Guide To Submitting Currency For Grading

CK -

The answers to most of your question are the same: it depends.

To start, PCGS and PMG are the principal paper money TPGs, with CGA now a distant third since ebay will not allow their notes to be listed anymore. This does not mean CGA notes are bad - there can be great values here. I personally prefer PMG because I believe their paper quality definitions are stricter than PCGS (for example, PCGS will give a gem grade to a note without premium paper quality, while PMG will not). But this is just a personal preference.

The cost will vary according to how fast you want the note back and the market value of the note, among other factors. The cheapest fees often have a cap on market value (for their insurance on returns). For a table of submission costs, just visit the web sites of either company or Google something like "Cost of submitting paper money to PCGS". Typical fees are around $35 per note. Don't forget to factor in mailing costs. If you are an ANA member, you don't need to be a PMG club member to submit privately - a big benefit.

Turnaround time - same thing, the faster you want it back, the more you'll pay. Typical is around three weeks.

Difficult to say what a breakeven point would be. I usually don't submit notes that are worth less than $200, but that's just me. I certainly do buy a lot of TPG notes for less than that, however!

I store my TPG ntes in the Lighthouse deluxe binders, which have many options for large and small notes. These are 3-ring and cost about $50 apiece, with extra leaves easily available.

Hope that helps -

Frog

I agree with PMG or PCGS. You can't go wrong with either of these. While I have not been submitting currency for long this is what I have experienced. You get what you pay for. I always choose to pay as little as I can in fees to PMG. In return, PMG takes 60-90 days to turn the notes around. I could get them back quicker but I would have more cash tied up in the notes. I am never in a true hurry so I don't mind the wait. Also, I try not to submit until I reach the "bulk" status and the price per note drops a little. I believe this may be 25...I'm not sure though.

I have sent in notes of all values. I like the security of the sealed holders. Several of my confederate and obsolete notes are on incredibly thin paper so I like knowing they are protected for many years to come.

As coin frog said....I have been disappointed as well as pleasantly surprised many times. You truly never 100% know when you send notes in what the final grade will be.

Good Luck.

Thanks for the input, Coinfrog (you seem to be more of a Notefrog though) and Connor! I appreciate it. Gives me a lot to chew on. I've done some Googling and surfing on this but I like to get opinions and advice from folks in the know.

I think I will start with purchasing graded notes before submitting my own to get a feel for things. I've been meaning to get a North Africa $1 for my U.S. small $1 note collection so maybe I'll start there. I already have an ungraded Hawaii $1 note that's in crisp condition but not sure it's worth sending for grading.

I purchased a Vario binder and 3-page pockets for my inexpensive ungraded world notes (see photo below). I'm sure I could use a similar setup with 2-page pockets for graded notes.

Interesting. So because the note is already sealed in a TPG currency holder, you can't feel the note in your hands to see why it might have received a certain paper quality designation. Makes sense.

What besides paper quality and centering do they grade?

[facepalm]

(Yes, I know there's no [faceplam] smiley but there should be. )

I'm embarrassed at myself for asking that. Of course overall condition/wear is paramount.

Thanks for the continued advice, Coinfrog.

CK - we all knew what you meant.

Good thread

I would like to add just a few things that I think about when it comes to TPG and paper currency from a "Fine-Very Fine Note Collector" since this is what most of my collection is. Just my opinion.

I have a set of North Africa notes (just like coinfrog's, but NOWHERE close to those grades!) that are with PMG right now...in fact they have been with PMG for over 2 months now but as I mentioned above I am trying to keep the cost down so I selected the economy tier which means SLOW. I purchased these notes raw and I really like the professional look PMG's holders give to the notes. In this case I don't think having these in PMG holders will increase the value a lot but in my opinion they sure will look good and to be honest I have no interest in selling these and making a profit on them anytime soon. Side note: I am thinking they will come back in the VF range but we will see soon.

I also have a few confederate notes with them as well. These notes are probably in the same F-VF condition. I choose to send these in for two reasons. 1. There were a lot of replica's of these made and while I am pretty sure all of mine are real I want to make sure my family would receive top dollar for these if something were to happen to me and if I try to sell them the buyer on the other end will know they are authentic as well. 2. I think there are a few deals to be had out there if you look hard enough. I have bought a few notes over the years that were raw and after I sent them to PMG I was able to flip them for a small profit (including the grading fee). This does take some experience and time. You have to pick the right note at the right deal and then be patient while they are sent off to PMG. This is time consuming for the amount of profit actually made but it is fun to me and it's strictly a hobby.

Lastly, if I had a collection full of notes like coinfrog's, Techwriter, and some other members here I would without a doubt have any and all of my notes graded that are in that type of condition. You just don't see notes in that condition everyday!