Modern third-party coin grading service is presently defined by the tamper-resistant plastic "slab," which encapsulates both the item and its certification.
This was the problem faced by the Institute of Numismatic Authenticators, founded by the controversial Walter H. Breen in 1962.
A decade later, the American Numismatic Association (ANA) established their Certification Service, the ANACS, in 1972.
PCGS began operations in 1986, providing encapsulation in a modern plastic slab without a photograph.
[8] Many other companies have provided similar services, but most are no longer in business, and all have certified far fewer coins.
A more recent development has been the advent of "stickering" services, such as Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC).
[13][14][11][12][3][15] In 2007, the rare coin industry's leading dealer association, the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG), released the results of a survey of major coin dealers who gave their professional opinions about 11 certification services.
[13][11][12] NGC and PCGS counterfeit holders have been reported, but significant measures have been taken by both services to remedy the problem, such as NGC's use of photographic verification for every coin certified and both services' employment of serial number verification and anti-counterfeiting features in their holders.