Every coin on this site is listed with a grading service, a grade and a certification number. This guide explains what those three things mean, how the services differ, and — the part that trips people up most — which designations on a label describe the coin's quality and which merely describe when it was submitted.
The Sheldon scale
Modern grading runs on a 70-point scale devised by Dr. William Sheldon in 1949. It splits in two:
- Circulated coins run from Poor-1 up through About Uncirculated-58. A coin in this range has been in commerce and shows wear.
- Uncirculated coins run from MS-60 to MS-70. These never circulated; what separates them is the number and severity of marks picked up in production, handling and packaging.
MS-70 means no post-production imperfection visible at 5x magnification. It is not a common outcome, and on most issues the MS 70 population is a small fraction of what was submitted.
MS and PR are not the same ladder
This is the most frequent misunderstanding in the hobby. MS (Mint State) applies to business strikes. PR or PF (Proof) applies to proofs.
A proof is not a better version of a business strike. It is a different manufacturing process — specially prepared dies and polished blanks, struck multiple times at higher pressure to bring up detail and produce mirrored fields. A PR 69 and an MS 69 are two different coins made two different ways, and comparing their grades directly tells you nothing.
So when a listing says PR 70 DCAM, read it as: a proof, at the top of the proof scale, with deep contrast. It is not "better than MS 70." It is a different thing.
The four services
PCGS — Professional Coin Grading Service
Founded 1986, based in Newport Beach, California. PCGS is the market-share leader for classic United States coins, and its population report is the reference most US collectors work from. Its top proof contrast designation is DCAM (Deep Cameo).
NGC — Numismatic Guaranty Company
Founded 1987, based in Sarasota, Florida. NGC is the official grading service of the American Numismatic Association and is the stronger of the two majors in world coins — which is why a large share of Perth Mint, Casa de Moneda de México and China Mint material sits in NGC holders. Its top proof contrast designation is Ultra Cameo, written UCAM.
NGC also runs NGCX, a ten-point scale where a 10 corresponds to a traditional 70. It is the same grading standard expressed differently, aimed at collectors more familiar with ten-point scales from other collectibles. If you see "NGCX MS 10" on a holder, that is a 70-equivalent.
Its sister company PMG (Paper Money Guaranty) certifies banknotes, using a different scale topping out at 70 with an EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality) designation for notes with original paper surfaces.
CAC and CACG
These are two different things and the distinction matters.
CAC — Certified Acceptance Corporation, founded in 2007 by dealer John Albanese — originally did not grade coins at all. It reviewed coins already graded by PCGS or NGC and applied a sticker to the existing holder:
- A green sticker means the coin sits at the high end of its assigned grade.
- A gold sticker means CAC believes the coin exceeds its assigned grade.
Fewer than half of submitted coins earned green; gold was rarer still. The stickers carry real premiums precisely because the review was strict.
CACG — CAC Grading — launched in October 2023 as a full, independent grading service. It authenticates, grades and encapsulates in its own holders, without reference to PCGS or NGC. So a CACG holder is a primary grade, not a sticker on someone else's work.
ANACS
The oldest grading service in the United States, tracing back to the American Numismatic Association Certification Service founded in 1972, now privately owned. ANACS holders turn up across older certified material and on modern issues submitted through certain channels.
Designations that describe quality
- DCAM (PCGS) and Ultra Cameo / UCAM (NGC) — the degree of frost-to-mirror contrast on a proof. A genuine designation of visual quality.
- Cameo / CAM — the step below deep or ultra contrast.
- PL and DMPL — Prooflike and Deep Mirror Prooflike, applied to business strikes with mirrored fields.
- Strike designations — FB (Full Bands), FS (Full Steps), FBL (Full Bell Lines), FH (Full Head) on specific US series, indicating a fully struck detail.
Designations that describe timing, not quality
These appear on labels constantly and are widely misread as quality marks. They are not.
- First Strike (PCGS) — the coin was submitted within the first 30 days after the mint's release.
- Early Releases / First Releases (NGC) — the same idea, submitted within NGC's defined window.
- First Day of Issue — narrower still: received on the first day of release.
None of these say anything about how the coin looks. A First Strike MS 69 and a plain MS 69 are the same grade. What the designation does is narrow the population, and where collectors chase a designated population, that scarcity can carry a premium. That is a market fact, not a condition fact, and it is worth being clear-eyed about which one you are paying for.
The same applies to presentation labels — flag labels, picture frames, signed labels, retro holders, anniversary labels. They are choices about how the holder looks, sometimes with a signature attached. They do not change the grade.
The number that matters most
Every holder from every service carries a unique certification number, and every service publishes a lookup tool on its own site. Enter the number and you can confirm the coin, the grade, and — critically — the population at that grade.
Mintage tells you how many were made. Population tells you how many have been certified in the condition you are buying, and on modern series those two numbers diverge sharply. A coin with a 30,000 mintage might have 183 examples graded at MS 69. Which of those figures describes what you are actually buying?
This is why every listing on this site states the certification number. You should not have to take a seller's word for a grade when the grading service will confirm it for free in ten seconds.
Practical rules
- Compare like with like. MS to MS, PR to PR, and within the same service.
- Check the population before the price. On modern issues it is the number that decides value.
- Separate quality designations from timing designations. Know which one you are paying a premium for.
- Verify the certification number before you buy, not after.
- Never crack a holder on a coin you may want to resell or return — once opened, it is no longer the certified item.
What we stock
assay house lists coins certified by NGC, PCGS, CACG and ANACS, notes certified by PMG, and NGCX holders where the issue was submitted on that scale. Every listing states which service, which grade and which certification number.
- NGC graded coins · PCGS graded coins · MS 70 graded coins
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