Coins We Grade & Policies

Coins That Are Not Encapsulated

There are several reasons why a coin cannot be graded or encapsulated by NGC. One of the most common of these relates to a coin’s authenticity. Another reason is that the coin has active surface residue. Read more >

World Coins Not Eligible for NGC Grading

For a complete list of world coins that will not be graded by NGC, click here.

Ancient Coins Not Eligible for NGC Grading

For a complete list of ancient coins that will not be graded by NGC, click here.

Collectibles from Sanctioned Countries

Due to US sanctions, the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG), which includes NGC, PMG, CGC, CSG, ASG and CAG, will not accept collectibles either (a) issued by the following countries/regions if submitted to CCG’s offices in London, Munich or Hong Kong; or (b) submitted to any CCG location by a customer located in one of the following countries/regions:

• North Korea
• Iran (including Persia)
• Cuba
• Crimea

If collectibles from the above-listed countries/regions are already in the US and are owned by a US-based customer, they may still be eligible for grading by a CCG company in the US. If collectibles from the above-listed countries/regions are already in Mainland China and are owned by a Mainland China-based customer, they may still be eligible for grading by CCG’s Mainland China affiliate, NGC Shanghai Business Information Consulting Co., Ltd.

In addition, special handling applies for the following countries:

• Syria: CCG will accept collectibles from Syria but will not ship any collectibles to Syria.
• Iraq: CCG will accept collectibles from Iraq but they may be subject to additional scrutiny by CCG and, if applicable, US customs, resulting in delays and possible rejection.

At this time, there are no sanctions affecting collectibles issued by Russia or submitted by customers in Russia. However, shipments containing collectibles issued by Russia may be subject to significant delays due to customs processing times.

Certain individuals are also subject to sanctions and cannot do business with CCG. A complete list of individuals sanctioned by the US can be found at https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/.

This policy was last updated on April 23, 2022, and is updated periodically. This policy is not meant to be taken as legal advice and, due to quickly evolving situations, it may not reflect current sanctions. For current US sanctions, please visit https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/. CCG reserves the right to reject any submission from any customer.

Declared Value Policy

Submitters to NGC are required to list a declared value for each coin in their submission. By submitting a coin and listing a declared value, the submitter agrees that the declared value represents the current fair market value (FMV) of the submitted coin. The declared value must represent the FMV of a genuine coin of that same issue and variety in the same approximate condition.

If you do not know the coin’s current fair market value, you can assign a declared value based on the price you paid for the coin (if purchased recently), a value you found in a price guide (such as the NGC Price Guide), the price a dealer offered to pay you for the coin or other reasonable determining method.

NGC does not assign values to coins. If NGC determines that a coin is undervalued and does not qualify for the tier or services selected, it may adjust the tier and charge the appropriate difference in conservation, grading and/or services fees based on its determination of the coin’s current Fair Market Value. (Note: NGC will adjust the tier even if the coin is later determined to be not genuine, altered or otherwise ungradable.) NGC will not, however, change the declared value originally assigned by the submitter.

The declared value is used to insure a coin while it is at NGC’s facility and, for USPS Mail shipments within the United States, purchase insurance when coins are returned to the submitter. In addition, in the extremely rare event that a coin is lost or damaged while at NGC’s facility, the submitter will be compensated based on the coin’s current Fair Market Value (as defined below) in the condition in which it was received by NGC; provided that in no event will the compensation exceed the declared value listed by the submitter on the NGC Submission Form. It is therefore very important that the declared value listed by the submitter represent the coin’s current fair market value.

Fair Market Value: For the purposes of this Policy, the “current Fair Market Value” is the value of the coin if it were to be sold, as determined by NGC in its sole reasonably exercised discretion. NGC will determine the current Fair Market Value of a coin based upon what NGC believes, in its sole reasonably exercised opinion, to be reliable current market information. NGC may use actual pricing and sales information available to it, including prices in the actual transaction history of the coin in question. However, due to the volatile nature of the coin market and Internet auctions/sales as well as the differences in buying habits of different individuals, such information may not necessarily represent the accurate current Fair Market Value of any particular coin, which again, will be determined by NGC in its sole reasonably exercised discretion. NGC reserves the right to use the declared value listed by the submitter on the NGC Submission Form as the current Fair Market Value, and in no event will NGC’s determination of current Fair Market Value exceed the declared value listed by the submitter on the NGC Submission Form. NGC’s determination of the current Fair Market Value will be absolute and binding on all parties.

Please note that this policy also applies for submissions to Numismatic Conservation Services (NCS), an affiliate of NGC, if NCS conservation services are selected on the NGC Submission Form.

Fragile Coins Policy

Certain coins, tokens and medals may be more susceptible to damage due to certain reasons (for example, their era, method of manufacture, or condition) (collectively, “Fragile Collectibles”).
Examples include:

• Coins that are enameled, colorized, painted, jeweled or have holograms and other specialty applications;
• Coins that are extremely thin;
• Coins that are extremely fragile or brittle, including many coins struck prior to 1700; and
• Ancient coins that exhibit “bronze disease” (For an explanation of “bronze disease,” see NGCcoin.com/Guarantee)

NGC will accept submissions of Fragile Collectibles and will use reasonable care to protect them from damage. However, it is possible that even with such care these Fragile Collectibles may be damaged during or after’s NGC normal grading and encapsulation process.

As a result, NGC will only be responsible for damage or loss to a Fragile Collectible in the event that NGC determines that such damage or loss was due to NGC’s negligence while the Fragile Collectible was in its possession, in which case the Submitter’s sole remedy will be compensation based upon NGC’s good faith determination of the fair market value of the item, in light of what NGC believes to be reliable current market information. The amount of compensation will not necessarily be based upon, but in no event will exceed, the Submitter’s stated declared value of the item on the NGC Submission Form.

CrossOvers / Non-NGC Holders

NGC will accept submissions of PCGS-holdered coins for CrossOver service. This service enables submitters to send their PCGS-holdered coins and have them graded by NGC only if the coins will receive an NGC grade that is the same (or higher) as the grade the PCGS holder.

NGC will not accept CrossOver submissions that request a minimum grade that is higher than the grade listed on the PCGS holder. The “CrossOver Minimum Grade” section of the NGC submission form may only be used if the minimum desired grade is the same or lower than the grade on the PCGS holder.

Due to the special verification required, NGC does not recognize designations or pedigrees assigned by other grading services if NGC requires that the coins be submitted in the sealed mint shipping box. For example, NGC requires 25th Anniversary Set American Silver Eagles be received by NGC in the sealed US Mint shipping box. Therefore, a PCGS-holdered American Silver Eagle with the 25th Anniversary Set pedigree cannot receive the 25th Anniversary Set pedigree at NGC if submitted for CrossOver because NGC did not have the opportunity to open the sealed US Mint shipping box to confirm the coin's pedigree. While these coins can still be submitted for NGC for CrossOver, they will not receive the set designation or pedigree assigned by PCGS if NGC requires that the coins be submitted in the sealed mint shipping box.

For complete CrossOver instructions, click here.

In addition, NGC will not accept CrossOver submissions of coins holdered by companies other than PCGS. These coins may still be submitted to NGC only if they are accompanied by NGC’s Consent to Remove Coin(s) from Holder(s) Form. The coins will be treated by NGC as raw (ungraded) submissions.

NCS: No Grade Protection or Guarantee

NCS does not provide grade protection or any type of grade guarantee for coins submitted for NCS conservation. Coins are guaranteed by NGC only after they are graded and encapsulated by NGC.

NCS evaluates every coin submitted for NCS conservation services to determine whether it believes the coin will benefit from conservation. Special handling, detailed below, applies to submissions of NGC and PCGS-certified coins.

• If NCS believes that a coin will benefit from conservation, the coin will be conserved and then transferred to NGC for grading.
• If NCS believes that a coin will not benefit from conservation, the coin will not be conserved. In this case, raw (not holdered) coins will be transferred directly to NGC for grading. Only the NGC grading fees will apply.
• If NCS believes that an NGC or PCGS-certified coin will not benefit from conservation, the coin will not be conserved and will be left in its original holder and returned to the submitter. The coin will not be transferred to NGC and the NGC grading fees will be refunded less a $5 processing fee.
• However, if NCS believes that a PCGS-certified coin will not benefit from conservation but will likely receive the same grade (or a higher grade) with NGC, the coin will not be conserved and will be transferred to NGC for CrossOver. Only the NGC grading fees will apply.
• *Please note that while NCS will attempt to accommodate special requests from submitters it can’t be responsible if any special requests are not fulfilled.

Important: Conservation services performed by NCS do not necessarily improve a coin’s grade. In rare instances, NCS conservation may reveal additional issues that were previously hidden by residue or other surface contaminants. None of the techniques used by NCS will cause such issues. It is important to understand that coins conserved by NCS may still receive a lower grade or no grade from a coin grading service. By submitting a coin to NCS, the submitter waives any right to assert any form of legal claim against NCS (and any affiliates, divisions, subsidiaries or other entities related to NCS and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and assigns) with respect to a lower grade or no grade subsequently being assigned to such coin by a coin grading company.

NCS Conservation / NGC ReGrade

NCS conservation can help coins with unattractive toning, copper spots and other surface issues. Customers may submit a coin already certified by NGC for a service that includes NCS conservation and an NGC ReGrade (NCS+ReGrade). If NCS declines to conserve a particular coin under this combined service, then NGC will not perform the ReGrade. If the customer wants the NGC ReGrade regardless of the NCS determination, then the customer should write on their submission form: REGRADE REGARDLESS OF NCS DECISION.

Return Packaging Policy

NGC will return capsules and other packaging (such as original mint boxes) to submitters who check the “Return Packaging” service on the NGC Submission Form. There is an additional $5 fee per submission form for this service, plus any additional shipping costs that may apply.

NGC will attempt to return packaging at the same time as graded coins. If the packaging is not returned at this time (e.g. the submitter does not accept the returned packaging or it cannot be delivered to the submitter), the packaging will be held by NGC for an additional 14 calendar days. After this time, unclaimed packaging will be discarded. NGC will not be liable for packaging discarded if unclaimed for more than 14 calendar days after the date graded coins are returned to the submitter.

In addition, while NGC will use its best efforts to preserve capsules and other packaging in the best possible condition, it is possible that capsules and packaging may be damaged when coins are removed. NGC will not be liable for damaged packaging.

Please note that if the “Return Packaging” service is not selected on the NGC Submission Form, NGC will discard the packaging once the coins have been removed. NGC will not be liable for any discarded packaging.

White Spots on Modern Silver Coins

NGC has a policy for white spots, often called “milk spots,” that can sometimes develop of a variety of modern silver bullion coins from around the world including American Silver Eagles, Chinese Silver Pandas and Canadian Maple Leafs.

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