Important Consumer Awareness Information From Numismatic Guaranty Corporation

NGC offers the highest caliber of professional certification, grading, and authentication services in numismatics. We do not value or appraise collectibles, but instead leave the marketplace to determine the value of NGC certified coins. In conjunction with our services, we offer numerous resources such as a free monthly electronic newsletter and voluminous articles on our Web site about our products and services.

We strongly encourage collectors to use these resources and become well-informed about the opportunities and risks associated with the numismatic marketplace. Certification does not protect against the risks of a volatile market. There are many excellent treatises, scholarly reference works, and periodicals on numismatics to inform and educate the collector about the history, minting, mintage figures, die characteristics, and other important facts concerning coins. Collectors are always best served by informing themselves about their collectibles. There are also many publications which can advise collectors about values.

We have created this page on our Web site as a portal to the consumer awareness resources available to you from NGC and elsewhere on the Internet.

Special Designations
NGC offers several designations for coins with a documented date of release, most notably EARLY RELEASES and FIRST STRIKES (the latter has been discontinued). Detailed definitions for these designations are available:

Early Releases and Other Release Designations

We also make available an information card that includes the definition used by NGC for Early Releases. These cards are the size of the NGC holder and are designed to accompany each individual 'Early Releases' coin. NGC strictly adheres to this definition during its certification process, and these cards will enable a thorough comprehension of its use and meaning.

Cards are available from NGC at no charge, and can be requested by contacting us at consumerawareness@ngccoin.com.

Pedigrees and Special Labels
At the submitter's request, NGC will label a coin with the name of a collection or a hoard. The word HOARD or COLLECTION will appear in this pedigree designation.

Pedigrees indicate that a particular coin belongs to a group of coins assembled by an individual or organization. They do not describe specific attributes of the coin, and the marketplace may not place any premium on specific pedigrees. Most often, they relate to the origin, source, or owner of a coin. We provide this option to allow collectors to have their names or the names of their collections to appear on the NGC label.

Sometimes, pedigrees are used because of the specific labeling needs of an individual company selling these coins. As such, it is important to fully understand the meaning of a pedigree, as well as the seller and price of the coin.

SPECIAL NOTE: In the case of a few very select collections, the word COLLECTION is omitted. These include well-known and widely publicized collections such as Garrett, Eliasberg, Pittman, and Norweb.

Consumer Awareness Resources

US Mint
The US Mint regularly responds to questions and concerns about products in the marketplace. Important issues are posted on their Web site, and updates are posted regularly. Please visit this link:
Consumer Issues [US Mint Web Site]

American Numismatic Association C.A.R.E.
The ANA's C.A.R.E. program was established to help make the industry safe for collectors and investors. It achieves this goal by arming both members and non-members with knowledge through their many educational resources, fraud alerts, and awareness outreach projects, and by serving as an advocate to the public through their loss alert/reward program, mediation services, and partnerships with local, national, and federal law enforcement agencies. Take C.A.R.E. (Consumer Awareness REsources)

Contact NGC for More Information
NGC invites inquiries about NGC certified coins and collectibles. Please address inquiries by e-mail to consumerawareness@ngccoin.com.

We also welcome your inquiries and comments by mail:

NGC
Attn: Consumer Awareness Department
P.O. Box 4776
Sarasota, FL 34230