Thinking About Getting A Coin Graded? We Can Help!

There are essentially three reasons to get a coin graded:

1) There is a question as to whether or not the coin is authentic.
2) The coin is rare and there is a big price difference between the different grades.
3) The coin needs to be preserved and protected for a future sale.

Coin grading can be an intimidating process for people new to the hobby. If done appropriately though, it can add value to coins and make them easier to sell. You can submit coins to get graded on your own. You do not have to go through us. But many collectors choose to use our services because we do all the paperwork and handle the shipping and insurance. If you think you have a coin worth grading, then we would encourage you to come in and have a conversation about the process and cost. In reality, not many coins will benefit from grading. We only advise getting a coin graded if the cost to do so is less than the value added. We use PCGS Coin Grading in Newport Beach, CA. They are considered the industry standard. It usually takes 4-7 weeks from the time a customer leaves a coin with us to get graded until we have it back from PCGS.

Is The Coin Real?

There are tens of thousands of coins out there that are either completely fake or altered to make them appear rarer than they are. Before collectors spend thousands of dollars on a coin, they want to make sure the coin is authentic. Any coin with authenticity concerns will benefit from grading.

Is The Coin Rare?

When dealing with truly rare coins (that's coins valued at several thousands dollars or more) there can be hundreds of dollars in price differences between two seemingly similar coins. Grading a rare coin gives you a chance to get a high grade that can increase the value of that rare coin even further.

Maybe Selling Later?

We get a lot of coins graded for customers simply for them to put back into their safety deposit box. If you have some coins worth a few hundred dollars or more, then it never hurts to get them graded for later on. Once graded, the same coins will be easier to sell when the timing is right.

What Does It Mean To Get A Coin Graded?

Every single coin is valued based on its condition and rarity. There has always been a huge conflict of interest when coin dealers make their own condition opinions on the same coins they are trying to sell. From the 1850s, which is when coin collecting in The United States really first became a recognized past time, until the 1980s, it was normal for the person selling a coin to also assign its grade. However, that changed in the late 1980s when PCGS was organized. PCGS is an independent third party company that assigns their own grade opinion to a coin. The grade is a number on a scale of 1 to 70. A coin that grades a 1 is basically worn away to just the metal. A coin that grades a 70 is considered to be absolutely perfect. Rare coins have big price differences between something that grades a 64 and 66, 45 and 53, 12 and 20, etc. PCGS does not appraise coins. That is a big misconception. They simply assign their numerical opinion of its condition. Once that number has been established, then it is easy to price coins based on prior sales and current market trends. It probably costs on average about $60 to get a coin graded. So the coin needs to be at least somewhat rare to be worth getting graded, otherwise you are just spending money you will never get back. We grade hundreds of coins annually. It never costs anything for us to have a conversation with you about what coins are worth grading and what coins are best sold as is.