NGC Announces New Services and Division for Ancient Coins

Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) announced on Wednesday the creation of a new division and a series of services for attributing and grading ancient coins that will kick-off on January 1, 2009.

David Vagi, author of Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, will lead the division entitled NGC Ancients, which NGC says will certify "most coins struck in the Western World through circa A.D. 500, as well as coins of the Byzantine Empire."

"I’m thrilled to join NGC at a critical moment in the growth of the ancient coin market. The marketplace and third-party grading have both matured in such a way to make an ancients program not only possible, but necessary," said Vagi, Grading Finalizer and Director of NGC Ancients.

NGC Chairman Mark Salzberg said they had been developing the groundwork for the service and Vagi’s experience was a key for NGC Ancients.

"For more than a decade, we’ve been laying the foundations for this important new service. A major part was finding the best person to guide the project," said Salzberg. "David’s expertise is perfectly balanced between academics and the marketplace, making him the ideal choice for this program, which demands both kinds of talent."

The company indicated several new features would be introduced by NGC Ancients that would "greatly improve the appeal of certified ancient coins," including the use of new NGC EdgeView® holders whenever possible.

NGC said it will provide further details for submitting ancient coins on its website within a few weeks.

About Numismatic Guaranty Corporation

The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation was founded in 1987, and for coin grading, its opening heralded the introduction of a new standard of integrity. From the beginning NGC focused on only one objective, a standard of consistent and accurate grading.