Numismatic Guaranty Corp. and Professional Coin Grading Service

American Eagle, American Buffalo and other specialty coins labeled "first strikes" are meant to be worth more than second tier coins because they are billed as among the first of that year's batch produced by the US Mint. Some collectors say the label is misleading and that the coins are not special at all. A federal class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of potentially thousands of collectors claiming that the "first strike" designation is unfair and deceptive. The case was filed against the nation's leading coin grading and authentication services, Numismatic Guaranty and Professional Coin Grading Service, and claims nearly 150,000 coins labeled "first strike" have been sold since January 1, 2005, to collectors and investors in all 50 states.