A few months ago, NGC announced a new grading system to the world. NGCX is the newest and first 10-point grading scale for coins.
The new system will supplement the 70-point Sheldon scale, which will continue to be used by NGC. The 10-point scale has long since been used for most collectibles, including sports cards, comic books, trading cards, and more. Numismatic Guaranty Company, or NGC as we know, is hoping that coin collecting will benefit from the same “intuitive and approachable scale.”
The numeric scale of 1 to 70 was first introduced in the 1940s by Dr. William Sheldon. Its purpose was to describe the relative values of United States coinage. Back then, the theory was that a coin graded a one would be worth $1 and a coin graded a 70 would be worth $70. Those values quickly became irrelevant and the system would eventually be adopted by NGC in 1987. It still remains the industry standard for coin grading today.
While coin grading has not changed, the collecting world outside of it has continued to grow. New categories have been created and have been evaluated on a 10-point scale. NGC has quickly realized that new collectors are able to “quickly recognize and readily understand” the 10-point system. Thus, NGCX was created.
According to NGC, “the NGCX 10-point grading scale aligns with today’s expectations for coin grading, and what it means to be the best.” In addition, they explain that that 10 is the “supreme grade” and is equivalent to a 70 on the Sheldon scale. They go on to say that a coin graded by NGCX in a Mint State or Proof 10 “has no imperfections at 5x magnification.” This would also mean that a NGCX Mint State or Proof 9.9 would be equivalent to a MS69 or PF69, or near perfect in a traditional sense. The full grading scale is available on their website.
NGCX-certified modern coins from 1982 onward will be available only through select retailers.
Source: NGC Coin
