Top Coin Grading Companies

There are many things to be considered when you have a coin collection. By far the most important thing would be the grade of your coins, as this will directly affect the value of the collection.

There are four major coin grading companies in the USA. They are all suitable to quote in listings as they can confirm certification of coins against the Third Party Grading database (TPG). These companies are:

The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS)
The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC)
Independent Coin Graders (ICG)
ANACS

These are the most popular TPG organisations though not much is known about them, so let’s take a second to look at them in more detail.

The Professional Coin Grading Service

The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) was founded in 1986 by a group of 7 collectors led by David Hall. As it has multiple branches in Europe and Asia, it is the world leader in coin grading and Numismatics.

Some of the extensive services they offer include:

Secure plus grading
Standard grading
Tru-View (high-quality coin photography)

The reputation that PCGS has built up over the years has been exemplary. Many collectors upon seeing a PCGS slab (coin holder) immediately know that they are getting a good quality coin, and usually just the slab is enough to raise the value of the coin significantly.

Find Online at PCGS.com or call Toll Free 1-800-447-8848

The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation

The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) is the PCGS’s largest competitor and is the largest coin grading organisation by volume, having graded over 30 Million coins to date. It is also the official grading company of the American Numismatic Association and has been since 1995.

The NGC does not grade coins that have been modified in any way but with over 30 Million coins graded, the NGC is one of the best organisations to approach to grade your collection.

The corporation’s reputation amongst collectors is second to none, and its affiliation to ANA means that any certification that you get from them will surely enhance the value of your collection.

Find Online at NGCCoin.com or call Toll Free 1-800-NGC-COIN

Independent Coin Graders

One of the younger coin grading organisations, ICG has been grading coins since 1998. Unlike the other two organisations though, it does not deal with the buying and selling of the actual coins – it is solely a grading organisation.

The fees offered by ICG are significantly lower than the competition, making it one of the most popular institutions for collectors looking to grade their coins. This organisation has a unique competitive edge, and that is their conservativeness of grading.

Coins graded by the ICG are literally guaranteed to increase in value as the conservative nature of their grading system means that serious collectors know that the actual value of the coin is probably higher than what is stated, but will very rarely be lower.

Find Online at ICGCoin.com or call Toll Free 1-877-221-4424

ANACS

ANACS is America's Oldest Grading service. They have been authenticating and certifying rare coins, medals and tokens since 1972. Their expert staff, customer service, and competitive prices are second to none. Best of all submitting your coins is as easy. Print a form and mail it with your coin. Read more or call using info below.

Find Online at Anacs.com

Summary

Other than verifying and ultimately increasing the value of your collection, getting your coins verified by one of these companies is vital for any collector. It ensures that your collection is not only genuine, but that anyone who wants to buy from it is getting real value for money.