Those who seek to undermine the integrity of NGC certification will be pursued aggressively, as this case demonstrates.

The scheme

NGC initiated the legal action when it was made aware of an apparent scheme to sell coins misrepresented as being NGC-certified. The defendant in the case, a man named Richard Albright, is accused of removing NGC-certified coins from their holders and replacing them with coins of inferior grade and value. The lesser coins, which Mr. Albright encased in holders that misrepresented their authenticity and condition, were allegedly sold by him to unsuspecting collectors and dealers, and it appeared that he had the intention to continue with the scheme.

NGC provides a Certification Verification tool through its website that shows high-resolution images of both the front and back of coins it has graded and encapsulated. The database, which encompasses high-resolution images of more than 33 million coins, is accessible to anyone for free and is searchable by NGC certification number. This tremendous resource played a role in the case involving Mr. Albright, allowing NGC to compare the swapped coins with those it had originally encapsulated.

The holders in which NGC encapsulates certified coins include a number of security features, such as a certification label with microprinting and a UV watermark as well as an advanced-technology hologram fused directly onto the back of the holder that is virtually impossible to reproduce. Those who seek to violate these security measures or to counterfeit NGC holders will be pursued aggressively, as the case against Mr. Albright demonstrates. If the case goes to a final decision, NGC stands to recover damages up to $200,000 for each instance of tampering and misrepresentation.

The eBay usernames that Mr. Albright may have used to sell tampered coins include:

• ricalbr-40 (October 2020 – June 2022)

• Walkerlvr (June 2022 – November 2022)

• halfcrazy23 (November 2022 – Present)

Those who think that they may have been defrauded by Mr. Albright, should email Protect@NGCcoin.com.

Injunction order secured in Coin Tampering Case by NGC