It really depends on when if it was slabbed if recently it will surely have images if not their is a good chance their will be no images !!
When you submit a coin for grading with NGC, you have to pay a fee to have the coin photographed, so not all coins have photos. In my opinion, NGC should photo every coin to post on their site; doing so helps increase a buyer's confidence that the coin is not a fake, and increases the demand for NGC slabbed coins. More demand for the NGC label and more people will submit to NGC for grading. Good for everyone all the way around. And my guess is that the cost of photographing or scanning a slabbed coin is minimal. My 2 cents for the day on the subject.
Also, make sure to search www.ha.com for your coin. I don't think you can search by cert#, so just toss in the Year, Mint Mark, grade and browse through the past auction photos until hopefully you see your cert. I usually look for the last 3 digits of the cert to narrow it down quickly.
@BooksB4Coins: No I am not sure about it, but below is the current pricing grid on the NGC site. Am I reading this wrong? http://www.ngccoin.com/services/services.aspx Low Resolution Imaging $5/coin. Applies to all on invoice. Tier + 1 working day Tier + 1 working day If chosen, NGC provides an accurate 72 dpi, JPEG image of the NGC coin holder's obverse and reverse. Sent via email. Ideal for use on the internet and the NGC Registry. NGC Photo Vision® $15 10-14 working days 10-14 working days A PDF with high-quality enlarged images of the coin's obverse and reverse and label information. Sent via email.
Paying NGC for a photo allows you to get a photo you that can use for any purpose you want and anywhere you want. You paid for it, you own it. If you don't pay, they still photograph it, but you can't download it or use it anywhere. They currently photograph every coin they grade.
NGC has photographed and posted the images of every coin they've slabbed for about four years now. PCGS has been doing the same for one to two years. They also have options that let you purchase images of your coin. For the most part I find their images lacking.
So, if I buy a coin from someone is the photo now mine? And if I can't use the photo because I didn't pay for it will it tell me that?
If you don't buy the pic, or if it's not expressly given to you, you don't own it and cannot use it. Owning the coin does not give you any rights to the photo of the coin.
