Grading is Gaining Momentum

By Sebastian Wieschowski
Numismatic Writer

This year's World Money Fair was officially dedicated to the Austrian Mint, which promoted new coins and special workshops on its 825th birthday as the official guest of honor. But looking closer, visitors could have quickly gotten the impression that another company was the secret guest of honor of the largest coin show in the world. Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) used the World Money Fair as the stage for the promotion of third-party grading with an extra-large booth, located in the heart of the main hall. The authentication and certification of collector coins by grading services like NGC were regular topics during panel discussions and workshops.

At the dealer tables during this year's World Money Fair, it became clear that the acceptance of third-party grading has increased significantly in the German market in recent months. More and more dealers now offer coins in sealed hard plastic holders and present these pieces prominently on their tables. This was no surprise, as those graded coins were usually among the rarest and most expensive pieces that the dealers had to offer. Particularly popular were historical silver coins from the German Empire and the Weimar Republic and the era before the founding of the German Empire in 1871.

The expansion of third-party grading can be seen by the growing space of NGC's booths at shows held recently in Berlin and Munich.

An identical situation was apparent at the Numismata show in Munich, which traditionally takes place about a month after the World Money Fair and is considered the second-largest coin show in Germany. Both fairs are important yardsticks for the success and acceptance of numismatic trends, as they are mainly frequented by sophisticated collectors, many of whom pursue their hobby for decades. In addition, the most important dealers and auction houses are present at both fairs. And, due to their proximity to Eastern Europe, Polish and Russian numismatics play a significant role both in Berlin and Munich. However, according to Richard Stein, Director of European Operations at NGC, all coin types – from Ancients to the modern age – have seen a considerable increase in submission activity. The Munich office receives coins, tokens and medals from almost all countries and eras.

The growth is not only evident by comparing the growing space of NGC's show booths in Berlin and Munich over the last couple of years, but it can also be proven by figures: In April 2016, the NGC Census recorded approximately 57,800 German coins. The number has risen to just under 75,000 coins within three years – an increase of about 29 percent. A similar increase can be seen in Russian coins: from around 125,000 coins in April 2016, the volume increased to 164,000 coins in April 2019 – an increase of 30 percent. In the same period, the number of coins from Great Britain and Poland grew even more (by just under 48 percent). NGC has been grading coins for more than 30 years.

The team of NGC International GmbH (NGC GmbH), the German affiliate of the USA-based NGC, draws a positive conclusion after the two major German coin trade fairs of the year. "WMF in Berlin and Numismata Munich were both very successful for us this year," reports Richard Stein, Director of European Operations at NGC. "We had a large booth at WMF as well as at Numismata Munich. The team was very busy and we had constant traffic at our booth from dealers, collectors and auction houses."

Stein sees the steadily growing size of NGC’s booth area in recent years, combined with the increased levels of submissions at both shows, as good indicators of the success that NGC enjoyed at the shows.

The employees of NGC in Munich are experiencing not only a significant increase in workload but also a general change in mood toward third-party grading in Europe. This form of numismatic authentication, certification and preservation, which is already well established in other coin markets, is gaining considerable approval in Germany.

"Today at coin shows throughout Europe, many more NGC-graded coins can be seen on display at dealer tables. Many prominent auction houses have embraced our services and NGC-graded coins are frequently featured in their catalogs. Also, the availability and visibility of NGC-graded coins on online platforms has increased," reports Richard Stein. "The last 12 months for us have seen a tremendous growth in business and infrastructure. After a series of increasingly popular on-site events, we needed to find a much larger office and hire additional employees to keep up with our growing demand throughout Europe." In addition to relocating to a larger office, NGC GmbH in Munich is pursuing the expansion of on-site grading events, both for coins and for banknotes, by popular demand of collectors and dealers in 2019.

“NGC International GmbH has now introduced quarterly PMG on-site grading events to serve the growing demand for certified paper money. This is in addition to our quarterly NGC on-site grading events,” Stein says. (PMG stands for Paper Money Guaranty, an affiliate of NGC and NGC GmbH.) “We have also expanded our coin show and paper money show attendance throughout Europe to make it easier for our clients to submit and to introduce our expert services to new clients."

Sebastian Wieschowski has worked as an author with a focus on numismatics and precious metals since 2007. His articles have been published in magazines such as MuenzenRevue, MoneyTrend, Coin World and the Journal of East Asian Numismatics. He is the author of the Bullion Book and the Fake Coin Bible and a graduate of the School of Economic and Political Journalism in Cologne, Germany.

This is a guest article. The thoughts and opinions in the piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.