Guide
UK Coin Grading Services Compared: CGS, PCGS, NGC (2026)
Three grading services dominate the UK market: CGS UK (UK-specialist, £15–£25 per coin), PCGS (international standard, £25–£50) and NGC (also international, similar pricing). The choice depends on the coin, the resale venue, and the buyer. This guide compares fees, turnaround, grade scale conversion, slab-resale premium and decision criteria for each type of UK coin you might be considering for professional grading.
Last updated: 8 October 2026
In brief. CGS UK £15–£25, 100-point scale, 4-6 week
turnaround, strong UK acceptance. PCGS £25–£50, Sheldon 70-point
scale, 6-12 weeks, international gold standard. NGC £25–£50,
Sheldon scale, UK office in Brentwood. Slabbing adds 10–25% to resale value; never worth slabbing
coins worth under £50.
In this guide
Why grade a coin in the first place?
Three benefits, in order of weight:
- Authentication. The slab is tamper-evident and the serial number lookup-verifiable. A counterfeit risk-discount that a private buyer would apply to a raw coin disappears for a slabbed coin.
- Independent grade. Self-graded coins frequently get downgraded by buyers; a third-party grade resolves the disagreement before negotiation.
- Resale premium. Slabbed coins typically realise 10–25% more at auction than equivalent raw coins, driven mostly by the first two points.
Slabbing is worth doing for coins valued above approximately £200 (where the slab premium exceeds the fee plus shipping) and essentially mandatory for coins above £1,000 (where the authentication risk-discount on a raw coin is meaningful). Below £100 per coin, raw resale via eBay is typically the better economic choice.
CGS UK in detail
Coin Grading Service UK (cgsuk.co.uk) is the UK-specialist grading service, operating since the early 2000s. Based in London. Grade scale: 100 points, calibrated specifically for British coinage. Slab format: clear polycarbonate with the CGS UK logo, tamper-evident closure, serial number on the slab and on a paper insert behind the coin.
- Fees: £15–£25 standard service per coin; £30–£50 express.
- Turnaround: 4–6 weeks standard, 7–14 days express.
- Strengths: UK-coinage specialism; conservative grading (raw market reads CGS grades as accurate); UK domicile means no overseas shipping; reasonable fees for collectors building portfolios.
- Limitations: Limited international recognition. PCGS/NGC slabs typically realise more at international auction.
PCGS in detail
Professional Coin Grading Service (pcgs.com) is the international gold standard for coin grading, founded 1986 in California. Major US auction houses (Heritage, Stack’s Bowers, Goldberg) and European auctioneers all accept PCGS slabs without further authentication.
- Fees: £25–£50 standard per coin, scaling with declared value (higher-value coins pay more); express £100+; Walk Through (in-person at PCGS shows) same-day at premium.
- Turnaround: 6–12 weeks standard (UK ships to US); express 5–15 days; Walk Through immediate.
- Scale: Sheldon 70-point.
- Strengths: Global recognition; deepest grading data corpus; PCGS CoinFacts is the de facto reference for US and increasingly British numismatics.
- Limitations: UK-coin specialism is weaker than CGS UK; shipping to US is a hassle; fees scale steeply on high-value coins.
NGC in detail
Numismatic Guaranty Company (ngccoin.uk) is PCGS’s principal competitor, founded 1987 in Florida. NGC has a UK office at Brentwood that reduces shipping friction for UK customers. Recognised internationally on par with PCGS.
- Fees: Similar to PCGS, £25–£50 standard.
- Turnaround: 6–10 weeks via UK office; express 5–15 days.
- Strengths: UK office means simpler shipping; very high international recognition; the NGC Coin Explorer reference covers worldwide material in depth.
- Limitations: Same as PCGS, CGS UK is stronger for pure UK-market sale.
Side-by-side comparison
| CGS UK | PCGS | NGC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee per coin | £15–£25 | £25–£50+ | £25–£50+ |
| Turnaround | 4-6 weeks | 6-12 weeks | 6-10 weeks |
| UK domicile | Yes (London) | No (US) | UK office (Brentwood) |
| Scale | CGS 100-point | Sheldon 70-point | Sheldon 70-point |
| UK market premium vs raw | ~10-15% | ~15-25% | ~15-25% |
| International recognition | Limited | Highest | Highest (tied) |
| Best for | Modern UK, building portfolios | International resale, high-value | International resale, easier UK shipping |
Grade scale conversion
Approximate equivalence between the CGS UK 100-point scale and the Sheldon 70-point scale used by PCGS and NGC:
| CGS UK | Sheldon (PCGS / NGC) | UK descriptive |
|---|---|---|
| 20–30 | F-12 to VF-20 | Fine |
| 35–45 | VF-30 to VF-35 | Very Fine |
| 50–60 | EF-40 to EF-45 | Extremely Fine |
| 65–75 | AU-50 to AU-58 | About Uncirculated |
| 78–82 | MS-60 to MS-62 | Uncirculated |
| 85–88 | MS-63 to MS-65 | Choice Uncirculated |
| 90–92 | MS-66 to MS-67 | Gem Uncirculated |
| 95+ | MS-68 to MS-70 | Top-pop |
Conversion is approximate, graders are not perfectly consistent across services. A CGS 88 coin re-submitted to PCGS might come back MS-64 or MS-66.
Which service for which coin?
- Modern UK commemoratives (50p, £2) under £200, don’t slab; the fee exceeds the premium.
- Modern UK commemoratives £200–£500, CGS UK if selling within UK; PCGS if selling internationally.
- Sovereigns (any date), PCGS or NGC. International buyer base; resale premium is largest for slabbed sovereigns of any service.
- Pre-1947 silver crowns, florins, half crowns, CGS UK for UK sale; PCGS/NGC for international.
- Pre-1700 hammered British coinage, don’t slab; the UK hammered market prefers raw coins with auction-house attribution. Slabbing tends to undervalue this category.
- Rare-date 18th/19th century gold, PCGS or NGC, essentially mandatory at £5,000+ value.
- Royal Mint proofs and bullion Britannias, NGC or PCGS for international resale value; CGS UK for UK-only.
Featured high-value coins where grading matters most
1 Penny - Elizabeth II 4th portrait; magnetic
1 Penny - Elizabeth II 4th portrait; Royal Shield
up to £4
1 New Penny - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait
up to £2
½ New Penny - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait
up to £2
5 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait; small type
up to £2
5 Pence - Elizabeth II 4th portrait; Crowned Thistle
up to £2
1 Penny - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait; non-magnetic
1 Penny - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait; magnetic
Frequently asked questions
Which coin grading service is best for UK coins?
For modern UK material (post-2000) and most pre-1947 silver, CGS UK offers the best price-to-recognition ratio at £15–£25 per coin with strong UK-market acceptance. For coins you intend to sell at international auction (Heritage US, NGC EU sales) or high-value rare-date sovereigns, PCGS or NGC command higher resale premiums (typically 10–20% over CGS UK slabs at international auction) despite higher fees (£25–£50 per coin). For pre-1700 hammered British coinage, Spink-graded or auction-house-attributed material is preferred over slabbing, slabbing tends to undervalue hammered coinage in the UK market.
How much does it cost to grade a coin in the UK?
CGS UK: £15–£25 per coin standard service, £30–£50 express. PCGS: £25–£50 per coin standard (price scales with declared value); approximately £100+ for the “Walk Through” expedited service. NGC: similar to PCGS, with UK office at Brentwood. All three add shipping costs (typically £15–£30 round-trip via signed-for delivery). Turnaround: CGS UK 4–6 weeks; PCGS 6–12 weeks standard; NGC 6–10 weeks. Express services available at all three for additional fees.
Does slabbing a coin increase its value?
Usually yes, by typically 10–25% at resale, depending on grade and coin type. The increase reflects three things: authentication certainty (buyer doesn’t need to risk-discount for counterfeit possibility); grade confidence (buyer doesn’t need to risk-discount for over-graded raw coins); provenance (slabs from major services are tamper-evident and provide a tracked database lookup). The premium is largest for genuinely high-grade examples (MS-65+ Sheldon, AU-58+ UK descriptive) where slab grade differentiates true scarcity from typical examples. For low-grade circulated coins worth under £50, the slabbing fee often exceeds the slab premium, don’t slab small material.
What do PCGS and NGC grades mean?
Both use the Sheldon 70-point scale, originally developed by William Sheldon in 1949 for US large cents and now the international standard. Key tiers: P-1 to F-12 circulated heavily-worn; VF-20 to EF-45 circulated but identifiable design; AU-50 to AU-58 About Uncirculated, faint wear only on highest points; MS-60 to MS-70 Mint State, no wear. PR (proof) grades use the same numeric scale: PR-65, PR-69, PR-70 for proofs. Above MS-65 the per-grade-point price multiplier on rare coins can be 2× or 3×, an MS-66 sovereign can be worth twice an MS-65 of the same date.
How does CGS UK’s grading differ from PCGS and NGC?
CGS UK uses a 100-point scale (not 70) calibrated specifically for British coinage. The scale is approximately: CGS 75 ≈ PCGS MS-60, CGS 80 ≈ MS-62, CGS 85 ≈ MS-64, CGS 90 ≈ MS-66, CGS 95+ ≈ MS-68+. CGS UK graders are generally considered slightly more conservative than PCGS on UK coinage, a coin graded CGS 88 might receive PCGS MS-65. The UK market is increasingly familiar with both scales and converts mentally; international buyers strongly prefer PCGS/NGC grades, which is why high-value coins for resale typically end up in those slabs.
Should I crack a coin out of its slab?
Almost never. Cracking destroys the third-party authentication and the grade certification, a re-submission to PCGS or NGC may grade lower than the original (graders are not perfectly consistent), in which case you’ve permanently lost value. The exceptions: (1) if the coin is in a low-tier service slab that the resale market doesn’t value, you might crack and resubmit to PCGS or NGC; (2) if the slab is damaged or yellowed and you want to resubmit for fresh certification; (3) if you specifically want the raw coin for a private collection display. For any other reason, leave it slabbed.
What is a "details" grade?
A “details” grade (sometimes called “genuine, details” or “authentic”) is what PCGS and NGC assign to coins they cannot grade conventionally because of post-mint damage or impairment. Common reasons: Cleaned (chemical or abrasive surface treatment); Polished; Tooled (engraved or re-touched); Environmental Damage; Holed and Plugged; Edge Damage; Counterstamped. The slab includes the authentication and an estimated grade-equivalent, but the price impact is severe, a Cleaned-details coin typically realises 30–50% of an equivalently-graded problem-free coin. The single most common cause of a Cleaned designation is owner over-enthusiasm in the 1960s-90s.
Which grading service do UK auction houses prefer?
No strong universal preference, but: Baldwin’s of St James’s accepts all major services and historically valued PCGS/NGC slightly higher for international auction. Spink tends to publish realisations with the grading-service label visible, suggesting buyer preference rather than house preference. Noonans takes all major slabs. For UK-market sales, CGS UK slabs realise approximately the same as raw coins of equivalent perceived grade; PCGS/NGC slabs typically realise 10–20% more than raw coins of equivalent perceived grade. For international sale, PCGS or NGC are essentially required.
How long does grading take?
CGS UK: standard 4–6 weeks, express 7–14 days at additional fee. PCGS: standard 6–12 weeks (UK ships to US so allow longer); express 5–15 days at £100+; Walk Through (in-person at Long Beach or Las Vegas show) same-day at premium. NGC: standard 6–10 weeks via UK office (Brentwood); express 5–15 days. Build the turnaround into auction-consignment timing; high-value coins should be slabbed before consignment so the auction catalogue can include the grade.
Further reading
- How to grade a coin, the Sheldon and UK descriptive scales explained.
- BU vs UNC vs MS, what the grade terms actually mean.
- Where to sell rare coins UK, venue selection.
- Grade upgrade ROI calculator, resubmit-or-not maths.
- Grading practice quiz, train your eye.
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