NCS and NGC Select Intern for 2003

NGC and NCS are pleased to announce that Matthew Tucker of Nashville, TN was selected to be the first Numismatic Intern.
A life-long collector with a well-rounded knowledge of grading, authentication, the minting process and errors and varieties, Matthew is the first successful candidate selected to participate in this internship.

“We received many very good applicants who offered a great deal of knowledge and experience in several different areas of numismatics,” says David Camire, NCS Director of Operations. “Matthew’s resume really stood out among the many great candidates and we look forward to working with him during his internship."

Matthew hails from Nashville, TN and recently completed the American Numismatic Association’s Numismatic Diploma program, receiving honors in every area of study.

At NCS and NGC headquarters, Matthew will be working along side professional graders, authenticators, variety and error attribution experts and professional conservators, allowing him to further develop his skills as a numismatist. The internship will last 8 weeks and will be held at NGC and NCS headquarters in Sarasota, Florida.

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By most accounts, the coin market is stronger than it has been in a long time. Reports from the ANA show in Baltimore seem to support this fact as does the number of submissions NCS has been receiving.

The next big show is the Long Beach Coin and Collectibles Exposition in Long Beach, California. This show, which is held three times per year, is one of the more popular conventions held and we expect business to be strong as collectors and dealers compete for premium quality coins.

NCS is already receiving submissions designated for delivery to the show. As such we highly recommend you submit your coins soon in order to guarantee delivery to the show.

As with most of the major shows, NCS representatives will be available to accept submissions and provide informal opinions concerning conservation, authentication and detail grade.

For more information about the shows that NCS will be attending, visit www.ncscoin.com.

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NCS maintains and frequently updates a rather sizable gallery of before and after photographs of the coins submitted to the service. This gallery can be located at the NCS website at www.ncscoin.com/gallery or viewed in portfolio form at the many shows we attend. Here are just a couple of our recent before and after photographs.

Before	After	Before	After
Click to see the enlarged view

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Despite efforts of organizations like the American Numismatic Association (ANA), the International Bureau for the Suppression of Counterfeit Coinage (IBSCC) and several professional grading services and hobby publications to educate the collecting public about counterfeit and altered coinage, they can still be easily found in the marketplace.

“As demand for NCS conservation and certification services have increased, so too have the number of counterfeit and altered coins that we see each day,” says Brian Silliman, NCS Assistant Director of Operations. “We not only receive fakes for our Details Grading and Authentication services, but many have been showing up in the conservation submissions.”

NCS evaluators, all of whom are highly skilled in authentication, routinely find spurious coins and coins displaying altered dates or mint marks in conservation submissions of uncertified coins. A few encapsulated counterfeits have also been spotted.

“At the recent Baltimore ANA convention we saw more than a dozen counterfeit and altered coins while giving informal opinions at the table,” says Silliman. “In fact, in recent months with increased activity in the coin market, we have seen dramatic increases in the number of counterfeits seen at shows and at headquarters.”

Most, if not all of the counterfeit and altered coins seen in the hobby are relatively easy to detect. The ANA published several references that highlight genuine and counterfeit diagnostics as well as general authentication techniques that, if utilized, would help most collectors and dealers avoid making costly mistakes.

One of the more up-to-date sources of information about counterfeits is a column written by NCS senior conservator F. Michael “Skip” Fazarri for Numismatic News. This column not only provides information on counterfeit and altered coinage, but also tips on grading coins. The column is a great starting place for developing the knowledge and skill needed to spot counterfeits in the marketplace.

Other valuable references can be found through numismatic book dealers and the ANA Library.

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How do I ship my coins for conservation? Click here to find out.

Want to discuss your collection with fellow coin enthusiasts? Or do you have a question you need answered? Chat with other collectors in our online Discussion Forums.

NCS is the conservation service of choice of the ANA.

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