Why is the purchase of a certified coin so important? Certified coins are coins that have been appraised by an authority, such as the American Numismatic Association Certification Service, the Digital Coin Grading Service, the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, the NumisTrust Corporation, and the Independent Coin Grading Service.
These organizations do professional appraising, as do a handful of others. Why not? Coin collecting is a million dollar business and nobody wants to take any chances. No one wants to pay thousands or even millions of dollars for a piece that could turn out to be counterfeit.
There are thousands of coins sent to these organizations every year for verification of authenticity. These services are also called grading services. Their mission is to perform an objective analysis of the coin. Because these appraisers are paid in full upon contract, there is no partiality to be concerned with.
Appraisers of certified coins are experienced in numismatics, meaning they know the history of a variety of coins, and can also examine bullion content and purity levels. Some companies have only professional analysts; others though, have highly sophisticated equipment like magnifiers and sonic sealing processes.
There are numerous certified coins submitted for review each year, from old world coins of suspicious origin to antiquated coins. The most commonly submitted pieces include gold, silver and platinum. After the coin is studied, its state of preservation is examined as well as its bullion content and historical allusions.
The nice thing about buying only certified coins is that the coin is guaranteed to be genuine or else the certifying service will give you a full money back guarantee. Some companies will even guarantee their analysis with the price of the rare coin!
In general, try to buy coins that are officially certified by a noted authority and avoid any coins that have no documentation. Certification reflects favorably upon the coin dealer as well as the coin itself. If you find a dealer that does not offer any verification or certification of these rare coins, then beware. He has nothing to lose—you have everything to lose. There is no way of verifying the coin’s authenticity. You could be spending a thousand dollars on a coin worth 50 cents!
Whether you are looking for bullion coins, new collectables, old collectables or other unique coinage, always ensure that the coin is genuine. The coin collecting industry is all about honesty, if nothing else. Really, what good is history if it cannot be proven?