| The "NGC Grading & China Münzen # Unique Coins" Facebook group |
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A small idea turned into a big success——this short sentence is probably the best way to describe the event on February 1st in Berlin at the 49th World Money Fair. The first Meet and Greet event has received considerable international recognition.
Our idea for a joint meeting with the members of the German speaking Facebook group was born at the beginning of December last year. We started a survey to find out the general interest. The offer was overwhelmingly accepted, and we prepared the first plans for this occasion. Due to health problems in connection with a longer stay in hospital, we unfortunately had to refrain from this again. In addition, all rooms at the World Money Fair were fully booked at short notice for a comfortable get-together.
NGC International GmbH has recognized this and kindly offered us outstanding support. After intensive contact and close cooperation NGC International GmbH organized a meeting room including buffet in consultation with the head office in Sarasota (Florida, USA). We gratefully accepted the offer and published an official invitation for all members of the NGC Grading & China Münzen Group. The 20 available places for the meeting were immediately filled.
In the run-up to the event, the procedure on the previous evening in Berlin was planned in more detail and a further deeper cooperation between the NGC Facebook group and NGC International GmbH was discussed.
The first Meet and Greet event was set for the 1st February 2020 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hotel Estrel (venue of the World Money Fair), as the fair ended at 6 p.m. An NGC membership or an entrance ticket for the fair itself was not necessary.
Our first guests were already waiting very eagerly at the bar one hour before. Shortly before 6:00 pm the area in front of the meeting room filled up more and more and the joyful excitement increased significantly. The team of NGC International GmbH opened the door shortly afterwards and welcomed all invited guests personally with a warm welcome.
Present from NGC International GmbH were Richard Stein (Director of NGC Europe), Patricia Misani (Marketing NGC Europe), Anna Kwiatkowska (Customer Service Manager of NGC Munich) and Dave Camire (President of NCS and NGC Finalizer).
The initial insecurity and anxiety of contact were quickly broken through by a relaxed opening slogan and the buffet was ready - everyone could help themselves here at will. Mrs. Misani offered the guests many little treats along with noble wine. A guest had procured a cheese specialty from Austria especially for this meeting, which was delicious to those present.
Also, on the guest list were numismatic personalities such as Michael Chou (Chief Editor and Publisher of the Journal of East Asian Numismatics, President of iAsure and President of Champion Auction) and Mark Sutton (Managing Director of Middle Earth Mint from New Zealand). The first official Meet and Greet event attracted a lot of attention during the fair, so that other guests like Jeff Stack (Senior Editor of Coin World) and Steven K. Ellsworth (President of ANA - American Numismatic Association) did not want to pass up this meeting.
Shortly after the opening, the participants introduced themselves in groups and there were lively professional conversations in German and English. A collector had a few coins in his luggage, which he let evaluate directly by David Camire for a possible grading. Furthermore, many open questions regarding grading were professionally solved by the team of NGC International GmbH on site.
A little story had also inspired me why grading is becoming increasingly important. For years, various German dealers have been pointing out that authenticity cannot be guaranteed when coins are in the slab. As this statement is very generalized, a collector of Chinese coins had an obvious counterfeit expertly evaluated on site at the fair by the German association and without the support of NGC International GmbH. A weight test was not carried out (the weight of the counterfeit is approx. 20% less than the original) and blindly relying on a catalogue. As the saying goes "many roads lead to Rome", the evaluation also went well. The coin would have had a current market value of 250 Euro in the condition of polished plate (Proof), as a forged copy to fill a gap in the collection, a fictitious value of 2 Euro would perhaps remain (forgeries may no longer be put into circulation). Surprisingly, the coin was found to be genuine, but the Proof version (PF) presented here was only classified as Brilliant Uncirculated (BU). Thus, the one with the other assessment cancelled each other out perfectly, since the BU version, like the counterfeit, has a low market value of only 2 Euro. This free evaluation is offered every year and may be suitable for common coins, but in the end, it is only a small help. NGC International GmbH, in contrast, does not make any binding statement, because the coins are only subjected to a precise test procedure during grading and are digitally matched in the process. Should a counterfeit accidentally find its way into the slab, the NGC International GmbH guarantee will of course step in and replace the coin with a genuine one or pay a reasonable market price for it. During this exchange process, the counterfeit coin in the holder will be retained by NGC International GmbH.
The scheduled time for the event until 7 p.m. was even extended until 8 p.m. due to the extensive discussions.
At the event Michael Chou handed us some exclusive "Show Panda Catalogue 1984-2019 Berlin Release 2020" medals in the NGC Holder for a prize draw.
Each participant received a goodbye goodie bag with an NGC sample (Japanese 10 Yen 2012 coin) specially made for this day. In addition, there was a signed Chinese New Year card and other small surprises in the bag from NGC International GmbH. We also distributed the last remaining NGC samples with the title of our group.
Afterwards we had a short talk about the successful event, and we hope for many more joint projects. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the NGC International GmbH team on behalf of our group. After the World Money Fair, we received consistently positive feedback from the participants, who found the meeting extremely interesting.
Incidentally, the distinctive and striking booth of NGC International GmbH was always very well attended by a lively customer traffic on the days of the fair. As in previous years, NGC International GmbH had brought new samples with the label "World Money Fair 2020" for interested visitors. The coveted and sought-after samples included a 2 centime 1963 B coin from Switzerland for NGC and a 1-Dollar 2017 NY/Dallas banknote from the USA for PMG. Walking around the fair, we noticed that grading is becoming popular in Germany and it is impossible to imagine life without it. Many coins in the slab are offered here especially emphasized as high-quality premium goods.