Mactanboy

I had trouble with USPS registered mail. Often it would arrive in Charlotte and sit there for 5-10 days! I switched to UPS Ground and it takes 3-4 days from time NGC ships to reach Raleigh NC. I often ship to NGC via USPS Priority Express (1 day) for high value packages, but have also had fast arrival using USPS 2-3 day Priority Mail. My problem was with registered mail and UPS Ground took care of that! Make sure you specify GROUND or NGC may ship Air which is much more expensive!

Thanks Lisa, you are always a Godsend!

Hi Lisa, Please check my submission status for 2878191. The package arrived March 2, 2022 and today is 9 weeks or about 45 days for World Coins/Standard or Early Bird service. The same status has been showing grading/encapsulation/imaging for about 4 weeks! Any help in moving them along or explaining their status is much appreciated

Thanks Ali! Appreciate the response and I will check later this week.

Sorry, I may be missing something. I tried to register a Philippines NGC PF 67 S200P coin 3806068-018 for the Philippines S200P coin set Proof. NGC accepted the two other PF UC coins so I am confused why this coin is not being accepted? When I look up the registration number the coin shows but after the description is a "CAC" which I believe is an extra certification. My coin does not have a CAC on the holder, nor is there any indication of a CAC sticker. If the coin is not eligible, please tell me why? Thank you, Earl Honeycutt

Thanks Lisa, you are the best!

NGC shipped two orders on 3/24 and one on 3/25 all UPS 2 Day (Air). I am positive I requested my orders ship standard UPS which, as you know is much cheaper! PLEASE make sure my remaining submission 2878191 is shipped UPS ground. Thank you

Have received a number of altered surface returned medals! NGC uses my book to identify said medals. Talked with grader and the bottom line is that either someone tried to resurface the coin or the grader judged that the existing surface had been changed in some way. Like others have written, no "definitive" answer to why a specific medal or coin was judged "altered." My default position is to carefully look over the coin/medal with a 10X loop in direct sunlight and if I have any doubt--do not submit! Good luck!

I got tired of USPS Registered Mail and opened a UPS account and all my coins are shipped UPS Ground. Living in NC, UPS gets my coins/medals to me in 2-3 days, easy to track and they allow you to sign on line or leave with neighbor. Sometimes the Post Office would take 7-10 days for Registered Mail--I would look each morning and the box was setting in Charlotte or Raleigh for days. For me UPS is no more expensive and much faster and reliable. You might give it a try.

I have had this happen numerous times. Have no idea why, but my submission is scheduled for grading, then in quality control/encapuslation, then back to grading, etc. Once the items go to encapsulation they are nearing the end. Of course with the really long process times now seen, IMO this type of shape-shifting is seen more often than when one could get coins/tokens graded within 3-4 weeks!

Not a US penny specialist, but most third party graders expect you to list the variety you have and PAY for their documenting the variety. Check PCGS and NGC pricing list for attribution services.

My experience with NGC medals is that they seldom give a definitive answer to why a medal was not certified. I am the author of.a medal book used to reference medals and they call upon me from time to time to answer a question about a medal's composition or finish, but there is never a two way communication other than "Thanks"! I agree with John5123 that the graders are very good and even once found a variation that slipped by me when I submitted the medal. I would be surprised if NGC would not designate a restruck medal. You might send a message to NGC customer service or Lisa B who you see on this chat board--Lisa will likely find the answer if that is possible.

My first question is why do you want to slab these four coins? Do you plan on selling them or do you think they are worth more graded by NGC? As several responders have noted, it is important to know if your coins are authentic and in good condition unless the coin is very rare and in demand regardless of condition. Second, I concur that submitting coins to any Third Party Grader is complicated to the layman and all TPG are in business to make a profit. This point relates back to my comments about why do you want the coins graded and what do you plan on doing with them? NGC, PCGS, & ANACS all offer complete services (at additional costs) for conserving (a polite word for legal cleaning), confirming a variety, and speed of coin being graded and returned. Having collected for 50 years, I have made many mistakes by first sending in coins that really were not worth grading. After sending in coins that were returned cleaned, scratched, or fake, I learned much more about how to grade and only send in coins I am 99% sure will grade. This means I check the coin closely in bright sunlight with a loop, check for discoloration and scratches, etc. If anything looks amiss, I do not submit the coin (unless it is extremely rare). I decided to slab my coins because I got tired of dealers trying to convince me my coins were really lower grades than I believed and their coins were sold as MS 64-65 when in fact they were AU 55-58. TPGers are not perfect but at least they are more impartial. Currently I have 11 coins at NGC that arrived November 30th and were entered into the system on December 31st. The coins are now in "grading/quality control" which means they have been initially graded and will be checked by another grader and eventually get to slabbing, another quality check and return to me. My best hope is the process will take about 3 months! I could have paid more for faster service but the modern coins did not require quick turnaround. Hopefully understanding the process and what collectors want to accomplish by having their collectibles graded will remove some of the frustration you experienced with NGC. Good luck!

Like JT2, I bought a large gun safe and removed rack parts and added plywood shelves covered with nice felt that matched the shelves that came with the safe. My desire is to protect the items from theft, so it is bolted down. We have a fire station less than 1/4 mile from our house. That said, if a thief or fire has unlimited time to do their business, few "safes" will be safe! You might also consider a home alarm, coin insurance, and keep a detailed list of coins on the iCloud. Good luck!

Agree with l.cutler. I consulted en.numista.com and the weight is 2.5 g which is within tolerance. Don't know if original email is posted by someone in Philippines, but it is fairly common for newer collectors or sellers to look for coins that might vary slightly and then try to sell on Ebay for hundreds or thousands of dollars. As a long time collector of Philippine coins, primarily US PI coins but also newer Republic coins, this 5 Sentimos coin would be worth very little to serious, experienced collectors.

LTMcCord, this happens to my submissions quite frequently. Before the present backlog SNAFU, it was common to have my submission logged in and then about a week later the date would be moved forward by 5-7 days. One reason is coins needing conservation. Like you, I sent in modern foreign coins that arrived NGC 11/30 and these were logged in 12/31. I requested the coins be conserved before grading since they were encapsulated in non-NGC holders, which can also move the log-in date, so I don't expect graded coins for at least another 2-3 weeks. NGC process is now extremely slow and after much angst on my part, submitters can either go with the flow or just not send in coins at this time. Getting frustrated will not help move the coins through the grading and return process as I sent multiple messages during the month of December. Good luck and stay safe!

For many years I bought raw coins from dealers who constantly put a grade on a 2x2 paper flip that might be MS 64. The coins would always be in the AU+/MS range to my eye but the dealer wanted MS 64 pricing for the raw coin. Nearly always when I sent in a coin, it came back at a lower grade. In future conversations with the dealer, they would say: "But I'm not a coin grader" (DUH--then how can you put a specific grade on a coin you are selling?). I responded, then why are your "unofficial" grades almost always 3-4 points higher than TPGers? Why do the grades not ever swing in my favor (Sold as an MS 62 but TPG of MS 64?). Silence! Thus, I will only buy TPG high value coins or seriously discount raw coins. There has been much controversy over the years about which TPG is the most accurate and thus the most valuable. As earlier posters state, generally PCGS/NGC have the highest reputations with adherents claiming one is "better" than the other! ANACS, the first TPG, normally ranks 3rd and ICG came on board but has not really caught traction in the TPG field. Over the years, I have bought and sold coins that were graded by all these companies. My experience in crossovers might provide a bit of a clue about what is a subjective science = coin grading. My collecting area is the US Philippines (1903-1945). Originally, I had nearly all my coins TPGed by ANACS. ANACS was easier to deal with IMHO, did not require paying an upfront membership, and provided reasonable customer service. Perhaps 5 years ago I had accumulated a large number of PCGS/NGC slabs in my collection and decided to crossover my collection, more or less, to NGC. A primary reason for choosing NGC was they do not sell coins and do not allow their graders to sell coins. In one year I submitted about 100 coins to NGC from the US Philippines 1 centavo to the large silver 1 peso coins. I kept a detailed list of grades given by ANACS/ICG and those returned by NGC. For ICG of the four coins submitted, three were graded lower. For ANACS it was a mixed bag. Of the 90+ coins about 60 percent were crossed over the same grade and 30 percent were plus/minus one grade. Generally speaking the ANACS graded coins crossed over at nearly identical grades! NGC did body bag as cleaned two US PI 5C coins. Also, in an interesting twist, NGC downgraded an MS 65 1936 1C to MS 64, then upgraded an MS 64 Red 1936 US PI 1C to MS 65 Red! My experience leads me to these beliefs: Third party grading is an art, even when there are "standards" for comparison. NGC and PCGS are perceived to be the "best" and the TPG that will bring the best return when selling. ANACS may be considered a lower reputation TPG but my experience convinced me for US PI coins the grading was very similar to NGC. Lastly, I have submitted PCGS coins to NGC for crossover in the MS/PF 66-67 range and have been successful about 50 percent of the time. So not even NGC and PCGS agree on all high range grades. My advice is to buy what you want and like, regardless of the pedigree, but if looking to one day sell your collection then go with NGC/PCGS. This is because buyers, especially at auction, know that NGC/PCGS certified coins bring higher sales dollars and are viewed more favorably by the buying public.

I guess I would like them to give me some idea when my coins will be logged in. Not sure what getting a reply ATS (?) has to do with my comment. It appears you and I have very different perceptions of what customer service means.

Hi Lisa/NGC, I am in the same boat as Peter Gordon with 11 Modern coins "delivered" according to USPS tracking on 11/30/2020. While I appreciate NGC's admission that they are behind, as a marketing person I am a bit mystified there is no transparency regarding why this backlog developed and more importantly what the plan is to catch up. NGC continues to advertise a 12 day turnaround for modern coins and as of today, NGC has had my coins for 10 workdays and it appears my coins will not be logged in for another 4-5 days. After talking with NGC customer service, who in my opinion simply spouted the party line that everything was fine and they were working through the backlog, there is more here than we are being told.