First, let me assure you all that I am a fan of PCGS, as I belive that they grade the coins very professionally.  Only PCGS and NGC offer such high quality grading that you can actually buy their coins sign unseen...their grading is that good!

However, recently there have been numerous (at least 20 that I know) Law Suits filed against PCGS for their so-called First Strike Coins.  Based on the input and emails I received from many real and potential litigants I can see a class actions Law Suit coming as well.

By the way, NGC was also sued over this and they lost in court.  That is one of the main reasons why NGC is no longer labeling coins as First Strikes.

The US Mint has been subpoenaed as a witness for these law suits against PCGS.  In the court cases that have already been heard, the US Mint testified that the MINT has absolutely no way of determining whether a coin is a first strike or is not and that they do not track any such data.  Their explanation included a commentary stating that the US Mint completes minting of approximately half of expected sales before the coins ever go on sale.  These already minted coins are placed in giant bats as they are minted.  These bats contain thousands and sometimes even half a million coins before they are shipped to the fulfillment center.  So the fulfillment center receives a huge bat of coins with all the coins thrown into the container in their capsules and nothing else.  The fulfillment center then picks a coin from that large container and packages it...this could be the first minted coin or the 500,000ts minted coin...no way to tell which coin it is.

I expect that PCGS will lose all of the law suits.  What does this mean to the collector?  Several things:  First the litigants are asking that PCGS makes it clear on their website and in advertising that all so called First Strike labels are inaccurate and not valid.  Second, the litigants ask that PCGS cease and desist from grading any more coins as First Strikes.  Lastly most of the litigants are asking that people who paid for grading services and received the very inaccurate First Strike designation receive a full refund for the fees that they paid for these professional services which were not done professionally.

The various law suits include both private parties as well as several major coin dealers.

Please see the supporting documentation as issued by the US Mint in my guide linked here:

http://reviews.ebay.com/US-MINT-ADMITS-NO-SUCH-THING-AS-FIRST-STRIKE-COINS_W0QQugidZ10000000002410868