Coin Grading Companies
Two majors, two budget options, and a long tail of slabs the market ignores. Here's the honest 2026 map — including which holders to avoid paying a premium for.
The 60-second answer
| If you want… | Use | Economy fee | Membership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum resale value (US classics) | PCGS | ~$25 | $99/yr required |
| Resale value, world & moderns | NGC | ~$23 | $25/yr required |
| Budget grading, variety attribution | ANACS | ~$14–16 | None |
| Budget alternative | ICG | ~$18 | None |
PCGS — the price-premium standard
The strongest brand in US numismatics: registry sets, deep population data, and slabs that consistently realize top prices for classic US coins. The costs: ~$25/coin economy plus a $99/yr membership, and stricter turnaround queues. Verify any slab with our PCGS cert verification.
NGC — the equal with a cheaper door
Every bit PCGS's peer technically, with an edge in world coins, moderns and bulk programs — and membership at $25/yr instead of $99. Many dealers split submissions: US classics to PCGS, world and modern to NGC. Verify slabs via the NGC cert lookup.
ANACS & ICG — legitimate budget lanes
Both are real, established graders with no membership requirement — ANACS especially loved for error and variety attribution. The trade-off is resale: an ANACS/ICG slab typically sells at a discount to the same coin in PCGS/NGC plastic. For coins worth under ~$150 that's often a fine trade; run it through the calculator.
The slabs to be careful with
Beyond the four above sits a long tail of second-tier services — SGS, NNC, INB, PGA and others — whose grades routinely run several points above PCGS/NGC standards. The market knows: their slabs trade as raw coins. Never pay a graded premium for one, and if you see "MS70" prices from a service you've never heard of, that's the tell. (This is also why cert verification matters — a real PCGS/NGC cert is the difference between a graded coin and a plastic-wrapped opinion.)