IF you have or are thinking about having competitive registry sets and hope to get a best set award, there is a big difference between PCGS and NGC. To get an award from PCGS, you not only must have the best set, but it must also be 95% complete. This means if the set has fewer than 20 coins, it must be 100% complete. There are some exceptions. For sets with an enormous number of slots, 500 (!) coins are enough to qualify. And if the “judges” deem the set worthy enough, they can allow less than 95% completion. This is a high bar and is the reason that in many categories, no set has ever received a best set award. At NGC though, you only need to have the best set regardless of % completion to get an annual award for best set. So, come the annual cutoff date, if a set has 33 slots and you have only 3 coins in it, but you have the best set, you’ll get an award. So, if you’re a serious competitor and would like to get an award for best set, your best chance is with NGC. BTW the annual cutoff dates differ between the two services: June 30 for PCGS and Dec 31 for NGC. Cal
I only go with NGC to build sets, mainly because they allow both NGC and PCGS coins. Plus, whether in an active set or not, all of my slabbed coins are cataloged so in the event they are stolen, I have an off site record of their certification numbers.
The deadline for entering coins in the NGC registry is 12/4/2020 and the winners are announced on 1/8/2021. Get Ready for the 2020 NGC Registry Awards! I don't know anyone who has ever won a best set for having a top ranked set, though several Cointalk members, including @physics-fan3.14 and myself have won Best Presented Set.
I believe he's talking about the top set in each category. For example, Moroccan Type set, which I've won for many years now: https://coins.www.collectors-societ...aspx?CategoryID=211&SetTypeID=4707&sets=world
Oh I know what he was talking about, I just didn't think I knew anyone who won one of those awards. I completely forgot about foreign coins, duh. Congrats Jason.
