NGC to Launch Services for Ancient Coins

For all you collectors of ancients coins ... you make find this news of interest.

http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=1130

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

As you all probably know, I really disprove of slabbing ancients. But it looks like NGC is actually doing it right this time. Of course, I'd have to see one to truly be able to tell, but they appear to have corrected the problems that the other TPGs have when it comes to these coins. David Vagi is an exceptional numismatist with impeccable taste - I wish him the best of luck.

 

But will David be doing all the grading/attribution, or will it be farmed out to graders who are not as qualified? I don't trust the TPG's to correctly attribute varieties of US coins, and they are going to do ancients where there are hundreds or thousands of types many of which also have varieties?

 

Collectors of ancient coins do not use the 70-point grading scale; rather they simply use the condition descriptor, e.g., F or VF or XF (EF). Does NGC plan to only assign the descriptor grade or do they plan to assign a numerical grade also? (If they assign numerical grades this could upset the ancient coin hobby for a while.)

 

It wont upset the ancient coin collectors I think, the lions share of people using it will, most likely be people who do not collect them but are try to make an extre buck out of them by flipping. Most collectors wont bother and will probably break them out anyway...

 

Probably not, but with him behind these mysterious graders, I'm willing to bet it'll be better than before. Plus, whoever's doing the work is probably backed by a damn good library.

Here's a hypothetical - would you guys trust me to work for NGC?

 

I would trust you implicitly but I still woudnt buy a slabbed coin LOL

 

Yeah, I'd trust you to work for NGC...but that doesnt mean much because I will never being using the service so I would trust a monkey working there as whatever happens wont effect me

 

Having a TPG grade, and particularly authenticate ancient coinage does bring some benefits. I say this particularly due to the many fakes, manipulated, tooled, or repaired ancient coins out there. I myself have beeing fooled at least 4 times. Some of the fakes can be extremely deceiving! If this will bring an added measure of certainty to the hobby, it is a positive thing.
Eduard

 

There are better places to send a coin to for authentication, I would say NCG offers no added measure of ACTUAL certainty...

 

Several years ago I heard the same thing about world coins. Now I have people all over the world sending me coins to submit to the TPG for them and also have want lists from people who explicitly request slabbed coins.

Slabbed ancients will be the norm in <15 years.

 

Thank god you proclaiming it doesnt make it true good lord I hope you are wrong. People actually send you coins to submit to a TPG? They cant even do THAT for themselves? The coin world is becoming a sad little place aint it.

I certainly hope TPGs do not ever play any real role in ancients...ever... I have faith in ancients collectors...not ancients sellers (if they think they can get a few extra bucks out of it)...but with hope, the collectors will be the same as they always have been...unslabbed. The main way I can see this happening is if people besides the collectors start slabbing them to bump prices...I dont know any ancients collectors who give 2 spits about a TPG...

With world coins, there are still huge qualitities not slabbed, wouldnt say its even the norm as I would say the lions share still remains unslabbed...as long as that remains the case, I will be fine in both areas.

 

I collect coins, not plastic. I would NOT collect coins if slabbed

Cucumbor

 

I think slabbed ancients can benifit new collectors that cant I.D. fakes, and dont know how to store coins, but with the internet and boards like cointalk, people should be able to find out both.

 

But want to spend a lot of money on them without having to bother to learn either one, like a lot of US collectors who don't care to learn but just want to have to read the number on the label.

 

Other ancient collectors said it better than I could:

"I can see slabbing of ancients to be of benefit to those who only treat ancient coins as a commodity to make money from. that would be dealers, investors, and the slabbing company."

Then there is the fact that David Vagi has said they will not guarentee the authentication service.

For the record, we are not guaranteeing the ancients. Though we will never
holder a coin we suspect is fake (that, in itself, is a worthwhile service (thats good I guess), any actual warranties remain a private matter between buyer and seller.

Which begs the question, what purpose is the service if they will not stand behind any authentication? Is that not one of the main issues in ancients and what would be the main reason why one would send a coin to them? To quote another collector:

So it then is just a service to let coin dealers charge
higher prices to newbies and TV shopping channel buyers. Its
"service" provides a sense of fake security, a big plastic holder that
means nothing.

He says they will not use an MS-whatever grading system then recites a system which in the end will be about the same in its purpose:

As for grading, we will be assigning an adjectival grade (not MS 62, etc.)
for wear, and will be separately evaluating 1) Strike, 2) Surface, and 3)
Style. The first two will be rated on a scale of 1-5, and the last will be
indicated if the coin is of superior style.

So if this thing becomes the norm...how much MORE do you think people will charge for a 5/5 superior than a 4/5 superior Judging by the reaction, I have a feeling that this service is not filling them with excitement to go out and encase their coins in cheap plastic.

 

Wow, without a guarantee its nothing but a glorified attribution service. I attribute too (even for dealers) and charge a fraction of what they do to slab!

 

I attribute for free for anyone who comes here or to my website...I have attributed countless coins through my website and have never charged a dime.

 

I'm definately starting to see the many downsides of slabbing ancients.

If theres no guarentee, serious collecters will want to crack open the slabs then right? assuming they will buy slabs.

Also, since people can get most coins attributed for free by doing search on the net or posting on places like cointalk, the only coins I have that I cant attribute are ones not worth paying for attribution or slabbing like this one.

 

The little that I do charge for is all through dealers. If anyone here is interested *cough cough*

The reverse of your coin is reminding me of this:

Lysimachos, Kingdom of Thrace
AE3
Thrace, 323-218 BC
Helmeted head of Athena r. Lion running r., dagger below
ΛYΣIMAXOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ
Sear 6819