About Certified Coins | Buying NGC PCGS Mint State Coins (2024)

Independent coin grading and certification began in the mid-1980s with the founding of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) in 1986 and the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) in 1987. PCGS and NGC continue to be the most important and well-respected coin grading services in the world. (See below for more information about PCGS and NGC).

PCGS and NGC guarantee the grade and authenticity of any coin that passes their rigorous standards. After close examination and authentication by expert numismatists, each coin is sealed in a plastic holder with a serial number, description, and guaranteed grade. If coins have been certified by PCGS or NGC they may be traded site unseen with confidence in their grade and authenticity. Collectors and investors no longer need to be rare coin experts to safely buy and sell classic U.S. coins.

Other grading services are available in the market but PCGS and NGC are the only two that are universally accepted. We do not recommend other services; they simply do not measure up to the standards of PCGS and NGC. If you purchase any classic U.S. gold or silver coin selling for more than $100, you should insist that it is in a sealed PCGS or NGC holder. American Gold Exchange is an authorized dealer for both PCGS and NGC certified coins.

Certification Acceptance Corporation (CAC) offers a relatively new service that verifies the grades given by other coin certification companies. While AGE goes to extraordinary lengths to offer only the highest quality coins in any given grade rating, many other dealers do not. CAC has stepped in to reassure investors and collectors that they are receiving the grade of coin they pay for. CAC-approved coins typically trade at higher premiums in the market. (See below for more information on CAC.)

(The following is from the PCGS web site.)

The Professional Coin Grading Service began serving the coin-buying public in 1986 as the first third-party coin grading service.

The firm is responsible for dramatic improvements throughout the rare coin industry which have forever changed the way rare coins are bought and sold. In addition to standardized grading, PCGS offers a cash-backed grading guarantee, problem-free coins, safe long-term storage, and sight-unseen trading. Together, these elements have created unprecedented public support for the rare coin industry.

Working in tandem with the PCGS Guarantee is the important link provided by computerized numismatic exchanges and their member firms. Such computerized trading networks have made it possible for many PCGS certified coins to be bought and sold sight-unseen-and coast-to-coast through electronic trading networks, via telephone and internet auctions.

In turn, electronic trading of coins sight-unseen has been made possible only because of the high level of confidence consumers have in the integrity of PCGS encapsulated coins.

Today, this modern financial market links buyers and sellers in a manner somewhat like the way in which brokers may trade shares on the stock market. The daily quotation of bid and ask prices, and the negotiation of transactions between market makers has created improved liquidity for a number of PCGS coins.

(The following is from the NGC web site.)

NGC was founded in 1987, and for coin grading, its opening heralded the introduction of a new standard of integrity. From the beginning NGC focused on only one objective, a standard of consistent and accurate grading. As NGC has grown to become the leader in third-party grading services, we have maintained a steadfast and uncompromising commitment to this standard. The knowledge, integrity and dedication of NGC's team of grading experts ensures you a level of grading consistency unparalleled among grading services. This record of consistency, built over the last fourteen years, has helped to foster greater stability throughout the rare coin marketplace.

To ensure impartiality and accuracy, three numismatic experts, each with decades of successful professional experience in rare coins, evaluate each coin submitted for grading. A grading finalizer assigns a final grade and the coin is then sonically sealed in a protective, inert plastic holder. NGC's full-time grading experts are no longer active in the commercial coin marketplace, and are prohibited from buying or selling coins to ensure impartiality. Most have been with NGC for many years. The NGC grading team's only interest is in determining accurate grades for coins.

NGC pride itself on its uncompromising standards and a commitment to integrity that makes tem a true leader in coin certification.

CAC, the Certification Acceptance Corporation, is a relatively new service that verifies the grades given by other certification companies. While AGE goes to extraordinary lengths to offer only the best coins in any given grade rating, many other dealers do not. CAC has stepped in to reassure investors and collectors that they are getting the grade of coin they pay for. CAC-approved coins typically trade at higher premiums in the market.

(The following is from the CAC web site.)

Due to today's selective collector/dealer, an ever increasing number of certified coins on the market are considered low end for their grade. CAC holds coins to a higher standard so you can be confident in the value of yours. We verify previously graded coins and award our sticker only to those coins that meet the standard for today's sophisticated buyer.