History
PCGS was founded in 1985 by seven dealers, including the firm's former president, David Hall. The founders' intent was to establish definitive grading standards, backed by a guarantee of grading accuracy. PCGS began operations on February 3, 1986. The firm has since started grading foreign coins and established divisions in Europe and Asia, and was purchased by Collectors Universe.Services
PCGS certifies most U.S. and foreign coins, which consists of grading, authenticating, attributing, and encapsulating them in clear, airtight plastic holders. PCGS services include special label programs, "First Strike" designations, True View (high quality photography), conservation, and tiered certification (priced according to values and turnaround times). Coins that are improperly cleaned, doctored, damaged, or otherwise impaired will not be numerically graded by PCGS, but upon request will still be authenticated and given verbal "details" grades.Coin holders
The PCGS holder (aka slab) is made of clear, inert plastic and is stackable. Anti-counterfeiting measures include a hologram on the back, markings within the holder, and Near Field Communication (NFC) chip embedded in some holders. Printed on the front of the blue paper insert is the coin's type, denomination, grade, attribution, pedigree (if any), serial number,Population report
PCGS maintains a census of all coins they have graded since their inception, revealing each issue's grades, variety, designations (such as "prooflike" for Morgan dollars and "full bands" for Mercury dimes), and other significant information. Access to this report is free and updated daily on their website, though a discontinued hardcopy version was published at monthly intervals. Analysis of the population report, and a similar report published by NGC, has allowed rarity estimates to be made of specific coins. Over time these two data bases have revealed some coins once thought rare to be remarkably common, whereas others thought more common have shown to be likely few in number. The population reports are followed closely by numismatic professionals, who recognize that population numbers can be inflated through multiple submissions of the same coins broken out of their holders and resubmitted with the hope of receiving a higher grade. Population figures can also be artificially low due to the reluctance to submit inexpensive coins—for a service that may cost more than the coins are worth.PCGS CoinFacts
PCGS maintains CoinFacts, the "single source of information on U.S. coins." The free site publishes information about all federal and most non-federal U.S. coin issues, including their rarity statistics, PCGS Price Guide values, population data, public auction performances, die varieties, and photographs.Price guide
PCGS publishes a free, partial online list of U.S. and foreign coin values. The values listed are for PCGS-certified coins and are compiled from dealer advertisements and price lists, auction prices realized, and trade show transactions.PCGS Set Registry
In 2001, PCGS established its free Set Registry program, which includes an online leader board that allowed collectors to compete against each other in thousands of potential sets composed of PCGS-graded coins. More than 113,000 sets are hosted. Each coin in a set is given a value computed by its relative scarcity. A version of the Registry is also maintained by PCGS' main competitor, NGC.Dealer survey
A survey of major coin dealers, conducted by the trade associations the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) and the Industry Council For Tangible Assets (ICTA), revealed the dealers' "Superior" rating for PCGS, the highest given for any service. Of the other 10 grading services evaluated in the survey, only theControversies
In 1990 theSee also
* Coin collecting *References
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