Is PCGS better than NGC?
Henry Morales
Published Mar 17, 2026
Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) PCGS is slightly older than NGC, PCGS has been in business since 1985. Just as there are some collectors who simply prefer coins certified by NGC, there are some who are more partial towards PCGS. Today, PCGS is trusted as one of the world’s most reliable coin grading services.
Is NGC cheaper than PCGS?
For a cheaper coin(<$100) there is effectively no difference, it’s likely you just happened to find a coin that was priced closer to the FMV, or the NGC coin had a bit more eye appeal. PCGS tends to get the nod for being valued slightly more.
What are the top coin grading companies?
Top Coin Grading Companies
- The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS)
- The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC)
- Independent Coin Graders (ICG)
- ANACS.
Is NGC grading worth it?
Some extremely low mintage key date coins (under 100,000), can benefit from being certified by PCGS or NGC, even if they’re in circulated condition. In nearly all situations, key date coins in uncirculated condition are worth having professionally graded; especially if you have multiple coins to submit.
What is the highest grade of a coin?
For most of numismatic history, the highest possible grade on the familiar 1-to-70 coin grading scale was an ideal to be considered rather than a realistic grade to be attained.
How much does NGC grading cost?
NGC Announces New Submission Forms, Revised Services and Fees
Grading Tier Fee (per coin) Turnaround (Est.) Standard $35 20 working days Express $75 5 working days Rarities $150 5 working days Ultra Rarities 1% of value 5 working days Are NGC coins worth more?
Why Do People Get Coins Graded Coins are valued based on their rarity and condition. The nicer the condition, the more the coin is worth. The two largest grading services, NGC and PCGS, have graded almost 70 million coins since they opened about 30 years ago. They don’t appraise the coins or assign them a value.
How much does grading a coin cost?
The more valuable the coin is, the more it costs to have it graded. Grading a common coin worth $150 costs $20. Grading a rare coin worth $50,000 costs $125. It is a much better value to get expensive coins graded than it is to get common coins graded.
Are graded gold coins worth more?
For the most part, graded coins have a higher numismatic, or collector, value than melt value. A coin’s melt value refers to its intrinsic value for the precious metals that it contains rather than its worth to collectors, which is what grading helps determine.
Why are graded coins worth more?
Why Do People Get Coins Graded Coins are valued based on their rarity and condition. The nicer the condition, the more the coin is worth. If a dealer is selling a coin then he wants the buyer to think the coin is as high grade as possible because then he can charge more.
What does PCGS MS 64 mean?
For example if we have a copper coin given the grade of PCGS MS64RB means Mint State (not circulated) 64 in the scale of 1 to 70 and red-brown from 5-95% original Mint red.
What is an MS 63 grade?
Select Uncirculated (MS-63): An uncirculated coin with fewer deficiencies than coins in lower uncirculated grades. In general, this will be an uncirculated coin with relatively ordinary eye appeal. Select Uncirculated is sometimes used to refer to a coin grading MS-62.
How long does CGC grading take?
How Much Does CGC Grading Cost?
Submission Tier Max Value Turnaround Time Standard $1,000.00 15 Days Economy $400.00 50 Days Value $200.00 60 Days Modern (1975 – Current) $200.00 25 Days Can I grade my own coins?
Most beginners looking for grading help have circulated coins, and fortunately, circulated coins are the easiest for the novice to grade. It helps to have a Mint State (a.k.a. uncirculated) specimen of the coin type under consideration to make comparisons to, but this isn’t a requirement.
Who can grade my coins?
The most respected third-party grading services are Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) and Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). Before grading a coin both services first authenticate the coin to make sure it has not been cleaned, altered, or tampered with in any way.
What does it cost to grade coins?
2021 PCGS Collector Services & Fees
SERVICE LEVEL PRICE EXPRESS $65 REGULAR $38 ECONOMY (Non-Gold, Non-Hammered) (World patterns and Chinese portrait/dragon/fantasy dollars must be submitted at the Regular Service Level or higher.) $22 MODERN (1965 to date) *Formerly Modern Gold $30 Are graded coins a good investment?
There are several reasons why these coins can make good investments: Provides peace of mind for beginning and experienced collectors. As a coin collector, maximizing your profits and the value of the collection is important. Owning a PCGS or NGC-graded coin guarantees you get the exact grade and quality of the coin.
Are graded gold coins a good investment?
Is it worth buying graded coins?
Graded Coins Often Allow for Liquidity Buying and owning graded coins is especially important because the coins are much easier to sell. Certification provides a confidence that allows you to put more trust in the product you are buying. Certified coins are easier to identify, and their grade is extremely apparent.
