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Is It Worth Getting My Coin Graded?
The short answer
Usually only if the coin is worth about $150 or more in the grade you expect, or if a buyer would doubt it's genuine without a slab. On economy tiers, grading runs about $50–80 a coin once you add insured shipping both ways.
So a common-date Morgan dollar worth $65 in MS-63 loses money in a slab. A key date that buyers presume fake when raw is a different story.
What does it cost to grade a coin in 2026?
Published fee schedules move, so check the grader's own page before you submit. As of 2026:
- NGC: Modern tier $20 for post-1965 coins up to $3,000 in value, Economy $25, Standard $45, Express $80. Add a $10 handling fee per submission and a membership from $25 a year.
- PCGS: fee trackers list Economy at about $23–30 and Regular at $40–50. Membership, from $69, is required. PCGS's own schedule is the final word.
- CAC Grading: Economy is $20 for classic coins (1964 and earlier) worth up to $500, with a $15 Economy tier for Morgan and Peace dollars. Add a $5 portal or $10 paper handling fee per submission.
Insured shipping both ways often adds $27–50. That's how a $20 tier becomes a $50–80 coin.
Which three questions decide whether to grade it?
- Would a buyer question whether it's real? If yes, grade it. The slab settles the question, and most key dates are presumed counterfeit until one does.
- Is it likely worth $150 or more in the grade you expect? If not, sell it raw with honest photos and a conservative stated grade. Some analysts put the line at $300.
- Is the price gap between the likely grade and the next grade up bigger than the all-in fee? If yes, grade it. If no, sell it raw.
A real example from the guide: a 1909-S VDB cent in VF, worth about $700 raw, gains enough buyer confidence in a slab to net perhaps $65 after costs. Worth doing. Not a windfall.
Does a PCGS coin sell for more than an NGC coin?
On common-date, mid-grade coins, not by much. The 2026 Guide's Grader Comparison Chart matched sold prices for the same coin in the same grade across slab brands, using 130point.com sales over roughly 14 months to September 3, 2026.
| Slab | Price vs a plain PCGS slab | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|
| NGC | About the same. Median gap under 5%; PCGS higher on 4 of 8 coins | 579 sales across 8 coins |
| ANACS | About the same, −6% to +12% | Up to 5 sales per coin, thin |
| ICG | −26% to −27% on classic Morgans | 11 sales per Morgan |
| CAC Grading | At or above plain PCGS in 5 of 5 groups | 10 sales, direction only |
| CAC sticker on PCGS or NGC | Median +41%, range −31% to +126% | 20 matched GreatCollections pairs |
The chart covers common-date coins sold at retail. It says nothing about key dates or registry-grade coins, where the brand gap may be different.
For most sellers, the practical takeaway is simple. PCGS or NGC are both fine for a coin like this, so pick on price and turnaround.
What happens if the coin comes back as details?
You pay the fee and the coin is worth less than you hoped. Cleaning, scratches, rim damage and environmental damage earn a details grade instead of a number, and a details coin often sells for about half of what a straight-grade coin brings.
This is why the first rule of grading is to never clean a coin. A coin that looks brighter after a polish looks cleaned to a grader.
Before you pay for grading, look closely at the coin under a lamp and a loupe. Hairline scratches running the same direction usually mean it was wiped. If you see them, sell it raw and describe it honestly.
What should buyers take from this?
When you see a nice coin offered raw online, ask why it isn't slabbed. Sometimes the seller doesn't know what they have. More often they do, and the coin already failed to earn plastic.
For any coin worth real money, a PCGS, NGC or CAC slab is the price of entry. eBay enforces a version of this: in its coin categories, only coins graded by PCGS, NGC, ANACS and ICG can be described as certified.
Questions people also ask
How much does it cost to get a coin graded?
Entry tiers run about $15–30 per coin at CAC, NGC and PCGS, plus handling and membership fees. With insured shipping both ways, the realistic all-in cost is about $50–80 per coin.
What is the minimum value worth grading?
The common rule is about $150 in the expected grade, and some analysts say $300. The exceptions are key dates and any coin a buyer would doubt is genuine without a slab.
Is PCGS or NGC better for selling?
For common-date, mid-grade coins it barely matters. Across 579 matched sold sales, the median gap between PCGS and NGC was under 5%, and PCGS sold higher on half of the eight coins.
Does a CAC sticker add value?
Across 20 matched GreatCollections pairs, CAC-stickered coins sold at a median of 41% more than the same coin without a sticker, but the range ran from 31% less to 126% more.
Should I clean a coin before grading it?
Never. Cleaning is detected by graders and earns a details grade, which often halves the coin's value.