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NGC’s conservation service was established in 2001. Conservation removes harmful surface contaminants, stabilizes a coin for long-term preservation and can dramatically improve a coin's eye appeal. After conservation, coins can be seamlessly transferred to grading.

NGC Conservation removes harmful surface contaminants and stabilizes a coin's surfaces. Coins with PVC and other types of residue, haze, encrustations or unattractive or artificial toning are usually excellent candidates for NGC Conservation. To learn more and see examples, click here.

For current services and fees for NGC Conservation, please click the link below.

Conservation Services & Fees >

NGC does not provide grade protection or any type of grade guarantee for coins submitted for conservation. NGC evaluates every coin in order to determine whether that coin will benefit from conservation. If NGC believes that the coin will not benefit from conservation, the coin will not be conserved and will be transferred directly to grading. PCGS-graded coins submitted for CrossOver will not be graded in the event that they cannot be conserved. In rare instances, NGC Conservation may reveal additional issues that were previously hidden by residue or other surface contaminants. None of the techniques used by NGC will cause such issues. However, the submitter acknowledges that the conservation services provided by NGC may not prevent the coin from grading lower or receiving no grade by another coin grading company.

NGC evaluates every coin submitted for 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 NGC believes that a coin will benefit from conservation, the coin will be conserved and then transferred to grading. Both the NGC Conservation fees and NGC grading fees will apply.

If NGC 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 to grading. There will be a $5 per coin conservation evaluation fee and the NGC grading fees will apply.

If NGC conservationists believe that an NGC-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 NGC grading fees will be refunded less a $5 processing fee. There will be a $5 per coin conservation evaluation fee.

If NGC conservationists believe that a PCGS-certified coin will not benefit from conservation, the coin will not be conserved. It will be transferred to NGC for CrossOver in its original holder. The full NGC grading fees will apply regardless of whether the coin is crossed or certified by NGC. There will be a $5 per coin conservation evaluation fee.

Please note that while NGC Conservation will attempt to accommodate special requests from submitters, it can’t be responsible if any special requests are not fulfilled.

Submitting a coin for conservation does not mean that it will get a higher grade at NGC (i.e., be "upgraded"). Conservation will improve a coin's eye appeal and stabilize its surfaces. In some cases, coins may receive a higher grade at NGC after conservation, but this is not guaranteed.

A copper coin's color can change naturally over time from red (noted as "RD" on the NGC certification label) to red brown ("RB") to brown ("BN"). This is an irreversible process and conservation cannot change the BN, RB or RD designations assigned to copper coins.

You can contact NGC Conservation by calling or emailing NGC Customer Service. For our contact information, click here.

NGC 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 conservation and an NGC ReGrade (Conservation + ReGrade). If NGC 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 conservation determination, then the customer should write on their submission form: REGRADE REGARDLESS OF CONSERVATION DECISION.