NGC vs Historic Aerials
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NGC
This app provides coin collectors with access to essential resources from a leading third-party coin grading service. Verify coin certifications, explore population data, manage your collection, and stay updated with the latest news and research.
- Verify NGC Certification
- NGC Census Population Data
- NGC Registry for Collections
- Latest NGC News & Research
- Scan coin barcodes
- Track coin rarity
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The free NGC App gives coin collectors access to many of the most popular resources developed by NGC, a leading third-party coin grading service. This app now includes: • Verify NGC Certification • NGC Census • NGC Registry • The latest NGC news and research The NGC App is available in English, Chinese and German. It’s free, easy to use, and you can take it wherever the hobby takes you. Learn more about the features of the NGC App below. Verify NGC Certification: Scan the barcode on an NGC label with your phone’s camera to instantly verify the coin, view NGC Census population data, view NGC Price Guide values for US coins and add the coin to the NGC Registry. Images are shown for nearly 20 million NGC-certified coins. NGC Census: Browse the NGC Census to see population data for NGC-certified coins by type and grade (including NGC Details grades) to help you research the relative rarity of your coins. NGC Census population data is updated every week. NGC Registry: Register and display your NGC-certified coins and compete against other collectors around the world for recognition and prizes. The NGC Registry helps you to organize your collection, learn more about coins and interact with other collectors. This popular resource now boasts more than 12,000 members, 110,000 registered sets and 1.1 million registered coins from virtually every country. Free images are available for most coins graded by NGC since 2008, so you can spend less time taking photos and more time enjoying the hobby! NGC News & Research: The latest news and research from NGC are posted to the NGC App along with NGC’s complete news archive. Turn on notifications to be among the first to know about important NGC announcements, including special deals, promotions and giveaways. About Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) NGC is a leading third-party coin authentication, grading and encapsulation service with more than 43 million coins certified. Founded in 1987, NGC backs each graded coin with the comprehensive NGC Guarantee of authenticity and grade. NGC's reputation has been built on providing the high level of accuracy, consistency and integrity that its customers expect. Learn more at NGCcoin.com.
Historic Aerials
Explore historical aerial imagery across the US to see how landscapes and neighborhoods have changed. This app provides spatially accurate, orthorectified imagery, allowing you to pinpoint historic features and research property history. It's a powerful tool for researchers, enthusiasts, and professionals investigating the past.
- View historical aerial imagery across decades
- Compare past and present imagery
- Spatially accurate orthorectified imagery
- Obtain geographic coordinates for historic features
- Explore property history and land development
- Research historical land use and environmental change
- Discover abandoned roads and forgotten places
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Turn your phone into a virtual time machine. Explore historical aerial imagery from across the United States and see how landscapes, cities, and neighborhoods have changed through the decades. HistoricAerials lets you view historical aerial photography and map imagery from multiple decades directly on your mobile device. Instantly compare past and present imagery to understand how land use, development, and property boundaries have evolved over time. Because HistoricAerials imagery is fully orthorectified, locations shown in the imagery are spatially accurate. You can obtain precise geographic coordinates for features visible in historic imagery, even if those features have disappeared today. This makes it possible to locate forgotten structures, former industrial sites, abandoned roads, historic homesites, and other lost features directly in the field using GPS. This powerful research tool is used by: • Metal detector enthusiasts searching for old homesites, historic schools, and forgotten locations • Environmental consultants conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments • Archaeologists researching historical landscapes • Surveyors and engineers studying land development patterns • Oil & gas professionals locating historic well sites and legacy infrastructure • Real estate professionals investigating property history • Urban planners analyzing land use change • Historians and researchers exploring the past • Property owners and land investigators Key Features • View historical aerial imagery spanning multiple decades • Instantly compare past and present imagery • Fully orthorectified imagery that is spatially accurate • Obtain geographic coordinates for historic features and locations • Explore property history and land development patterns • Research sites for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) • Analyze historical land use and environmental change • Discover abandoned roads, rail lines, historic structures, and forgotten places • Frequently used to research historical land use in property boundary and land use disputes • Perfect for archaeology, metal detecting, environmental consulting, and land research • Access the HistoricAerials imagery library from anywhere HistoricAerials hosts the largest online collection of historical aerial imagery in the United States, allowing anyone to explore how landscapes, properties, and communities have changed over time. Now you can carry this virtual time machine with you wherever you go.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Historic Aerials at 3.1 against NGC's 2.1. Historic Aerials also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (23% vs 6%). NGC's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Historic Aerials holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 78 and 99 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 6% of NGC's written reviews are positive against 23% of Historic Aerials's.
NGC ships an update every 2 months, Historic Aerials every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NGC | Historic Aerials |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (78 ratings) | 3.1 (99 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 6.1% of reviews | 22.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 78 | 99 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Numismatic Guaranty Corporation | Nationwide Environmental Title Research, LLC |
Customer experience
NGC
Historic Aerials
Bugs and requests
NGC
Reported bugs
20 issues- App crashes when scanning barcodes
- App crashes when entering certification numbers manually
- Login credentials not accepted despite working on website
- Barcode scanner detects but doesn't process codes
- Price guide values not displaying
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- Coin photos missing or not loading
- App logs out after closing
- Scanning functionality broken for months
- Manual entry returns 'feature unavailable' error
- Census data not loading or incomplete
- App won't open or displays blank screen
- Scanner focuses incorrectly on newer phones
- Infinite loop when dismissing error popups
- Sign in button not visible/clickable
- App incompatible with iOS 14.2 and newer
- Unable to view saved coins in registry
- Coins added to collection disappear after app restart
- Navigation icons and graphics not rendering
- App freezes during barcode scanning
- Settings menu non-functional
Requested features
15 requests- Total collection value calculation
- Persistent login sessions
- Improved barcode/QR code scanning
- Price guide integration
- Coin photo display
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- Submission tracking within app
- Collection inventory management
- Mintage information display
- Zoom functionality for verification
- Data persistence across sessions
- iPad/tablet support
- Melt value information
- Better search and filtering options
- Automatic coin photo capture
- Improved UI/UX design
Historic Aerials
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
NGC
No in-app purchases
Historic Aerials
No in-app purchases









