Monthly Archives: March 2010

This week, the Professional Coin Grading Service announced "The Big One," a service called PCGS Secure Plus -- a new service line that will be an option for most collectors except for rare and ultra rare coins which must be certified by PCGS Secure Plus.

The significant part of this service is that PCGS is adding modern computer imaging to coin grading.

Coins grade through Secure Plus will be scanned by an optical device that will map the surface of the coin creating a digital signature of its characteristics that can be used for later reference. The digital signature is a unique identification of the coin that can withstand potential coin doctoring and to prevent the users from removing the coin from the slab to try to have it graded higher. It can also be used to determine if the coin was doctored from its previous submission such as being artificially toned.

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