At the Quarterly meeting of the American Coin Club on June 1st, 2003 much discussion was held concerning the May 23rd Coin World article and investigation of all the major grading services. In not one single case, did the grading services agree on a single one of several coins submitted to each service over a period of several months. In response to this, a grading committee comprised of a group of volunteers from the Beverly Hills Coin Club decided to get together and form ACCGS - American Coin Club Grading Service. The goal is to be both conservative and fair, and to grade both sides of the coin instead of "averaging out" one final grade based on both sides. It was repeatedly brought up during the meeting that such "averaging" cannot approach objectivity. The general consensus was that every coin has two sides and should be graded by two sides. Another complaint about the grading services involved the behavior of "net grading". This is the erroneous practice of grading a coin not by actual wear, but based more on commonly seen characteristics of older coins, such as porosity, hairline scratches, cleaning, etc. Objectively, a coin is graded by actual wear and bag marks. For example, if a coin is Very Fine and is porous or cleaned, it still has the features of a Very Fine coin and should be graded as such, with the designation "porous" or "cleaned" on the holder. ACCGS will be denoting coins as such, instead of "net grading" and "averaging" grades. Also, ACCGS will not use dangerous inserts or "caskets" in their holders. This can cause PVC damage to coins. ACCGS will use only clear, acrylic non-PVC 2" x 3' holders- a perfect size for easy fitting in standard storage methods. ACCGS will have twelve volunteers, each well trained and long-term members of the Beverly Hills Coin Club. These graders rotate in shifts of two to three according to time schedules. These volunteers have collectively spent over $30 million on rare coins in the past 25 years and their expertise in areas as diverse as Large Cents, Casino Chips, Silver Dollars, Gold Coins and Early Silver issues. This team includes finalizers, who must have at least 20 years grading experience in all areas. This helps to insure that the grading of the other volunteers is fair and consistent. Additionally, ACCGS is virtually non profit, charging only $9 per coin for grading and slabbing in inert, non-PCV acrylic holders that protect the coin for a lifetime. The cost of these holders and labeling alone is worth $9 per coin. Although the ACCGS site is still under construction, ACCGS has graded over 3,000 since July 1st, 2003, our first month of operation.

Why was ACCGS founded by collectors for collectors ?

Because collectively, no other Grading Service offers all these benefits:

* Professional Grading and Authentication by Experts who have no vested interested in your coins. - Some other grading services use dealers who know when their friends and associates send coins in, despite claims of submissions being anonymous. For very rare items and hoards such as the Uncirculated Bust silver dollars, well-publicized auction coins and the S.S. Central America Gold Coin find, this "anonymous submission statement" is an impossible claim to assert by any grading service.

* To minimize any favoritism, at least two graders and one finalizer must agree on the grade of the item, or it is sent back as "unable to determine" to the submitter with a full refund. Some other grading services only have one or two graders examine items submitted for certification.

* Only $9 per coin standard fee, regardless of value. - Some other grading services charge up to $100 per coin, and most charge higher postage/handling fees than ACCGS.

* Fast turn around time a the lowest standard fee. - Some other grading services take up to 45 days. So far, all of our coins have been graded and shipped in half that time.
Clear Acrylic, Non - PVC (Non- Poly Vinyl Chloride) 2" x 3" to 2.5" x 3.25" holders. - Easily fits most standard collection accessories and boxes. Easily stackable.

* All items are graded on BOTH sides and BOTH grades are placed on the holder. Many items graded MS 63 or 64 on the obverse are MS 65, MS 66 or even MS 67 on the reverse. This should be noted. A item's obverse grade should have nothing to do with the item's reverse grade, and vice versa. To pretend otherwise is not fair and objective.
Most other grading services.

Anyone can submit items for authentication and grading to ACCGS and as low as $9 per item. No memberships to sign up for, no dealer middlemen, and no hassles.

There are 3 easy ways to view or print the ACCGS two-page submission form and policies:

Forms links:

1. For quick viewing and printing, Click Here

2. To download form and policies in MS-Word format, Click Here

3. If you would prefer to have us E-Mail the form and policies, or you want us to mail you submission forms, please fill in this form and be sure to click the "Send" button.

Please note: We do not accept requests for forms by telephone. For security reasons, we do not have walk-in service. All items must be sent to us by registered or insured mail only.

Questions? Should you have any questions about fees, postage, submission policy, grading policy, etc., simply click on the "Forms links" above. You will find that the two pages that comprise the ACCGS submission form answers any and all questions you need to submit your coins as well as ACCGS grading policy. The information is further elaborated on the few other links in this site. Due to the huge volume of e-mails we receive each week, ACCGS cannot answer questions that are already clearly answered on the submission form and on this site, Any such e-mails may not be answered due to time constraints, or you may be referred back to the submission form. To protect both customers and ACCGS from any miscommunications or misunderstandings, we must have any other questions not already answered on this site, in writing, either by e-mail or regular mail. All other correspondence not mentioned here can be sent via e-mail. at the "Contact Us" link found at the top of each page. Please do not e-mail us about your submissions until four weeks processing time has elapses, as mail can be slow sometimes both coming and going, and constant inquiries will only slow down the certification process. ACCGS only accepts phone calls in emergency situations involving the lost of items sent to us or sent back to the submitter, which are required to be insured both ways.