One of the most reliable and respected services for the grading of coins is the Numismatic Guaranty Company. This trusted coin authority is now in its fourth decade of providing this important service to the coin community.
Founded in 1987, NGC has operated with a clear mission: to safeguard the interests of coin collectors and investors by ensuring their coins are genuine and of high quality. Their process for evaluating and grading coins has reached such a high level of quality and consistency that its grades are now recognized as the standard throughout the coin community. Here’s a little bit more about what they do:
Ensuring Authenticity
Counterfeiting is a major threat in the numismatic business, and NGC engages a crack team of numismatists to catch would-be counterfeiters. These would-be experts carry out their dirty work through the use of several high-tech methods that the industry has at its disposal.
They employ advanced methods like X-ray fluorescence (XRF), along with good old-fashioned microscopic examinations and surface testing, to determine if a coin is the real McCoy or not. The certification process involves not just grading a coin, but also verifying a coin’s origin and identifying potential alterations.
Grading and Quality Assurance
In addition to authentication, they also perform the critical function of grading coins according to their condition and quality. They use a 70-point grading scale, known as the Sheldon Scale, that is the standard in the numismatic industry. On this scale, coins are graded according to such factors as their luster, strike, and surface preservation.
These are the same basic factors that you would use to grade the appearance and quality of any object. The grading process is performed by many experts to guarantee consistency and impartiality. NGC uses a standardized grading system to eliminate subjectivity and bias.
Buyers and sellers can trade coins they have confidence in because they know and understand the quality and value of what they are trading. This is especially essential for high-value coins, where even the slightest difference in grade can dramatically affect their market price.
Protection and Preservation
When grading and authenticating are complete, NGC encases coins in holders that protect them from damage. Each holder, made of inert materials, is designed to keep a coin safe from environmental perils that could harm it, like oxidation, contamination, or simply time. Unlike older holders that were prone to tipping open, an NGC holder is tamper-evident and quite secure.
Market Confidence and Value Enhancement
Coins derive added worth from being certified and graded by the Numismatic Guaranty Company because the organization provides believable assurances to buyers regarding the coins’ authenticity and grade.
Compared to coins that aren’t graded or certified, those endorsed by NGC seem to be worth a lot more. In all sorts of sales, private and public, graded coins offer confidence to potential traders.
The NGC Provides Peace of Mind and Assurance to Coin Buyers
The Numismatic Guaranty Company’s part in guaranteeing that coins are authentic and of good quality is important. It has rigorous procedures for telling if something is genuine or not.
It also has standards for grading, which means determining its worth. Even as making counterfeits better and better is a growing art, NGC is still at the front of the pack when it comes to protecting coins and the people who collect them.
