Increase?

Good question.

My initial answer would have been no, and that many people won't submit the coins to NCS anyway.

What I find to be a twist in how this question was posed is that the submissions included coins that were either in NGC holders already (which seems to me that they SHOULD BE subject to the NGC Guarantee), or were in original government rolls/packaging.

Now, depending on the OGP, damage can occur. I don't know what it was, but the reality is that much OGP was not designed for long term storage, and can leach problem substances or can generally discolor coins. It seems counter-intuitive, but it's true. The old mylar holders from mint sets, even the proof sets are really not archival quality.

I've submitted U.S. Treasury Rolls of American Silver Eagles for instance, and of 40 coins (two rolls), had one coin be returned as a "no-grade" which seems unthinkable, but it happened. OK, it's still an ounce of silver bullion, but give me a break, it was a brand new roll.

Do I think NGC makes it up? I'd like to think not. However, I do come back to those coins mentioned that were ALREADY in NGC holders. Why were they returned as no-grade coins, and why were they not subject to NGC's guarantee?

http://www.ngccoin.com/legal.asp

(Then Scroll Down)

Also note that there was an update that the guarantee now also applies to copper coins.

http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?NewsletterNewsArticleID=295

That said, I have some thoughts about NCS in general.

For coins that MIGHT even end up as no-grades: Submit them to NCS first. This saves in a couple of ways:

1. It saves on quadrupling postage (to and from NGC, then to and from NCS again).

2. Submitting to NCS first allows NCS to consider the coin, if it's OK, they may conserve it (which may get you an even higher grade).

3. Assuming it's OK, whether or not NCS conserves the coin, the coin is graded by NGC.

4. If the coin is problematic, your instructions at the time of submission tell NCS whether you would like the coin encapsulated, and if so, how: simply as "genuine" or with a "details grade" like "AU - Details". I believe on either holder, they notate the problem of the coin (such as "improperly cleaned"), though I am not certain if that only applies to details graded coins.

5. Then, even your problem coins are encapsulated and preserved for future generations, at a savings compared to having paid NGC first, then NCS (much lest the postage to and from each). This is especially handy for coins that may be particularly precious in your collection or may be particularly valuable or rare, despite their condition, either by low mintages, gold content, etc.

I can't say that I've seen an increase in "no-grade" returns from NGC, but I have seen some odd things.

I also suggest people be aware of the NGC guarantee -- it's there for a reason.