Numismatic Guaranty Corporation is a privately owned, international coin certification service based in Sarasota, Florida. It has certified more than 35 million coins. NGC certification consists of authentication, grading, attribution, and encapsulation in clear plastic holders. NGC is a member of Certified Collectibles Group, which owns five collectible certification services. NGC has been the official grading service of the American Numismatic Association since 1995 and the Professional Numismatists Guild since 2004.
History
NGC was founded in 1987 in Parsippany, N.J. as one of the first independent third-party coin grading companies. In 1995, NGC was named the official grading service of the ANA. NGC commenced operations at its new location in Sarasota, Florida in 2002. That same year, NGC was named the official grading service of the PNG. In 2006, NGC relocated to a 60,000-square-foot secure building that also houses its four CCG-owned sister companies: Numismatic Conservation Services, Paper Money Guaranty, Certified Guaranty Company, and Classic Collectible Services. In 2008, ancient coin certification began. NGC has other locations in Hong Kong, China, and Germany.
NGC certification
NGC certifies most US, world, and ancient coins, tokens, and medals. The certification process consists of authentication, grading, attribution, and encapsulation in plastic holders. Certification fees are tiered according to value, turnaround times, and extra services. NGC has certified over 35 million coins. NGC certification offers significant protection against counterfeiting, misattribution, overgrading, and damage, but does not necessarily determine exact value. Even within the same grade, coins can have widely differing values. The NGC grading scale is based on the 70-point Sheldon coin grading scale. Strike designations include Prooflike and Deep Prooflike for circulation issue coins and Cameo and Ultra Cameo for Proof coins. Coins deemed high-end will receive a "Plus" designation. Coins considered attractive get a "Star" moniker. Cleaned, scratched, or otherwise impaired coins can be encapsulated and assigned a verbal "details" grade, but not a numerical one. NGC employs more than 30 full-time graders. At least two graders examine each coin. NGC employees are prohibited from participating in the commercial buying and selling of coins, which reduces potential conflict of interest. NGC backs its evaluations with a guarantee: they will financially compensate for any overgrading or other assessment mistakes, based on their opinion of a coin's true market value. NGC has used EdgeView® Holders since 2007 for the Presidential Dollar series and for all other coins since 2008. Since 2009, a scratch-resistant holder coating, similar to that used on eyeglass lenses, has been employed. NGC offers Oversize holders for coins larger than 45 mm and up to 120 mm, and Mega holders for coins larger than 120 mm and up to 180 mm. NGC's label lists a coin's denomination, variety, grade, pedigree, serial number, and other info.
Online research tools
NGC Cert Lookup verifies all NGC certified coins and helps combat against holder counterfeiting. Using the label serial number, NGC will reveal a coin’s date, denomination, grade, photo, and pricing and Census info. NGC Coin Explorer lists key info about many coin issues, such as mintages and values. The NGC Census reports how many examples of each issue NGC has certified by grade, which helps determine relative rarity. Census figures are often falsely inflated due to resubmissions of the same coins. NGC Coin Price Guide lists pricing data for most US coin issues. NGC Auction Central reports auction prices realized.
Dealer survey
A survey of major coin dealers, conducted by the trade associations PNG and Industry Council For Tangible Assets, revealed the dealers' "Superior" rating for NGC, the highest given for any service. Of the other 10 grading services evaluated in the survey, only the Professional Coin Grading Service also received the "Superior" rating. Survey respondents gave their professional opinions about 11 grading services based on 12 criteria, such as grading and authentication accuracy. Each category was ranked by the respondents on a 10-point scale ranging from the lowest, "Unacceptable", to the highest, "Outstanding".
