Topic: Medals eligible or ineligible for grading by NGC

[bonke]

It would be appropriate to have a long-running topic for medals which are deemed eligible or ineligible for authentication and grading by NGC.  This would give us an easy location to determine whether a medal in our collections (or which are considering adding to our collections) is eligible for slabbing by NGC.

Three examples from my own collection. NGC is still considering whether to slab the (1984)(double-fish design) fish sets which grossly weigh 22.4 grams (20.4 grams net silver).  (NGC has slabbed them as (1990)(S18g) medals, but not under the correct date or weight.)  NGC has recently decided my 1985 silver palace museum medal and my 1992 brass Deng Xiao Ping Walking Tour medal are ineligible for authentication and grading.  I included pictures of these two medals in another topic.  One day, these will all be slabbed by NGC (possibly even this year).

If forum participants would share information about NGC decisions, it would be extremely helpful to the rest of us.  Certainly, this is true for Badon.  With his contacts and access to information, it would be helpful to have this information on medals in one location where we could easily find it (prior to making a purchase or submission to NGC).

Mark Bonke

[badon]

The 1985 museum commemorative should be eligible. You have to send your coins in to the attention of Jay Turner, since that coin has only recently been verified as eligible. NCS/NGC staff are not reading the notes on these coins, so you have to mark very boldly at the top of your form that Jay Turner has determined the coin to be an ELIGIBLE TYPE.

The 1984 goldfish are single fish, the 1990's are the double fish type.

NGC has accidentally certified fakes of the 1984, so I suspect that's where the 18 gram figure comes from - genuine coins weigh more. I haven't weighed mine, but that's what I was told by someone who had weighed them. I have not seen fakes of the 1990 double gold fish type yet.

I'm not sure how many fakes of the goldfish have been slabbed. I know of only one set, but I'm sure there are many more. Genuine goldfish are EXTREMELY hard to find. The fakes have almost completely drowned out the genuine coins.

[bonke]

Badon

Sorry about my confusion.  Yes, the (1984) fish set has a single-fish design.  If I say and write this enough, I may finally stop making the same mistake.

I have four sets with the single-fish design.  I purchased two raw sets and two graded sets.  I weighed the raw medals and they all weighed 22.4 grams.  NGC tested one of my sets and found around 91% silver, giving this set a net weight of 20.4 grams of silver.  I do not know how much the medals in the two graded sets weighed (before grading).  When NGC graded the set which they tested for medal content, they slabbed them as (1990) S18g medals. So, these 22.4 gram medals with 91% silver were graded as S18g.  The other raw set has not been graded and, at this point, is designated as "ineligible type."

My three graded sets and one ungraded set are all at NGC at this time.  I have asked them to re-consider them.  I want them recognized as (1984) S20g or S20.4g medals.  As a collector, I am just hoping for the best.  I am not in a hurry.  I just hope NGC will recognize that my medals are authentic, should be graded, and should be graded as (1984) S20g or S204g medals. 

I have a set of the (1990) S18g two-fish design medals.  NGC graded them recently.  I wonder how many medals of this design have actually been graded since my three single-fish medal sets were being included in the census numbers for the (1990) medals.  I wonder how many (1990) medals were minted and still exist. 

Thank you for the information about the palace museum medal.  I will put Jay Turner's name on the top of the form re the determination of Eligible Type.  Thanks.

Mark Bonke

[badon]

You have a VERY nice collection. You simply must share photos with us when you get the chance. Good luck on your grades too. It's very hard to get high grade goldfish.