NGC in London: From nil to hundred in just six months

By Sebastian Wieschowski
Numismatic Writer

Sebastian Wieschowski interviews Matt Gens, who is in charge of the operations of NGC International UK (NGC UK), the UK affiliate within the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG). Gens talks about the developments of the first six months of NGC UK’s London office and NGC UK’s plans in the United Kingdom for 2019.

CCG opened its new London office in September 2018. How have the services of NGC, PMG and CCG's other affiliates been frequented in the past months?

We have been very pleased by the response since we opened our London office in September 2018. We were fortunate to attend several important national shows and get a deeper sense of the market. We were very pleased to see that NGC-certified coins are already an important part of the British numismatic landscape and they are gaining in importance enormously. You can see this by the rising number of coins in NGC holders at coin shows as well as in the catalogues of the big auctions houses in the United Kingdom.

Matt Gens with NGC International UK (NGC UK).

CCG has had a presence in Europe for about a decade, but this is our first location in the United Kingdom. We are working closely together with our colleagues in Munich and our other international offices and a lot of experienced colleagues have been sent to London to share their knowledge and help with the successful start that NGC UK was fortunate to have.

Our UK company, NGC UK, is conveniently located in the cultural center of London, just a couple of blocks from the British Museum. It is easily reachable by the Underground and bus system.

We accept submissions of coins, paper money and comic books for authentication, grading and encapsulation. London is our first location outside of the US to accept comic books and the response has been fantastic. It was interesting for us to see how vibrant the comic book collecting community is in the UK, and several cool vintage titles have been submitted to our London office.

What role does NGC UK’s London office play in conjunction with CCG's other outlets in Munich and around the world?

NGC UK replicates the operations that CCG has successfully implemented in the United States, Germany and China. Our primary goal is to make it easier for collectors and dealers in the UK and other regions to submit their collectibles for our expert and impartial services.

There are two ways to submit to NGC UK. First, you can have your collectibles sent with insurance coverage to our US headquarters for authentication, grading and encapsulation. They are then returned to London, again with insurance coverage, once complete. Alternatively, you can submit your collectibles for on-site grading, which offers a significantly faster turnaround time.

NGC UK hosted its first on site grading event for PMG in January. The event was very successful and we graded several major collections, the details of which will be announced soon. We will continue to expand and enhance our services in London this year.

How would you describe the opinion of the average British collector on Third Party Grading?

Like in other markets such as Germany or the United States before the 1980s, “raw,” or unencapsulated, coins are still very common in the British market. But maybe because of the common language in the US and UK we are finding British collectors are quickly seeing the benefits of third-party authentication, grading and encapsulation. Like all collectors, they want to know that their collectibles are genuine and accurately graded, and our companies provide this assurance. As we attend more trade shows and talk to more collectors, we have had the opportunity to explain that we provide an accurate, consistent and fully impartial assessment of a collectible's authenticity and grade. These assessments are backed by comprehensive guarantees that provide a higher level of protection to collectors.

You can see the advancements of third-party grading on the British coin market by the strong presence of several UK-based YouTubers who present graded coins and share their knowledge. It is also worth noting that Great Britain is currently ranked 6th among the countries with the most coins certified by NGC with around 276,000 British coins graded by NGC as of March 2019, compared to around 74,000 coins from Germany and 163,000 from Russia. We are pleased to see that the submissions of German and Russian coins are picking up pace, but it is fair to say that NGC already had a strong position on the UK coin market before the opening of our new office in London.

What are the major differences between the American and the British numismatic landscapes?

NGC, PMG and CGC have made their respective hobbies safer and more vibrant than ever before. Over the 15 to 30+ years that they have operated, they have introduced countless new collectors to the hobby and protected many from counterfeit or overgraded collectibles.

NGC, PMG and CGC are still new in the United Kingdom and it will take time to explain the benefits of our services to collectors and dealers in that country. Even still, we have already had the opportunity to grade some truly extraordinary British rarities, including numerous Una and the Lion Gold Five Pounds and an extremely rare 1344 Edward II "Double Leopard."

What are the most common items that you receive for certification in the UK?

NGC UK has received a well-balanced mix of coins, comics and paper money. We have received collectibles from virtually all eras and locations. As you might expect, the majority of these collectibles are from the British Commonwealth, especially gold sovereigns and silver crowns.

Can you name one specific collector’s item that was submitted to NGC in the UK and that you consider truly special?

PMG was honored to have graded several outstanding collections during the January 2019 PMG on-site grading event. Among these was the first part of the Ibrahim Salem Collection of British Commonwealth notes, one of the finest such collections, and the Lou Manzi Collection, one of the greatest collections of British notes. We have posted image galleries to our website at PMGnotes.uk/gallery.

How does the uncertainty surrounding "Brexit" affect NGC's business in the UK?

With offices in the UK and Germany, CCG is prepared to serve the European market, no matter what happens with Brexit. Most of our customers do not seem particularly concerned by Brexit. They value the stability that CCG offers due to its locations in the UK as well as on the European continent.

What are the plans for NGC UK in 2019?

It's been a fast-paced first six months since our London office opened September 2018. We have hired new local employees to support our plan is to continually expand and enhance our services. For example, we plan to attend more trade shows in 2019 so that we can answer questions and explain our services and benefits. We will also hold our second PMG on-site grading event in London in April.

Sebastian Wieschowski has worked as an author with a focus on numismatics and precious metals since 2007. His articles have been published in magazines such as MuenzenRevue, MoneyTrend, Coin World and the Journal of East Asian Numismatics. He is the author of the Bullion Book and the Fake Coin Bible and a graduate of the School of Economic and Political Journalism in Cologne, Germany.

This is a guest article. The thoughts and opinions in the piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.