A Third Party Grading Service or TPG Service is a company that provides the service of authenticating and determining the state of preservation of a coin. They are called Third Party because they have no vested interest in either the buyer or the seller and are independent of both. Most TPGs utilize three graders and one or more finalizers so that means at least four people's opinions were used to determine the grade of a coin. All TPGs use the Sheldon 70 point grading scale.
The following is a list of the TPGs recognized by eBay (all others , by eBay policy, are considered raw or uncertified) :
ANACS - 6555 S. Kenton St, Suite 303 - Englewood, CO 80112
ICG - Independent Coin Grading - 7901 East Belleview Avenue, Suite 50 - Englewood, CO 80111
NCS - Numismatic Conservation Services, L.L.C. (a division of NGC) - P.O. Box 4750 - Sarasota, FL 34230
NGC - Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America - P.O. Box 4776 - Sarasota, FL 34230
PCGS - Professional Coin Grading Service - P.O. Box 9458 - Newport Beach, CA 92658
There are other TPGs and I have included a list of the most prominent ones :
ACG - ASA ACCUGRADE, Inc - PO Box 411449 - Melbourne, Florida 32941-1449
ICCS - International Coin Certification Services - 2010 Yonge Street Ste 202 - Toronto, Ontorio Canada M4S 1Z9
NTC - Numistrust - 7154 N. University Dr. Suite #210 - Ft. Lauderdale FL, 33321-2916
PCI - P.O. Box 2388 ยท Virginia Beach, VA 23450-2388
SEGS - Sovereign Entities Grading Service Inc. - P.O. Box 8129 - Eastgate Center - Chattanooga, TN 37411
First Party Graders or Self Slabbers. The following are NOT Third Party Grading Services.
eBay is also home to many First Party Graders also known as self-slabbers. While some of these slabbers may accept submissions, they also grade their own coins for resale, thus their grading is not impartial. Some that are currently available on eBay are :
AACGS - American Alliance Coin Grading Service
ACC - American Certified Coins
ACCS - American Coin Certification Service
AGS - American Grading Services - looks deceptively like an NGC holder
CCG - Colonial Coin Graders
CCGS - Certified Coin Grading Service
CCGS - Collectors Coin Grading Service
CSI - Certified Silver Investments
FSG - First Strike Grading
GCGS
GEC - Grade Evaluation Company
INB - International Numismatics Bureau
LCGS - Liberty Coin Grading Service
NAC - Numismatic Authentication Company
NAGC - Numismatic Assurance Grading Corp
NCG - black holder similar to INB
NCGS - National Coin Grading Service
NES - Numismatic Evaluation Service
NNC - National Numismatic Certification
NGP - Numismatic Grading Pros
NPG - Numismatic Proffesional Grading - again with the black INB style holders (or should I say Amos Advantage)
PCC - Premier Certified Coins
PGS - only black holders, white holders with blue borders are an actual TPG
QCGCS - Quality Coin Grading and Certification Services
QVC - Quasar Valuation Company
Rainbow
SDGC - Silver Dollar Coin Grading
SGS - Star Grading Service
TGS - Trust Grading Service
UGS - Universal Grading
UNC - United Numismatic Company
USCG - US Coin Grading
WCG - World Class Grading
WCG - World Coin Grading
These self-slabs are no better than a dealer placing the coin in a cardboard 2X2 and writing a grade that's 10 points higher on the holder than the actual grade of the coin. If ever you try to sell one of these self-slabbed coins to a dealer, the dealer will offer you more if you crack them out first because you'll be saving the dealer time since they won't have to do it later.
The order of the lists is alphabetical and in no way reflects the quality of service you may receive. Companies that are listed as TPGs may also participate in activities which might place their third party status in question. The lists should not be considered comprehensive or all-inclusive.
Third Party Grading Services also exist for currency, comics, stamps, baseball cards, and more than likely lots of things I am unaware of.
This guide was written 9/20/07.
ANACS address updated 1/5/08
PCI address updated 2/25/08
I hope that you find this guide useful. -cooperway4
)