I Need Some School'in

2 & 3 are the same but a Registry coin is normally considered a "certified/graded" coin that has been entered into the owner's Registry set.

More like an apple, an orange, and a fruit basket!

However, an apple and an orange are from trees which are from seeds which is planted in the ground. A fruit basket is something you give sick people when you have no idea of what else to give them.

TPGs(third party graders) will examine a coin and determine a grade. In this examination, they will also certify the authenticity of said coin and authenticity is guaranteed by that TPG once the coin is entombed in plastic. If NCS or PCGS examines a coin and deems it to have a problem that, in their opinion, renders it ungradable, then they still certify the authenticity once slabbed but do not list a grade just GENUINE. PCGS recently started doing this and I have seen NCS coins with the GENUINE label but they will also assign a details grade, I am not sure why they do both.

A registry coin is an entirely different animal. PCGS and NGC both have what are called Registry Sets. Essentially it is a slabbed collection of a particular series, say Lincoln Cent Business Strikes 1909-present. A completed registry set will have one of every coin that fits that description so it would exclude die varieties and proofs. You could also have a set that was just proofs or included everything. Registry Sets are ranked on a points system based on the grade and other factors, like color, strike(FBL, Full Head, Cameo, etc), etc. The one with the most points in a particular set is deemed to have the highest graded collection(remember that grade does not necessarily equal quality). It can be fun and enjoyable, but more recently with the money involved in completing a competitive registry, it has become an ego contest for the most part Top population coins are heavily emphasized which leads to incredible skewing in value of high grade coins.

Thank you biokemist6