Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="Mr.MonkeySwag96, post: 8331464, member: 100951"]Another criticism against NGC is that they don’t properly attribute their ancient coins. As we all know, most Roman coin types are attributed using standard reference guides such as RIC, RPC, RSC, Sear, and Crawford. For example, NGC would “attribute” a coin as a “Trajan, AR denarius.” Well duh, that particular coin is a Trajan denarius. But what type of denarius is it? Trajan issued hundreds of different types of denarii. Certain reverse types such as ones depicting Trajan’s Column generally sell for more money than “generic” goddess types such as Salus or Fortuna. However, NGC doesn’t distinguish a Trajan’s Column type from a Fortuna type despite the differences in rarity and value. So NGC can identify the VAM varieties of Morgan dollars but they can’t attribute the RIC types of Roman coins? Much of the information on NGC slab labels aren’t useful in educating new collectors about their ancient coin. Keep in mind, the paper tags of dealers are around the same size as an NGC label. A dealer’s paper tag lists relevant information such as a Roman coin’s weight, diameter, die axis, grade, and RIC catalog #. I don’t get why people would pay a premium to get NGC to “attribute” their ancient coins when reputable, knowledgeable dealers do a much better job at attributing coins.[/QUOTE]