The Professional Coin Grading Service (www.PCGS.com) has launched PCGS Secure Plus™, a revolutionary new process with high-tech security and scrutiny to increase the confidence of collectors and dealers, and a new certification designation that potentially can increase the value of coins.

The PCGS Secure Plus process uses laser scanning to help detect coins that have been artificially enhanced since their last certification, combat “gradeflation” and excessive resubmissions of the same coins, and can also be used to help identify recovered stolen coins. Additionally, PCGS expert graders can now designate deserving, superior-quality coins as “Plus” within their respective grades, an important distinction when there are big differences in value between one grade point and the next.

Announcement of the unprecedented breakthrough was made by PCGS executives on the opening day at the American Numismatic Association National Money Show™ in Fort Worth, Texas. They explained how the new process of digitally scanning each coin to capture its distinctive characteristics is being integrated into the PCGS grading system and how it helps resolve important issues in the rare coin marketplace by offering:

• Increased precision and consistency in grading
• Improved detection of altered coins
• Less chance of “gradeflation”
• More likely recovery if a PCGS Secure Plus coin is stolen
• Increased value of high-end coins within each grade

Developed after years of extensive software and hardware development and testing in partnership with Coinsecure, Inc. of Palo Alto, California, the PCGS Secure Plus service digitally captures a unique “fingerprint” of each coin that is then entered into a permanent data base.

PCGS Secure Plus will introduce a new level of confidence and security in the coin collecting market” said PCGS President Don Willis. “We believe that PCGS Secure Plus addresses several of the leading issues affecting the industry today. PCGS Secure Plus is a patent-pending process wherein a coin is laser scanned, imaged and registered in a permanent data base. Every coin has its own identifying characteristics. Coins are like snowflakes at the micron level; they are very different from each other. If a coin has been previously registered in our system it will be identified whenever it’s again scanned by us, so duplication of coin information will be eliminated. As a result, population reports, condition census and other potentially distorted information will be much more accurate for PCGS Secure Plus coins.”

“The process also can help detect if a previously registered coin has been artificially toned, dipped or processed in some other way in an effort to get a higher grade. Not since PCGS introduced encapsulated third-party grading in 1986 has such an important step been taken to protect the consumer. We believe PCGS Secure Plus will totally revolutionize the coin grading business,” said Willis. (more…)

From the NGC series on Counterfeit Detection

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Click To Enlarge

A basic lesson will help you always catch fakes, like this 1895-O Morgan Dollar, which could be deceptive to many.

In high school history class, a student asks his teacher, “Do I need to memorize dates for tomorrow’s test?”

The teacher replies, “No dates.”

Encouraged, the young student goes home and studies hard, following the teacher’s instruction. The next day he fails the test. Miserably.

Of course, the teacher had not told the student there would be NO dates on the test, but that he should KNOW dates. For aspiring counterfeit detectors, this instruction should be made even more clear: K-N-O-W dates!

Dates are very important areas to examine because they are unique to a particular coinage issues. The position, size and shape of the date should be the first elements examined when attempting to determine authenticity (unless better diagnostics are known for that coin). Often a misshapen or wayward digit is confirmation that something is amiss.

While this advice might seem to apply primarily to altered date coins, it is just as important for die-struck counterfeits. This 1895-O Morgan Dollar is a die-struck counterfeit recently made in China. It is of the correct weight and metal composition of an authentic coin. It is made from transfer dies and this coin would deceive many collectors.

By looking at the date under magnification, the coin immediately falls apart. Raised blobs of metal can be seen surrounding the 5, most prominently at 5:00 and 7:00. The metal flow is also suspiciously smoother in this area, dissimilar from the texture seen around the other digits. If you knew nothing else about this coin, those markers alone should scream, “not genuine.”

The counterfeiter made transfer dies for this coin by using a model coin from the 1890s, replacing the last digit with a 5. While this reveals the counterfeiter’s methods, it also tells us something else. Coins of every date and mintmark combination can be made in this same fashion. It’s therefore important to remember that this rule always applies: “Know dates!”

Back in July of this year CoinLink ran a story about Gold IRA’s and the choices available to consumers/investors. Since we are coming up to the end of the year we thought it would be prudent to re-examine the topic, especially in light of the exceptional performance of Gold in the past 12 months, and the rather extraordinary events that have unfolded in 2009. But first a bit of background.

What is a “Gold IRA” ?

Traditional IRA investment accounts you open with a Bank or stock brokerage firm DO NOT allow you to purchase physical precious metals in the account. The closest you can come to this is to select one of the many ETF’s that have become available in recent years. Two of the most popular ETF’s are the GLD and SLV for Gold and Silver respectively. However what if you want to purchase the actual physical gold or silver itself? To do that, you need to set up a Self Directed IRA account.

Self Directed IRA’s require a bit more effort to set up initially, but they offer the investor the greatest level of flexibility possible by allowing you to place “non-traditional” assets into a tax deferred vehicle such as an IRA, in this case precious metals.

How do Self Directed Precious Metals IRA’s Work?

Essentialy Self directed IRAs are composed of three different elements; The Precious Metals Dealer, The Third Party Administrator and finally The Depository where your IRA assets are stored. Lets take a look at these components.

1) Your Precious Metals Dealer – where it all begins…..
For many investors this is where it all starts. Since most investors do not have existing relationships with the more esoteric components of the the Self Directed IRA , namely the third party administrator or the depository service, they often rely on the advise and hard work of their Bullion / Precious metals dealer to assist them is setting up and selecting the other two “legs of the stool”. But here is where you need to make sure that you, as the investor, are educated as to what your choices are, how they will effect your investment and to guarantee that you get the most bang for the buck.
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