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PCGS vs NGC for regular people (not a holy war)
Both are real services. Both get faked. Neither turns a common coin into a rare one. Pick a holder the next buyer trusts, or skip the plastic.
Collectors will fight about PCGS versus NGC like it is a baseball team.
For a normal person with a drawer of coins: both are serious third-party graders. ANACS and others exist too. Fake holders exist for all the famous names. Fake slabs.
What the letters mean in a shop
A real modern slab on a real coin reduces the fight about authenticity and grade. It does not raise a common date to a key. A slabbed 1881-S Morgan in a common grade is still a common Morgan.
We bid slabs we trust. We bid raw coins we trust. We do not bid plastic we do not trust.
Which should you send
If you are selling soon, ask the shop whether the coin is even a candidate. When to slab. Shipping, fees, and a month of waiting on a $40 coin is how you spend $70 to learn a lesson.
If you already have a mix, do not crack them open at the kitchen table to “see them better.”
CAC and stickers
A CAC sticker is a second opinion on top of a slab, for coins people already care about. It is not a thing you need on a wheat cent. If someone is selling you a sticker story on a cheap coin, you are in a marketing session.
Part of the coin shop counter wiki · visitors & collectors · NumisQ Learn