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 · 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