PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) and Its Origins
PCGS was started in 1985 by its seven co-founders David Hall, Silvano DiGenova, Bruce Amspacher, Gordon Wrubel, Van Simmons, John Danreuther, and Steve Cyrkin as a service to be able to authenticate, encapsulate, and grade coins. Before PCGS, grading was loosely based on the Sheldon Grading scale, where coins were traded merely based on an estimate since they were raw (uncertified). Grading was highly controversial in the 1980s as it was seen as a service that was biased and created extra value, but it soon began to gain lots of popularity as coins were well-received by the collector and the retail marketplace. PCGS went through many stages of growth but came to release products such as First Strike, Set Registry, and TrueView, which are some of their most popular marketing programs. PCGS expanded outwards to PSA, which eventually became Collectors Universe, and then later Collectors.
PCGS Coinfacts + PCGS Population
PCGS has one of the largest databases of U.S. Coins in the world, called CoinFacts. PCGS CoinFacts is a database of different rare coins throughout the United States, containing coin detailed coin variety attribution and auction prices, as well as the PCGS Price Guide. The savvy coin collector is able to view U.S coin types throughout the multiple high resolution image listed on each unique identifier. Along with the images, you can also view rarity and coin condition census listings with the PCGS population report. Dealers often look for relations between the grading services to try to get a higher grade, which is referred to as "cracking-out", and can affect the population report. PCGS also has a mobile app for coinfacts, where with an active internet connection, you can view pcgs price guide listings and all u.s. coin types at your fingertips.
U.S. Coin Values & Auction Records
Coins are often recognized with the most value by the grading services PCGS, or NGC, which is the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Both of them actively have coins sold at Heritage Auctions, Legend Rare Coin Auctions, and Stacks Bowers Galleries. When a coin is being assessed and valued it is most important first to look at its grade, where higher grades are worth more money than lower grades. Then, collectors and dealers often look at the auction records or "comps" to figure out where the true value lies. There is a slight difference between values of a PCGS Coin and an NGC Coin, so collectors need to be aware of which service they are purchasing to understand the true value.
Collect Pure Mobile App
Previous to building the Pure Marketplace, we had been working on an app similar to the pcgs coinfacts mobile app, called Collect Pure: Scan Rare Coins. Essentially the idea was that you could get a graded coin and get an estimate on the price of the coin based on numerous auction records and data available. The app is super cool and useful and can help price coins very quickly. You can download the mobile app today on the app store.