PCGS guarantees that all Chinese and World coins submitted to it shall be graded in accordance with the PCGS grading standards and under the procedures of PCGS. In addition:
In the event the purchaser of a PCGS graded coin (the “Claimant”) believes that the coin has been over-graded with respect to such standards and procedures, or is non-authentic, Claimant may submit such coin to PCGS through the PCGS “Guarantee Resubmission” procedures and PCGS will re-examine the coin to determine its 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 non-authentic, PCGS in its sole discretion will elect one of the following approaches in determining the compensation amount: (1) the current market value for the coin in question at the originally assigned grade; (2) 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 Claimant 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 PURCHASE THE COIN UNDER FAIR MARKET CONDITIONS. FOR PURPOSE OF DETERMINING THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE, THE RELEVANT TIME SHALL BE THE MONTH WHEN THE SUBJECT COIN(S)’ PROBLEMATIC CONDITIONS COMES TO PCGS’ATTENTION. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THIS AMOUNT EXCEED THE COIN’S DECLARED VALUE, AS REFLECTED IN THE SUBMISSION FORM.
Upon determining that a coin is not genuine and thereby qualifies for this Guarantee, the Claimant has the choice of accepting PCGS’ compensation, which is premised on the non-genuine coin being forfeited to PCGS; or having the non-genuine coin returned to the Claimant without any compensation from PCGS. The Claimant agrees that PCGS’s returning of the concerned non-genuine coin will never be in a PCGS holder.
THE CLAIMANT HEREBY CONSENTS THAT THE FORMATION AND PERFORMANCE OF THIS GUARANTEE, ANY CONTROVERSY ARISING UNDER OR WITH RESPECT TO THIS GUARANTEE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY THE LAW OF P. R. CHINA, OR THE LAW OF HONG KONG, A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF THE P. R. CHINA IF THE GRADING AT ISSUE WAS PERFORMED BY OR THROUGH PCGS IN HONG KONG. IF THE DISPUTE CANNOT BE SETTLED THROUGH FRIENDLY NEGOTIATION BETWEEN PCGS AND THE CLAIMANT WITHIN 180 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER THE DISPUTE ARISES, EITHER PARTY SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO SUBMIT IT TO THE SHANGHAI ARBITRATION COMMISSION (OR THE HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION CENTRE IN THE EVENT THAT DEALERS ARE BASED IN ASIA AND THEIR SUBMISSIONS ARE PROCESSED BY PCGS IN HONG KONG) IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES APPLICABLE AT THE TIME. THE ARBITRATION SHALL BE FINAL AND BINDING. THE LOSING PARTY SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COSTS OF ARBITRATION INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES, UNLESS THE ARBITRATION AWARD STIPULATES OTHERWISE.
The Claimant using PCGS’s Guarantee Resubmission service agrees to be bound by all of the terms, conditions, and limitations set forth herein.
If any organization or individual who has purchased the PCGS graded coin considers that the coin is over-graded or counterfeit, please call PCGS Customer Service staff who will assist the Claimant in filling out the proper submission forms and inform the Claimant of the turnaround times. After PCGS reexamines the coin, if PCGS determines the coin was over-graded or is counterfeit, the Claimant will be contacted by phone or email and told the current market values and the amount of compensation. If PCGS determines that the original grade is correct, the coin will be returned to the Claimant with the original grade and the Claimant will be responsible for the regrading fee and shipment costs.
As a condition precedent to fulfilling this Guarantee, PCGS is entitled to require the Claimant to provide historical transaction information and data of the coin, such as purchase method, purchase price, seller's information, etc. The Claimant agrees that if she or he is unable or unwilling to cooperate in providing the relevant information, the coin will not be covered by this Guarantee.
The Claimant acknowledges that the PCGS Guarantee does not cover the following situations:
3.1 An obvious clerical or "mechanical" error has been made with respect to the description of the coin.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." The key concept is how obvious the error is to the naked eye. If Claimant can easily tell just by looking at the coin that the description on the holder is wrong, then the coin/holder combination is not covered by the PCGS Guarantee. Some examples would include the following:
3.2 Coins removed from PCGS holders.The PCGS Guarantee does not apply to coins removed from PCGS holders. There are no exceptions to this policy. Anyone who removes a coin from a PCGS holder, does so at s/he’s own risk.
Any coins involved in conducts in violation of good faith principle by the original submitter, Claimant or any other parties in the chain of transactions, including but not limited to:
3.3 Coins that are environmentally damaged due to improper storage or destructive events such as fire and flood. 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 Claimant’s coins are damaged in a flood or fire, the PCGS Guarantee would not apply to those coins. This also applies to all types of coins stored in environmentally risky locations (e.g. high humidity and non-temperature-controlled, see next paragraph.).
3.4 Coins exhibiting environmental deterioration subsequent to certification.
The PCGS Guarantee does not apply to coins exhibiting environmental deterioration subsequent to PCGS grading and encapsulation. This deterioration may include, but is not limited to, spotting, hazing, PVC contamination, changes in color, and corrosion. Likewise, if a coin begins to display damage or deterioration subsequent to certification resulting from a latent condition arising during the manufacturing process or otherwise, this Guarantee shall not apply.
IMPORTANT: Because the color and surfaces of copper coins can change due to environmental factors, including weather and improper storage, PCGS does not guarantee against changes in the color of copper coins, or against copper spotting subsequent to grading and encapsulation by PCGS.
3.5 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 bought by Claimant will remain part of any set in the PCGS Set Registry.
3.6 Changes in a coin's numismatic status.The PCGS guarantee does not cover changes in a coin's status in the numismatic community. The PCGS guarantee does not cover any change in value due to a change in a coin's status.
3.7 Premium Values for unattributed varieties.PCGS does guarantee the attribution of coins listed as a particular variety on the PCGS holder insert. However, if PCGS has not attributed a particular variety and the coin in question is over-graded or non-authentic, PCGS only guarantees the value of the coin as described on the PCGS holder insert. For example, if Claimant bought a 1934 Junk dollar that happened to be the scarce six sail line variety, but the PCGS holder insert did not state the “six sail line” variety and just said “(1934) $1”, the PCGS Guarantee would only cover the value of a regular (1934) $1, not the value of the scarce “six sail line” variety. Another example would be if Claimant bought a common 1939 China Republic 1C that happened to have the rare “gui” character on the reverse, the PCGS Guarantee would only cover the value of the common 1939 China Republic 1C, and not the value of the rare “gui” variety.
3.8 Private Strikes and Restrikes.
Numismatists have collected non-official coins for many years. These non-official issues include coins struck from original dies, altered original dies, copy dies, transfer dies, or even hub impressions. In some instances, the coins were struck in good faith to serve collector needs for rarities. In some cases, these coins were struck as forgeries to deceive collectors.
PCGS grades these non-official issues as a service to the numismatic community. The holders will indicate “original dies”, “copy dies”' or “transfer dies” as is appropriate for the coin involved. The holder will also indicate the actual, or approximate, date of striking. We use the following definitions and note that future research may necessitate changes in categories, additions, and/or deletions from the lists below.
Definitions:
Private (Fantasy) Strike:A coin struck outside of a central mint, regional mint, or other official mint, from either original dies, copy, altered original dies, copy dies, transfer dies, or even hub impressions.
Private Restrike:A coin struck outside of a central mint, regional mint, or other official mint, from original dies, e.g. the China 1942-3 50 cents copper and brass pattern.
Original Dies:Dies used to strike the original coins, i.e. LM-6 Original Die Peking Mint Pattern.
Copy Dies:Dies made at some point after the original dies that imitate the original dies but differ slightly in detail (i.e. early milled Annan coinage).
Transfer Dies:Dies made from an original coin (e.g. British trade dollars, Japanese dragon dollars, and Hong Kong Queen Victoria dollars).
3.9 (a) The registered identity information of the Claimant in PCGS’s record is substantially consistent with that of the original submitter; the Claimant is the affiliate of the original submitter; or the Claimant has suffered no actual loss due to the grading error.In any of the said cases, the compensation of PCGS is limited to the return of raw coins, the refund of regrading fee and shipment costs incurred by the Claimant in sending the coins to PCGS (excluding insurance costs).
(b) “Affiliate” means in respect of any specific person, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controlling, controlled by, or jointly controlled by any other person; “persons” includes natural persons, legal persons and other organizations; in respect of any natural person, it refers to the spouse, children and their spouse, parents, parents of spouse, brothers and sisters and their spouses, brothers and sisters of spouse and their spouses.
(c) For the purpose of Clause (a) above, if the Claimant is an authorized PCGS Dealer, and the Dealer certifies that it does not own the concerned coins, Clause (a) shall not apply provided that the Dealer/Claimant documents to the satisfaction of PCGS that the customer of the Dealer/Claimant in the current guarantee claim proceeding is not the party who sought the original grading directly or through an intermediary.
3.10 The PCGS guarantee shall not apply to precious metal bars and nuggets.
EXCEPT FOR ANY EXPRESS WARRANTIES SET FORTH IN THIS GUARANTEE, PCGS DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING PCGS AND / OR THE SERVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL PCGS OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, OR ANY OF ITS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, OR AGENTS, BE LIABLE TO CLAIMANT OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, AND EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS GUARANTEE IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF PCGS, ITS AFFILIATES, AND ANY OF ITS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS OR AGENTS TO THE CUSTOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR WHOM THE CUSTOMER MAY BE ACTING, ARISING FROM ANY CAUSE, ACT, OMISSION, OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE, EXCEED THE FEES PAID OR PAYABLE FOR THE SERVICES ORDERED BY THE SUBMITTER OF SUCH ITEM(S). Damage caused by the fall of materials attached by the mint, e.g. meteorites, wood, metal blocks, gems, diamonds, porcelain slices, shells, artificial stones and other materials, is not covered by compensation scope. Flaking and peeling of coloring, lacquer, enamel, coating and others coated by the mint are not covered by compensation scope.
Any provision of the PCGS Coin Guarantee that is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid, or unenforceable shall be ineffective to the extent of such illegality, invalidity, or unenforceability, without affecting in any way the remaining provisions of this Guarantee.