PNG Applauds Efforts to Battle Coin Doctoring, Monitors Suit

(Long Beach, California) — The Board of Directors of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) met in Long Beach, California on June 2, 2010 and issued the following statement.

The Professional Numismatists Guild Board of Directors applauds the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) in its efforts to battle the deceptive practice known as coin "doctoring." The deliberate, deceitful alteration of a coin can pose an egregious financial consequence to individual collectors, investors, dealers as well as the general public. PNG believes the unconscionable practice of "doctoring" is an enormous detriment to the numismatic marketplace.

We congratulate and support both Numismatic Guaranty Corporation and Professional Coin Grading Service for their diligent work to detect "doctored" coins, and encourage both organizations to continue to aggressively combat this assault on the hobby.

"Doctoring" of coins is a definite violation of the PNG Code of Ethics, Section 7, that prohibits members from "knowingly dealing in counterfeit, altered or repaired numismatic items without fully disclosing their status to my customers." "Doctoring" is also a violation of Section 4 of the PNG Code of Ethics that prohibits "misrepresenting the quality of a coin." 

The PNG Board regrets that three of its member-dealers have been named among the defendants in a Federal Court Complaint filed May 28, 2010 by Collectors Universe, Inc., the parent company of PCGS. The PNG takes allegations such as the ones made by PCGS very seriously. The board will monitor the progress of the complaint and react promptly, appropriately and in accordance with the organization’s bylaws.

Furthermore, in response to the recent influx of fraud related hobby concerns, the PNG board has pledged to revisit, review and update each and every ethical standard adopted by the PNG over the past 55 years.

In particular, the board acknowledges the need to clearly define the term "doctoring," in order to establish an enforceable criterion for its membership. The PNG board is unified in its resolve to nurture and maintain the PNG member-dealers’ standards of excellence through a more proactive posture regarding egregious acts of fraud in the numismatic marketplace.

About PNG

Founded in 1955, the Professional Numismatists Guild is a nonprofit organization composed of many of the top rare coin and paper money dealers. For additional information, visit online at www.PNGdealers.com or call (760) 728-1300.