NGC Announces Grading Contest Winners

The NGC Grading Contest, which was held during last week's FUN Show, attracted 88 participants between the ages of 13 and 85. Contestants were asked to grade 15 coins in 10 minutes at the NGC booth during the popular Orlando numismatic convention, held January 10-13, 2019.

The top prizes for the adult category were $500, $250 and $100 in NGC grading credit. Due to a three-way tie for second place, those three winners will split the second- and third-place prizes. The top 10 finishers in the adult category received a special NGC Sample holder and a 1-year membership to NGC.

Meanwhile, the top prizes for the YN category were cash prizes of $300, $200, and $100. The top 10 finishers also received a special NGC Sample holder.

The results were as follows:

Adult Category (78 Contestants)
1st – Jeffery Kelble (49 out of a possible 75 points)
2nd-tie – Don Bonser (47 points)
2nd-tie – Jordan Miller (47 points)
2nd-tie – Dave Wnuck (47 points)

YN Category (10 Contestants)
1st – Ben Brodie (28 points)
2nd – Aaron Rosen (25 points)
3rd – Bader Youssef (15 points)

Scroll below to see the coins that were included in the grading contest. The answers are at the end of this article in case you want to test your skills. The possible answers for the test are the numbers of the NGC Grading Scale, which can be found here. The other two options are DETAILS and NOT GENUINE.

#1 - 1923 Peace Dollar – For the answer, click here.

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#2 - 1935LB Switzerland G20F – For the answer, click here.

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#3 - 1879-CC Morgan Dollar – For the answer, click here.

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#4 – 1990 Great Britain 20P Struck on New Zealand $1 – For the answer, click here.

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#5 – 1880-S Morgan Dollar – For the answer, click here.

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#6 – 1889MO Mexico Centavo – For the answer, click here.

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#7 – 1961 South Africa 5C – For the answer, click here.

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#8 – 1876-CC 20C – For the answer, click here.

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#9 – 1986 China “Empress of China” S5Y – For the answer, click here.

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#10 – 1930 South Africa Sovereign – For the answer, click here.

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#11 - (1816-19) Switzerland 40 Batzen Bern C/S on France ECU – For the answer, click here.

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#12 - 1876 Liberty $20 – For the answer, click here.

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#13 – AH1357//1938 Egypt 10M Mirror Brockage on Reverse – For the answer, click here.

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#14 – 1832 Half Cent – For the answer, click here.

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#15 – 1856 Flying Eagle Cent – For the answer, click here.

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ANSWERS

Scoring: Every correct answer is worth 5 points; every answer within one grade is worth 2 points; every answer within two grades is worth 1 point. For example, if the grade of a coin is AU 55, and you selected AU 58, you would receive 2 points (because there are no grades of 56 or 57.) Furthermore, if you selected 60, you would receive 1 point.

#1 - 1923 Peace Dollar – NGC Grade: MS 63

#2 - 1935LB Switzerland G20F – NGC Grade: MS 65

#3 - 1879-CC Morgan Dollar – NGC Grade: VG 8

#4 – 1990 Great Britain 20P Struck on New Zealand $1 – NGC Grade: UNC Details, Cleaned

#5 – 1880-S Morgan Dollar – NGC Grade: MS 67+

#6 – 1889MO Mexico Centavo – NGC grade: MS 64 RB

#7 – 1961 South Africa 5C – NGC Grade: PF 67★

#8 – 1876-CC 20C – NGC Grade: NOT GENUINE

#9 – 1986 China “Empress of China” S5Y – NGC Grade: MS 70

#10 – 1930 South Africa Sovereign – NGC Grade: MS 62

#11 - (1816-19) Switzerland 40 Batzen Bern C/S on France ECU – NGC Grade: VF 25

#12 - 1876 Liberty $20 – NGC Grade: AU 58

#13 – AH1357//1938 Egypt 10M Mirror Brockage on Reverse – NGC Grade: AU 55

#14 – 1832 Half Cent – NGC Grade: XF 45

#15 – 1856 Flying Eagle Cent – NGC Grade: NOT GENUINE

How did you do? For comparison, the first-place contestant in the adult category scored 49 out of a possible 75 points.