The Criterion Commitment
Criterion commits to an evidence-backed certification process, an accurate public record of the conclusion reached on the certification date, and a documented corrective-review path. Criterion will not leave a confirmed service, label, imaging, or record error unaddressed.
What the Commitment Means
A Criterion grade is a professional opinion supported by the coin, observations, images, measurements, and review evidence available at the time of examination. The commitment is to process integrity, record accuracy, and correction when Criterion’s published result does not accurately reflect its completed work. It is not insurance, an appraisal, a buyback promise, or a warranty of price, liquidity, market acceptance, or future grading consensus.
Eligibility
The commitment follows an eligible Criterion-certified coin while it remains sealed in its original, genuine, untampered Criterion holder and its certification remains active. A requester must lawfully possess the coin, provide the holder and certification number, cooperate with identity and ownership verification, preserve relevant evidence, and obtain written return authorization before shipment.
Integrity Review
An owner who identifies a specific concern with authenticity, grade, qualification, attribution, label, imagery, holder identity, or the public record may request an Integrity Review. Criterion will compare the physical coin and holder with the certification file and may use additional imaging, testing, specialist consultation, blind re-examination, or senior-panel review. The written outcome will state what was confirmed, corrected, suspended, or deactivated and why.
Corrective Remedies
When Criterion confirms that its service or record requires correction, Criterion’s remedies are limited to the corrective services reasonably needed for the affected certification: re-examination, senior review, correction of the label or public record, reholdering when required, and refund or Criterion service credit of the service fees actually paid to Criterion for the affected line item. Criterion may also provide reasonable preapproved return shipping for a Criterion-caused correction. These remedies are exclusive except for rights that applicable law does not permit Criterion to limit.
No Market-Value Payout
Criterion does not buy the coin, pay the difference between grades, reimburse a claimed reduction in market value, or guarantee resale price, investment performance, registry treatment, liquidity, premiums, or acceptance by another grader or buyer. Evidence supporting a professional opinion can be reviewed and corrected; a changing or competing market opinion does not by itself establish a Criterion service error.
Authenticity and Active-Record Protection
If an Integrity Review concludes that an item is not genuine or should not remain in an active Criterion holder, Criterion may suspend or deactivate the certification, preserve the review history, and require the item to be returned outside a valid Criterion holder where lawful and safe. Criterion will not knowingly leave a non-genuine item represented by an active Criterion certification. The corrective remedies in Section 5 apply; the commitment does not insure the item’s purchase price or market value.
Qualified Grades and Disclosed Conditions
A Qualified Grade communicates a disclosed characteristic affecting the coin. The commitment does not convert a Qualified coin into a problem-free coin and does not cover the market effect of a characteristic accurately disclosed on the label or record. Criterion will review whether the stated qualification and record accurately reflect the completed certification work.
Exclusions
The commitment does not cover a coin removed from its holder; a counterfeit, opened, altered, damaged, or tampered holder; post-certification damage, conservation, cleaning, alteration, contamination, corrosion, spotting, toning change, haze, fire, flood, heat, humidity, or other environmental change; market fluctuation; a later change in consensus or standards; premiums for an attribution not stated in the record; sentimental value; lost opportunity; incidental or consequential loss; ownership disputes; or an item outside the scope stated in its certification record.
Custody and Shipping Claims
Physical loss or damage alleged to occur while an item is in Criterion’s custody or in an arranged shipment is handled under the applicable submission, declared-value, shipping, carrier, and claims terms, not as a grading or market-value claim under this commitment. Nothing in this commitment excludes a responsibility that applicable law does not permit Criterion to exclude.
How to Request Review
After reviewing these terms, acknowledge the Certification Integrity Commitment below and begin the secure Integrity Review request. Provide the certification number, owner information, photographs of the intact holder, the specific concern, and relevant supporting evidence. Do not ship the coin until Criterion provides written return authorization and current receiving instructions.
Controlling Terms
The submission agreement and Integrity Review authorization in effect for the certification supplement this public summary and control where they contain additional lawful procedures, time limits, exclusions, or required disclosures. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Criterion’s aggregate responsibility for a claim under this commitment is limited to the Criterion service fees actually paid for the affected line item. This limitation does not apply where prohibited by law or to conduct that cannot lawfully be limited.
