A comprehensive listing of all the variety coins currently attributed by NGC has been added to NGC’s website, ngccoin.com. This free online resource includes a brief description of each coin series, and entries for each coin showing how the variety is described on the NGC certification label. It is accessible from the main navigation menu on NGC’s website.

A variety is a coin that has characteristics specific to the die pair that struck it. For early silver and copper U.S. coins, pre-1836, NGC identifies individual die pairings according to the most commonly used reference works for each series, as follows:

• Half cents by Cohen numbers
• Large cents by Sheldon (1793-1814) and Newcomb (1816-57) numbers
• Half dimes (1794-1837) by Logan-McCloskey numbers
• Dimes (1796-1837) by John Reich numbers
• Quarter dollars (1796-1838) by Browning numbers
• Half dollars (1794-1836) by Overton numbers
• Silver dollars (1794-1804) by Bowers-Borckardt and Bolender numbers

For gold coins and coins minted after 1836, with the exception of Silver Dollars minted between 1878 and 1935, NGC recognizes coins by VarietyPlus number. Silver dollars minted from 1878 to 1935 are described by VAM numbers. Only select VAM’s are eligible for attribution and interested parties are advised to visit the online catalogue.

To receive a variety attribution with uncertified coins being submitted for grading, simply choose VarietyPlus on your submission form, fill in the Variety column for that line with the type of variety you’re seeking (Overton, VAM, VP, etc.) or, if known the exact variety number. Either way, NGC will examine your coin and enter the correct variety attribution on its grading label. A $7 fee is charged for this service in addition to the regular fee for the grading tier you’ve selected.

In the case of coins already graded and encapsulated by NGC, you may have the correct variety attribution added by submitting the encapsulated coin under our Designation Review service. The fee for Designation Review is $10.

Some major varieties are attributed by NGC at no charge during the regular course of grading. A “fee” column in the online catalogue details whether a coin requires an additional service fee in order to be recognized. A future release of this catalog will include important attribution information and detailed photographs, and a hard copy release is also planned.

Questions may be directed to NGC variety specialists at VarietyPlus@ngccoin.com.