NGC Registry Provides a Free Online Way to Display Coin Collections and Compete

Coins are probably one of the easiest items to collect. The hobby often begins early, with children’s piggy banks. A pig-shaped container full of coins sometimes provides an inexplicable sense of satisfaction to young people, a feeling of “Oh, I'm so rich!”

If children don’t immediately spend their savings, they may realize that these little shiny things called coins vary in size and have different symbols on them. Some also might evoke pleasant memories, such as of the day they received one from their father for doing a great job. For beauty or for sentiment, coins become items worth keeping.

And so lifelong numismatists are created. They eventually learn about coins in depth, they organize, categorize and complete collections.

But some become frustrated. Their treasures pile up without a good way to share them and garner the appreciation of others.

It is possible, however, to establish private coin museums without renting venues, designing and decorating interiors and spending time and money promoting and advertising them.

The NGC Registry provides one way.

The NGC Registry is a massive online database that allows numismatics to collect and display coins. It is a free service provided by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, which provides third-party authentication and grading services for coins. NGC registers graded coins and encapsulates them in tamper-evident, clear cases.

Collectors sign up and list their graded coins — with pictures of them — in a kind of personal coin museum. The Registry allows its members to learn from and compete with other collectors around the world.

An example of the global competition possible with the NGC Registry involved the 1989-date one-ounce Silver Panda (variety plus). More than 130 of the sets have been registered.

The competition is fierce, especially for the first, second and third-place collections.

During the past year, three collectors constantly updated their sets. The collector with the ID of Russ736 is now in first place with 52,099 points. LEOTOT is second, with 50,957 points, followed by CT104, with 49,019. Each person had completed their set of 46 of the one-ounce MS Silver Panda coins, including all varieties, such as Large Date and Small Date. Most of the coins are graded MS 69 or even a best-possible score of MS 70.

The NGC Registry can include coins from more than 100 countries and has become very popular recently in China.

Points are awarded to competitive sets based on rarity, fair market value and the coins’ grades. A tie is broken by which set achieved its score first and by which has the most images and descriptions.

This year, NGC Registry added two special awards for China: Best Presented Set and Best Overall Achievement. Winners will receive a special plaque and an icon displayed on their Registry sets. A Chinese-Canadian won Best Overall Achievement. The total value of this collector’s coins in the NGC Registry is more than $1 million (USD). Each coin was repeatedly reviewed and sorted. The collector won with more than 400 Chinese modern coins in astonishing grades and professionally illustrated.

NGC Registry users can browse their collections online 24 hours a day. Thanks to sharing by its numerous registered users, a child — or an adult — who is fascinated by coins has a way to explore the beauty of some great collections.

The NGC Registry proves an old Chinese saying that sharing happiness is better than enjoying it on your own. In sharing, we can gain more knowledge and have more fun.

How to sign up and use the NGC Registry

Create a free membership account at ngccoin.cn, and provide an e-mail address to apply for new Registry sets, obtain technical support and claim ownership of a coin.

After logging into your account, you will see a button on the top right of the page. Click the button, a window should appear, and the system will automatically guide you to enter the graded coin’s 10-digit certification number, images, descriptions, type of Registry set, and other details. The whole process is simple and straightforward.

Adding images of your coins also is free. Macro camera lenses are good for photographing coins’ tiny details, as is a single, directional light source. You can also add watermarks to the images so they cannot be copied without citing their source. Resolution and file sizes of images are important. Too large and browsing will be slower; too small and details cannot be seen clearly.

After registering the first coin of a set, neighboring empty slots will represent spaces to be filled to complete a set already defined by the NGC Registry. Add your graded coin to the appropriate slot (by continuing to press “+”) and entering the certification number. Following text prompts, upload images of the obverse (heads, or front) and the reverse (tails, or back) of the coin. Add comments until all the slots are filled. Repeat with other coins until the set is complete.