PCGS Coin Grading 101

In 1986, the numismatic world changed when Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) entered the scene as a third-party certification service to authenticate, grade and encapsulate coins at scale.

- JOSHUA MCMORROW-HERNANDEZ

Nearly 40 years later, PCGS has encapsulated more than 50 million coins, banknotes, medals and tokens. With its PCGS Collectors Club, the grading service has more than 26,000 members. It also hosts nearly 150,000 collectors on the PCGS Set Registry, a free platform for showing off sets and competing for top honors against other collectors.

GROWING WITH NUMISMATICS

"To thrive, you must continually evolve with the hobby," says PCGS President Stephanie Sabin, who has been with the company since 2006. "In the 1980s, it was about establishing ourselves as the trusted third-party grader, in the '90s we introduced the PCGS Set Registry. In the 21st century, we have entered the digital realm with smartphone apps like PCGS Coin Facts, the largest free online numismatic encyclopedia for United States coins." The solid reputation PCGS has built over the decades has helped land some of the world's most famous coins in its holders. Among these rarities is the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, which PCGS graded MS65 before the iconic gold coin crossed the block for $18,872,250the highest price ever paid for a coin sold at public auction.

Today, a major focus of PCGS is security.

"We've also innovated ways to thwart fakes and fraud with our nearfield communication (NFC) devices in each holder, which communicate with the PCGS Cert Verification app on smartphones and ensure that the coin in the holder is not only authentic but also goes with the label," Sabin said.

"The thing I would like to impress the most about PCGS and the importance of grading is security," Sabin remarked.