Service Reminder: Fee Changes

On September 15, 2003, in an effort to simplify and standardize submissions, NCS changed its fee structure. While the evaluation fee is the same at 1% of declared value with a $5 minimum fee, the conservation fee is now 2% of declared value for coins valued up to $25,000 and 3% for those above $25,000 (with a $10 minimum fee). Grade protection is included as part of the conservation fee resulting in a lower overall fee. Details of our new fees are as follows:

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Cracking Out Coins is Risky Business

Lately, we have seen an increase in the number of coins submitted to NCS with the hope that conservation can help remedy the results of an improper cleaning or amateur conservation attempt.

In many cases, the coin was previously submitted to NCS in a major grading service's holder and rejected as not suitable for conservation. Regardless of NCS's expert opinion, some of these coins are cracked out of their holder and cleaned by the owner who then submits them for grading only to receive lower grades or a "body bag" in return.

NCS then receives the coin with a letter explaining the situation and begging us to try and help salvage what has been done so that the coin can get its original grade again or be suitable for grading.

More often than not, the damage is irreversible and the coin cannot be helped with conservation.

For this reason, we ask that you carefully consider whether conserving the coin yourself is the best way to go, especially if it has already been rejected for conservation during the NCS evaluation process. Keep in mind that one of the major problems with amateur conservation efforts is that the damage is not reversible.

Demand Strong for NCS Genuine Holder

Demand for NCS coins encapsulated as "Genuine" without a Details Grade has been growing exponentially.

"We have been extremely pleased with the popularity of this service. It was really geared toward collectors and dealers who were not concerned with the grade of a coin—only its attribution, authenticity and encapsulation suitability for longer-term storage and display," says Brian Silliman, NCS Assistant Director of Operations. "We are now seeing large increases in the number of coins submitted by dealers, of both US and World coins, who are taking advantage of the strong market for any and all authenticated and encapsulated rare coins."

NCS offers certification services in addition to its professional conservation service. One service offers Details Grading for problem coins. Under this service, problem coins are authenticated and assigned a details grade and description of the surface problem. No "net" grade is assigned. Under the "Genuine Only" service, coins are authenticated, attributed and encapsulated as Genuine without a grade or description of the surface problem. NCS does, however, reserve the right to place a problem description on the holder in cases where the coin has been enhanced or deceptively altered.

Upcoming Trade
Shows – 2003

NCS tries to have a representative present at most of the major coin shows. We will be present at the following shows to offer authentication, grading and conservation opinions, and to accept submissions:

A list of other upcoming coin shows can be found at http://www.ncscoin.com/events/.

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Coming Soon–Reference List on Web site

The NCS and NGC staff has almost completed a list of recommended numismatic references that both dealers and collectors should find useful. The annotated list will be published on both the NGC and NCS Web sites in a few weeks.

"An old saying in this hobby is 'buy the book before you buy the coin' and since there are so many numismatic references on the market, we thought a concise list of books, many of which we use here at NCS and NGC, would be a very useful tool for hobbyists," says Brian Silliman, NCS Assistant Director of Operations.

When published on the Web sites, the list will contain helpful general references as well as the more important die studies and subject specific references commonly used to research coins. The list will be updated as new references when new editions are published.

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