PCGS Sample Slabs

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PCGS was founded in 1986 by David Hall and a group of dealers who all had a common goal to make buying certified coins sight-unseen easy. They accomplished this by sealing and guaranteeing the coin in the holder was the grade given. If the coin was found to be over-graded, then the company would buy back the slab at the retail price the customer paid. The idea was popular and PCGS quickly rose to be the top grading service in the 1980's and still is among the top three today. Their slabs have undergone many changes over the years as can be seen by the numerous sample slabs below.

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PCGS Sample Slab 1 PCGS sample slab 1 is very similar to PCGS sample slab 2 but has 000000 as the serial number instead of .64/7000023. The coin is a Roosevelt dime and is graded MS-64 with the word Sample below. This is the scarcer type of the first two types.	PCGS Sample Slab 1.1 This is the same scarce type of slab and label as PCGS sample slab 1, but this one has a proof dime inside. You can tell a difference even by a scan in the quality of the coin, and this type surfaced on ebay in 2004. Should be about as hard to locate as PCGS sample slab 1
PCGS Sample Slab 2 Known as the rattler, the early PCGS sample slab holders were used from 1986 to 1989 and are still seen sometimes today. This sample was given out at most of the shows during this time period to acquaint collectors with their slab.	PCGS Sample Slab 2.1 This one is the same as PCGS sample slab 2, except it has a proof coin inside instead of a mint state example. The mint state examples are easily found, but these are not.
PCGS Sample Slab 3 Within a couple of years, a dealer got the bright idea to counterfeit the PCGS slab and make his own slabbed coins. It worked for a little bit, but he was soon caught. It brought too the attention of PCGS sample slab (and the other services) that better security had to be used on their slabs so that if someone tampered with a slab, it could easily be detected. The newer slab had an outer ring and a hologram on the back. The label was printed with thousands of small dots on a dot matrix printer. The doily label slab as we call it today was born but did not last for long. Made from August of 1989 through January of 1990, few of these samples survive.	PCGS Sample Slab 4 Removing the doily and placing a green label was the next step in the PCGS sample slab's evolution. The sharp outer rim was still used on this example. All samples from this time period either have a MS-64 or MS-65 Roosevelt dime inside although the dates vary.
PCGS Sample Slab 4.1 The newer slabs like PCGS sample slab 5 used a different label than PCGS sample slab 4. When the slab changed, so did the label. In PCGS sample slab 4, the edge of the label has small perforations around the label rim, while PCGS sample slab 5's label seems to have been cut out, and has a smooth even rim. Somehow samples were made with the newer label in the older PCGS sample slab.	PCGS Sample Slab 4.2 The label is the same as PCGS sample slab 4.1 (without the perforations) but also has the word Dime added after sample. This one seems to be quite difficult to find.
PCGS Sample Slab 5 PCGS sample slab 5 has a slightly different label with a different type of font being used. The main difference is that the slab is now one piece and the outer protective sharp rim was removed. A fairly common slab with the MS-64 grade and a little harder to find with the MS-65 label.	PCGS Sample Slab 5.1 A sub-variety of PCGS sample slab 5 with the only difference being Sample moved over to the right hand side of the serial numbers.
PCGS Sample Slab 5.2 This type was not known until November of 2003, when a small hoard came on the market from a private collector. It is unknown how many were made. Instead of a Roosevelt dime, this sample type has a Washington quarter. The label is a yellow tint. Every sample is graded MS-64	PCGS Sample Slab 5.2.1 This was discovered in November of 2004 with the coin being a 1964 instead of a 1961-D. It is also graded MS-64, and the label is the same as PCGS sample slab 5.2.
PCGS Sample Slab 5.3 The label is the same green color on this type but the font has been changed to a darker bold with the typeset slightly different. The easiest way to tell them apart from the above samples is to look at the 0 in the denomination. The other samples have a line through it and this one does not. Dates of 1955-D, 1959-D and 1961 have been found, but so far are harder to find than the normal and very common PCGS sample slab 5.	PCGS Sample Slab 5.4 This label is the same as PCGS sample slab 6.3 but this type has a silver Roosevelt Dime inside. The coin is not graded.
PCGS Sample Slab 6 Sample appears where the grade normally would be and the coin was changed from a Roosevelt dime to a War nickel. Some of these samples still have the paperwork accompanying them from Tangible Assets Gallery who gave them out to clients to acquaint them with a Sample PCGS Certified Coin.	PCGS Sample Slab 6.1 Very similar to PCGS sample slab 6 with the same type of label and word placement, but with a worn Liberty Head nickel. Could have been a special dealer sample or given out to the general public. This sample was discovered in August of 2003.
PCGS Sample Slab 6.2 This sample and the following two samples were sold by an Arizona dealer in July of 2004 on eBay. These never seen before types brought a lot of interest and strong bidding. This sample has a no date buffalo nickel inside with PCGS Sample Coin all on one line on the label. There is a space to the right of the beginning of the serial number and before the .00 which is odd.	PCGS Sample Slab 6.3 Around the same time period, another nickel was used but this time it was a Mint State Jefferson nickel. Sample is in the middle of the label and the space in the serial number has been removed.
PCGS Sample Slab 6.4 Instead of the sample in the middle of the label this one has Specimen. The coin is a normal MS-68 silver eagle and not a special strike or proof specimen. The serial numbers have 500000.00 before /1234567 (which is very similar to the 12345678 on the normal green label samples). Could it be the 500,000th coin graded? Maybe. Could it be a sample? Most likely.	PCGS Sample Slab 7 Instead of a grade on this one, PCGS just put MS. Sample is placed above the right hand side of the serial number like PCGS sample slab 5.1. This was a dealer only sample to show them the new label. They were given to PCGS dealers and not the general public. It contains a 90% silver half dollar. Most are in the MS-64 grade range.
PCGS Sample Slab 8 Very similar to PCGS sample slab 7 but MS is now changed to Circulated and the denomination becomes a Morgan silver dollar. This one also is a dealer sample. Very tough to find.	PCGS Sample Slab 8.1 As of May, 2004 this is the highest price sample ever sold. It sold for $265 at the end of April, 2004 on eBay and beat the HALLMARK price of $250 set just a few weeks before that on eBay. It is the only known sample right now with a Franklin half and surprised all collectors when it came up for sale. It has the same label type as PCGS sample slab 8 but with a Franklin half inside. The coin is a nice Mint State piece despite the Circulated label and seems to follow in line like the PCGS sample slab 7 samples.
PCGS Sample Slab 8.2 This sample is the same as PCGS sample slab 8 except the label is blue. It is not a green label faded slab but a true blue color.	PCGS Sample Slab 9 The first PCGS sample slab with a world coin inside. It is not graded, but the coin is a choice Mint State example. PCGS began certifying certain world coins in the early 1990's and this might have been a sample to show what a world coin would look like in their slab.
PCGS Sample Slab 9.1 Another world coin in a PCGS sample slab. This sample has the green colored label compared to the yellow label of PCGS sample slab 9. It was made around the same time period. The coin is in Mint State condition, and the slab has the standard 12345678 for the serial number like the other more common dime samples. Tough to find.	PCGS Sample Slab 10 This slab was once thought to be scarce. It might still be semi scarce if no one saved them, but David Hall has been quoted as saying "These were an item in a Random House marketed Scott Travers Coin collecting starter kit. I believed we did either 50,000 or 100,000 of them." If this is the true production numbers, this is the largest number of samples made for any time from any of the services. Most samples don't even have 1,000 made of one type. The back of the slab is green and white and does not have the hologram. The dates range from 1918 through 1929 and each coin is in Fine through Extremely Fine condition. Group lots of 4-8 of these samples can easily be found. This type could still be a challenge for a short set of sample slabs by trying to get one of each date.
PCGS Sample Slab 11 The first State Quarters were released in 1999 and many new sample slabs were made. There are several varieties that exist with different placement of the word sample either to the left or right of the State and the placement or lack thereof of MS00.	PCGS Sample Slab 11.1 Instead of MS00, this type was produced for one or two states and has NG00 which probably stands for No Grade. A harder to find type from early 2000.
PCGS Sample Slab 11.2 The word sample is moved to before the state name on the label.	PCGS Sample Slab 11.3 This one is very similar to PCGS sample slab 11 with the same coin and label placement except there is a / between the state name and the word Sample.
PCGS Sample Slab 11.4 New Hampshire P quarter with the word sample below MS00.	PCGS Sample Slab 11.5 Georgia D quarter with the word sample below MS00.
PCGS Sample Slab 12 The first PCGS sample slab to have a website pedigree. These were given out at the 2000 Long beach shows.	PCGS Sample Slab 12.1 Like PCGS sample slab 12, this sample has a website on the label. Instead of collectors.com it has PCGS.com. It is unknown how many were made or how they were distributed.
PCGS Sample Slab 12.1.1 The PCGS.com website is removed and an older Lincoln cent was used in its place.	PCGS Sample Slab 12.2 One of the few PCGS samples with their website on the label. The quarter is a Delaware State quarter and it seems like PCGS sample slab was really promoting their new website back in 1999, the year the State quarter came out.
PCGS Sample Slab 13 When the New Hampshire State quarter was released in 2000, Bowers and Merena, a division of Collectors Universe which owns PCGS, had samples made to hand out at shows. Three years later they are still giving this sample out with no changes to the label. It is unknown how many were made.	PCGS Sample Slab 14 This is the second sample slab to have a world coin inside. It is a Philippines issue 5-cent denomination coin and the label has the word sample below PCGS MS00.
PCGS Sample Slab 14.1 About the same time period that PCGS sample slab 14 was produced another US coin sample was also made. 1964-D silver Washington quarters mislabeled as 1964 are common. As you can see by the picture someone wrote the mintmark on the slab to note the error. The coin is really spotted and it seems to me that they didn't care about the grade or looks of the coins on these samples.	PCGS Sample Slab 14.2 The coin inside this sample looks superb with almost PL (proof like) surfaces. The word Sample is in the lower left-hand corner of the label and not below the grade because the country's name was placed there.
PCGS Sample Slab 14.3 Same date and style of label as PCGS sample slab 14.2, but this one has a 10 cent denomination inside.	PCGS Sample Slab 14.4 Just like the last two samples, this one has no bar code on the front and the word sample is in small letters towards the bottom lower left. The denomination is 5 cents and the smallest of the Canadian coins in a PCGS sample slab.
PCGS Sample Slab 15 For the New York quarter, PCGS changed the label twice for the P Mint sample, and changed the wording by the time it came to slab the D mint sample slab.	PCGS Sample Slab 15.1 Same as PCGS sample slab 15 except the series and coin number is in bold.
PCGS Sample Slab 15.2 Different serial number and a large size hologram on the back of the slab. These first appeared in September of 2005 at the Long Beach Expo.	PCGS Sample Slab 16 PCGS sample slab MS00 replaces the earlier PCGS sample slab -Sample on the first line and New York Sample is added on the second.
PCGS Sample Slab 17 This slab has both the words Sample and Compliments of Cameo CC They were given out by Cameo CC, a modern coin dealer based out of Ohio. The coin is choice, and could easily make the MS-66 grade. A sample slab with a New York quarter was also made for them by PCGS.	PCGS Sample Slab 17.1 The label is different than PCGS sample slab 17 although they were made during the same time period. The date is wrong. These seem pretty hard to find
PCGS Sample Slab 18 These slabs were given out at a PCGS sponsored lunch at the May 2003 Long Beach show. PCGS message board members were invited to attend and this slab was a special gift for all that attended. Only 40 were made and it has become one of the scarcest sample slabs made by PCGS.	PCGS Sample Slab 19 This slab is similar to PCGS sample slab 11 or 12, with PCGS sample slab MS00 staying on the same top line. The difference is that Sample is below without a description of the coin on the second line, and a Sacagawea dollar is used instead of a State quarter.
PCGS Sample Slab 19.1 Sacagawea is added to the left of the word sample. This coin is a D Mint and PCGS sample slab 19 is a P mint. Both types could have been made at the same time period or at two different time periods.	PCGS Sample Slab 20 This sample is fairly common and has been passed out at major shows by PCGS for about two years.
PCGS Sample Slab 20.1 Since 2002, PCGS has been giving out New York and Louisiana sample slabs at every major show. This is the most modern type of label for their samples. What makes this sample unique to the rest of the others over the last two years, is that Louisiana is spelled wrong.	PCGS Sample Slab 20.2 There are many different things about this sample slab. The most obvious is the large hologram on the back. Other differences are the removal of the dash between PCGS Sample and no space between LA25C. Interestingly though they used the same serial number.
PCGS Sample Slab 21 The only website PCGS has ever put on their label was their own, collectors.com or PCGS.com. This sample has a phone number, website, and ebay ID of NFC. NFC is a major PCGS dealer based in Florida and this sample has a Florida quarter inside.	PCGS Sample Slab 21.1 Another company sample with their contact info and phone number on the front label.
PCGS Sample Slab 22 This sample appeared at the 2006 FUN show in Orlando, FL. The label is much different than previous years' samples. The font is bold and the type is smaller than usual. There is no barcode on either side, and this type can be found with the following states: Vermont D, Rhode Island P, and Kentucky D.	PCGS Sample Slab 23 The first Buffalo Nickel PCGS samples appeared at the 2006 ANA show in Atlanta, GA. The coins are not graded but the word sample is placed to the right of PCGS sample slab. The font is bold but spaced apart. These were given out at several shows before PCGS sample slab started using the following sample.
PCGS Sample Slab 23.1 Using the same coin type and label layout as PCGS sample slab 23, this sample has the font spaced much closer together and lower on the label. This type first appeared at the Denver ANA Show in August, 2006.

PCGS Sample Slabs on eBay

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