The new NGC AirView Holder

There are plenty on the market. To see some look at this more recent lots here.

https://www.ha.com/c/search-results...|0&N=0+790+231&Ntt=ngc+obol&ic4=SortBy-071515

 

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Hey Barry,

Just curious... Why would the use of AirView holders be left to NGC's discretion instead of being an option that the owner could select upon submission? At this point, if I submitted a coin that physically qualified for AirView, but came back in the old style slab, then that would be disappointing .

Also, while I have your ear , is there a resource where I could get a comprehensive list of "Categories" of ancient coins that NGC grades? Not sure if category is the right word, but I'm talking about options for the top lines of slab labels, like:


And then there are the Roman Provincials, Greek City States, etc, not sure how those are handled but if they were in the list then that'd be great.

I figured that the options were in a database lookup table or something that populated dropdowns when you guys made the labels. I've searched the website and so forth, but I haven't been able to locate a list. Any help?

 

I hear you on that one. I have learned different tricks to get past the slab glare.
It works 90% of the time. It is usually the smaller coins that I have trouble with.

 

Maybe I need some lessons from you. I usually manage to avoid the glare by playing with angles, but then I'm left taking a picture of a reflection of my camera!

 

I use gnip gnop balls. slide them over the Jansco lights. Some use plastic coin rolls cut down. I still get some pretty intense reflection.

 

It may keep the staff from polishing them though. From what I understand, this has happened many time throughout the history of the Smithsonian Collection. I wonder how many are in "Details" holders?

 

The holders are available for coins that otherwise couldn’t be slabbed do to fragility or size. Any coin that comfortably and safely can fit in a standard prong hold will continue to be holdered in prongs.

The Airview folders currently don’t work well for heavier coins and there is a thickness limitation as well.

Barry Murphy

 

There is no list of Categories for ancients on NGC’s website and I don’t have one that I can publish. It’s a fluid list that changes regularly as new types of coins are submitted.

Barry Murphy

 

Thanks for explaining, kinda figured it was something like this. Hopefully the methods and materials can be refined to the point that the style can be used universally. Would be great if it became the standard. I'd guess that many people (maybe me) would be sending their entire collections in to swap out!

I'm guessing there's some proprietary reason that you can't release it?

I'm hoping to wrap up my Roman Imperial collection soon and was thinking about moving onto a "1 coin from each civilization throughout history" typeset. I only collect slabbed coins, so I figured a "List of categories graded by NGC" would be the perfect starting point for making my plans

 

Hi Barry, Hope you and the team are staying safe with the impending hurricane... Quick question: is there any published information on the chemical composition of the plastic layer touching the coin in these new holders?

 

Resurrecting this old thread because I recently picked up a coin in an airview holder, and you guys know I cracked it out...

The coin in the holder. I'll post something on the coin itself in another thread:


So at first glance looking at the holder I could tell that the white insert seemed to be two pieces with a void between them.


I initially incorrectly assumed that each half of the white insert had some of this clear material that the coin was suspended in it but this was incorrect. After cracking the slab I found a little sealed capsule within the slab:


The capsule material seems to be very similar to the mylar saflips are made of, maybe a little thicker. It is very rigid, enough that I needed to cut the capsule open and cut a decent bit of it to get the capsule to the point that I could get this tiny little sestertius out without flexing the capsule and putting stress on it.

One thing that really surprised me about opening this thing was just how violently the coin jumped around in the inner capsule when I whacked it with a hammer. That's my preferred method for opening these but I only hit this one once and then decided I'd just go use a vise because I didn't like what I was seeing. I suspect a drop could leave a coin rotated and way off center so if you buy a coin in a slab like this and want to keep it slabbed, be careful how you handle it. That said the fact that you can clearly see the entire edge does address a lot of my complaints with previous NGC holders. I think this is a great option for coins you actually intend to keep in the slabs and the coin looks fantastic in it, way better than any coin ever looked with prongs.

 

@red_spork -- Thanks for sharing the coin & details its extraction. What a great little coin! This one is so much more attractive than I'm used to seeing.

I find silver fractions endlessly enjoyable (also kleinbronzemünzen and AV/EL, too). But hard to find them from the Romans, besides Quinarii (and, much, much later, weird little Siliqua bits).

It's a "medium priority" for me -- I don't study the literature or published specimens -- but I do watch out for any attractive examples in my price range and/or ones from interesting old collections....

After several years at that, I've still never managed to acquire an AR Sestertius! In all honesty, most that I see are not terribly attractive, but this one is beautiful. I'd be unspeakably excited to land one like this!

Very useful to learn of your experience with the NGC holder. Some can be much more difficult to open than others, and my big concern is always damaging a small or fragile coin during a difficult extraction.

The smaller the coin, though, the bigger the payoff to removing it. I find that big coins can still be appreciated in a slab. But for a small coin, they just make it too difficult to get a good look and full appreciation.

 

I'm glad you liked the coin. I only have two silver sestertii personally but I do find them extremely interesting. Some more details on this one here. They are a very tough denomination to collect.