on the insert in the PCGS holder; consequently the PCGS Guarantee does not cover obvious clerical errors, what we call "mechanical errors." Examples would include the following:

• A date listed on the holder that does not match the date of the coin. For example, if you had a 1928 $20 St. Gaudens, but the PCGS holder showed the date as 1929 (a much more valuable coin), this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as the date on the coin itself is obviously 1928.


• A designation that is obviously incorrect. For example, if you had a 1945 Philadelphia Mercury dime and the bands on the reverse were as flat as a pancake and obviously not fully struck, but the PCGS holder showed the designation as "FB" for fully struck crossbands, this coin would not be covered the PCGS Guarantee as the crossbands are obviously not fully struck.


• Proofs shown as regular strikes and regular strikes shown as proofs. For example, if you had an obvious regular strike 1907 $2.5 gold piece, but the PCGS holder showed the coin as a proof, this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as the difference between a regular strike and proof 1907 $2.5 is obvious.


• An obviously misidentified coin. For example, if you have a Hudson silver commemorative, but the PCGS holder showed the coin as a Hawaiian silver commemorative, this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as a Hudson is obviously not a Hawaiian.


• A variety attribution that is obviously incorrect. For example, if you had a normal date 1942 Mercury dime, but the PCGS holder showed the coin as a much rarer 1942/1 overdate, this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as the date is obviously normal. Another example would be if you had a 1945 Mercury dime with an obviously normal size mint mark, but the PCGS holder showed the coin as a "Micro S." This coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee since the mint mark is obviously normal size.


• A blatantly obvious clerical input mistake with respect to the actual grade of the coin. For example, if you had an 1893-O Morgan dollar and the PCGS holder showed the coin as MS65 (a Gem quality coin), but the coin was so beat up and marked up that it would grade MS60 at best, this coin would not be covered by the PCGS Guarantee as this would be an obvious input error. The rule of thumb here would be a difference of more than two points on the grading scale.

Coins Removed From PCGS Holders. The PCGS Guarantee does not apply to coins removed from PCGS holders. There are no exceptions to this policy. You remove a coin from a PCGS holder at your risk.

Coins that have tampered holders. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous people occasionally try to defraud people by removing coins from PCGS holders, replacing them with less valuable coins and then resaling the holders. Most of these "reholders" are crude and obvious. Some are more sophisticated. The PCGS Guarantee does not apply to coins that are in holders that have been tampered with. Nor does the PCGS guarantee cover coins in counterfeit PCGS holders.

Coins that are environmentally damaged. The PCGS holder, while excellent for long term storage and protection, does not protect coins from harsh environmental conditions. Consequently, the PCGS Guarantee does not apply to coins which have been environmentally damaged. For example, if your coins are damaged in a flood or fire, the PCGS Guarantee would not apply to those coins. This also applies to copper coins stored in environmentally risky locations (high humidity.)

Changes in a coin's numismatic status. The PCGS guarantee does not cover changes in a coin's status in the numismatic community. For example, in the 1980's, there was a variety of the 1942 Denver Walking Liberty half dollar that was considered an over-mint mark. This coin was known as a 1942-D/S. Subsequent research has revealed that the coin is actually a re-punched mint mark and it is now referred to as a 1942-D/D. The PCGS guarantee does not cover any change in value due to a change in a coin's status. The following is a list of some (but not all) of the coins that are currently subject to research and would not be covered by the PCGS guarantee if their status was changed:

1856 Flying Eagle cent. The current view is that some 1856 Flying Eagles cents are proofs and some are regular strikes. It is possible that research may one day show that all 1856 Flying Eagle cents are proofs.

1831 half cent. This issue is currently viewed as having been struck as both proofs and regular strikes. There is a chance this view will change as it is possible that all 1831 half cents are proofs.

1849 J.H. Bowie Territorial coins. The current view is that these issues are genuine California Territorial issues. It is possible that research will show they were made at a later date.

1841 $2.5 Liberty proof. David Akers speculated in his series of books on gold coins (published between 1975 and 1982) that the 1841 $2.5 may not be a proof-only issue. Research is still being done, but should it happen that some of the survivors are proven to not be proofs, their change in status would not be covered by the PCGS grading guarantee.

Gobrecht dollars. Research as to which issues are the so-called "originals" and which are the so-called "restrikes" is continuing. There is a chance that various issues in this series would have their status changed in the future.

1852 proof half cents. Do "originals" exist? This is a question currently being researched. The same could be said for other 1850-1853 issues in various denominations, and actually many pre-1858 proofs.

Changes in a coin's status in the PCGS Set Registry. The PCGS Set Registry occasionally makes changes in set composition. Coins are sometimes added to certain sets and coins are sometimes dropped from certain sets. PCGS does not guarantee that any coin you buy will remain part of any set in the PCGS Set Registry.