In 2022, the Certified Collectibles Group® (CCG®) marked 55 million coins graded, 10 million comics graded and 3 million cards graded. Now, CCG has graded more than 75 million collectibles across all of the categories it serves, including coins, paper money, comic books, trading cards, sports cards, video games, stamps and memorabilia.
For many collectors, their journey starts as a solitary pursuit to obtain one object or set of objects. However, the world of collectibles is expansive and what starts small can end up big. CCG works to provide all of the tools that support the collector’s journey, from the first foray into grading to buying and selling collectibles on a large scale, and every type of collecting endeavor in between.
The certification of more than 75 million collectibles is a testament to the value unlocked by CCG’s services – not only through industry-leading expertise in authentication, a commitment to accurate grading and state-of-the-art protective holders, but also through the vast resources that CCG offers: price guides, population reports, set registries, auction data, buying guides, image galleries and more. Within the collectibles world and beyond, CCG is proud to work with collectors, dealers, auction houses, marketplaces, vaulting services and lenders to help everyone maximize and protect the value of collecting.
Today, collectibles often go hand in hand with more traditional investments, but people don’t love stocks and bonds like they do their collections. CCG appreciates and cultivates both the similarity and the difference. Looking ahead, we see even more opportunity as CCG and the collectibles markets continue to grow. 100 million is just around the corner.
“We are thrilled and humbled to achieve this significant milestone during what is a dynamic time for the collectibles markets and the economy as a whole,” said Steven R. Eichenbaum, CEO of CCG. “It shows once again the strength and resiliency of collectibles, and the integral role that CCG serves in these markets.”
A Conversation with Mark Salzberg
As CCG celebrates the milestone of 75 million collectibles graded, CCG Chairman and founder Mark Salzberg sat down with CCG’s Brittany McManus to share his extraordinary collecting journey and thoughts on the dynamic collectibles markets. The far-reaching conversation spans the chance encounter that piqued his interest in coins to CCG’s development as a global collectibles powerhouse. Watch the conversation.
NGC
- Category: Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) certifies coins, tokens and medals. Grading highlight: A 1787 ‘EB’ on Wing Brasher Doubloon graded NGC MS 65★ and pedigreed to the Partrick Collection realized $9.36 million in January 2021.
- Interesting statistic: NGC has graded more than 55 million coins, tokens and medals, including 35 million from the US, over a third of which are Silver Eagles.
- Looking ahead: NGC will continue to be at the forefront of innovation in coin collecting, including a recently introduced 10-point grading scale.
PMG
- Category: Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) certifies banknotes and other collectible paper money.
- Grading highlight: This 1891 $1,000 Silver Certificate is one of the greatest rarities in paper money, and is worth well over $1 million.
- Interesting statistic: PMG has graded over 8 million notes, more than half of which are from China.
- Looking ahead: PMG is excited to be re-introducing on-site grading events, including one in Europe in April.
CGC
- Category: Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®) certifies a growing roster of pop culture collectibles, including comic books, trading cards, video games, magazines, concert posters and more.
- Grading highlight: A Superman #1 graded CGC 8.0 sold for $5.3 million in a private sale in January 2022.
- Interesting statistic: The CGC Registry, a community where comic book enthusiasts share their collections and compete for prizes, has about 100,000 registered sets.
- Looking ahead: CGC is expanding to the certification of home video (such as VHS tapes) and toys (starting with Funko Pop!) later in 2023.
CGC Trading Cards
- Category: CGC Trading Cards® is a division of CGC that specializes in trading card grading.
- Grading highlight: A Pokémon Illustrator (1998) CoroCoro Comics Illustrator Contest card graded CSG 9.5 realized $672,000 in a Goldin sale in October 2022.
- Interesting statistic: CGC Trading Cards has graded 2.4 million trading cards, of which about 85% are Pokémon cards.
- Looking ahead: The list of trading card games and non-sports cards that CGC Trading Cards can certify is certain to grow.
CGC Video Games
- Category: CGC Video Games™ provides certification services for video games from the most popular retro and modern gaming consoles.
- Grading highlight: A Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System graded CGC 9.4 A+ realized $120,000 at a Heritage Auctions sale in January 2023.
- Interesting statistic: From the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation 5, CGC Video Games currently grades games from 36 systems.
- Looking ahead: Opportunities to acquire video games backed by the industry-leading CGC Guarantee will increase significantly in 2023 as more become certified.
CSG
- Category: Certified Sports Guaranty® (CSG®) certifies sports cards.
- Grading highlight: A 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle Type 1 card graded CSG 8 realized $1,253,185 in an SCP Auctions sale in December 2022.
- Interesting statistic: CSG has certified 1.3 million sports cards – about a third are baseball and about a quarter are basketball.
- Looking ahead: As collectors embrace CSG’s certification services, CSG expects to grade more of the hobby’s rarest cards.
CAG
- Category: Collectibles Authentication Guaranty® (CAG®) has certified the provenance of many historic items, including thousands of space artifacts from the Armstrong Family Collection™ and the Personal Collection of Michael Collins.
- Grading highlight: An Apollo 11 Gold Robbins Medal certified by CAG as part of the Armstrong Family Collection realized $2,055,000 in a Heritage sale in July 2019.
- Interesting statistic: Heritage Auctions has already offered more than 3,000 CAG-certified items, mostly from the Armstrong Family Collection.
- Looking ahead: CAG will certify rare artifacts from more historical events; recent examples include ones linked to Shakespeare, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Walt Disney.
ASG
- Category: Authenticated Stamp Guaranty® (ASG®) is the CCG affiliate that certifies stamps.
- Grading highlight: A China (1885-88) 1 Candareen Block of 4 graded ASG VF/XF 85 Mint OG was part of a group of stamps from the H.F. Bowker Collection that realized $57,336 in a Champion Macau auction in November 2022.
- Interesting statistic: ASG has graded over 800,000 stamps, nearly all of them from China
- Looking ahead: As demand accelerates for ASG’s certification services, ASG looks forward to grading more stamps from around the world soon.
NCS and CCS
Numismatic Conservation Services™ (NCS®) and Classic Collectible Services® (CCS®) continue to be the world’s first and foremost professional conservation and preservation services for coins and comic books, respectively. The careful conservation work of NCS and CCS has contributed immensely to CCG’s success, enabling many more collectibles to be certified and reach the marketplace.
Here you can access the Certified Collectibles Group website.
For further information, visit the NGC website.
