An unprecedented collaboration between a European coin seller and a U.S. certification company is the latest evidence that the international collectible coin market is booming. Numismatica Genevensis SA (NGSA), one of the leading European rare coin auction houses has contracted Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) to certify approximately 300 of the 1,500 pieces, including many ancient coins, being offered in its December 2-3 auction in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Without question this is one of the most impressive sales of ancient coins in recent memory,” says David Vagi, Director of NGC Ancients. “The quality is outstanding, and there are some important rarities that will attract serious bidding.”

Relatively new to the international collectible coin market, independent third-party certification has become a major factor in the U.S. in determining a coin’s value by evaluating and documenting its condition. According to industry resources, the collectible coin market has experienced a near 20-year growth cycle virtually unaffected by broader economic cycles. As a result, coin collectibles have blossomed into a $10 billion dollar industry in the United States. Coin certification is credited for much of that growth.

As coin certification gains traction in Europe, a similar trend is expected and may already be impacting the market based on the recent sale of an NGC certified Russian coin that sold for $2.4 million, a record for a world coin. In May, the world coin Millenia collection, featuring all NGC certified coins, produced record prices realized and overall sales. Both auction and coin certification experts expect the NGSA auction to set several records and establish new benchmarks for graded European coins. Industry experts are anticipating the event to gauge the resiliency of the industry in light of recent global economic events.

The 300 NGC certified coins in the auction include ancient specimens from the Roman Empire, the Roman Imperatorial, the Roman Republic, Ancient Greece and the Celtic region. Other examples from the 1600s to early 20th century originate from Albania, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Denmark, Spain, France, England, Greece, Holland, Italy, Poland, Russia and Switzerland.

Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), the world’s leading coin certification service, has announced that it will be offering comprehensive services for ancient coins beginning January 1, 2009.

The new division, NGC Ancients, will be led by David Vagi, author of Coinage and History of the Roman Empire and an ancient coin specialist since 1990. NGC Ancients will certify most coins struck in the Western World through circa A.D. 500, as well as coins of the Byzantine Empire. Later world coins eligible for NGC services will continue to be graded by NGC under its world coin program.

“For more than a decade, we’ve been laying the foundations for this important new service,” says Mark Salzberg, NGC Chairman. “A major part was finding the best person to guide the project. David’s expertise is perfectly balanced between academics and the marketplace, making him the ideal choice for this program, which demands both kinds of talent.”

“I’m thrilled to join NGC at a critical moment in the growth of the ancient coin market. The marketplace and third-party grading have both matured in such a way to make an ancients program not only possible, but necessary,” comments Vagi, Grading Finalizer and Director of NGC Ancients.

“NGC’s integrity, expertise and market leadership will be key ingredients in assuring the success of the third-party grading of ancient coins,” he says.

Comprehensive details will be reported on NGC’s Web site in the coming weeks, including terms and conditions, submission procedures and fees. Under this new program, coins will be fully attributed and graded using a system developed especially for NGC Ancients. (more…)

The next generation of the NGC coin holder, featuring enhanced security features, is scheduled for wide-scale release beginning Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Since late-August, this holder has been used for selected World coin and Walkthrough submissions. Following its very successful month-long initial release, the new holder exterior will now be used for all submissions.

While the new exterior and new label will be used for all submissions, the EdgeView® Holder, which enables viewing of a coin’s edge, will be used only for US Walkthrough and US Express tier submissions and all World tier submissions. At NGC’s discretion it will be used on additional grading tiers. The EdgeView® Holder is set for full-scale release for all service lines in the first quarter of 2009. In the interim, the standard NGC format holder interior will be used with high-security outer casing and label.

In order to maintain turnaround times, is not possible to make special requests for specific holders and the previous generation of NGC holder will no longer be available effective October 1, 2008.

“Our service commitment is to encapsulate coins in the most secure holder, made from the best materials available,” comments NGC CEO, Steve Eichenbaum. “This iterative release schedule allows us to expand the availability of the best holder in the most expedient and responsible way,” continues Eichenbaum.

The NGC holder is made from the same materials used in the NGC-developed museum holder created for the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian conducted its own independent tests of that holder, which today is used to house the 200 most valuable coins in its collection. State-of-the-art holography has been incorporated into holograms both on the label and fused onto the holder’s exterior, and directional pressure welding is used to seal the holder cleanly and completely. More information about NGC’s newest generation holder can be found online at www.ngccoin.com/newholder.