Pack-Grading and New Small-Size Holders for Bank Notes

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) has officially launched pack grading for those who wish to submit their bank note packs for encapsulation. The pack holders, which allow for half (50) or full (100) consecutive serial-numbered bank notes to be encapsulated in a single holder, are great for grading bank note packs whose historic or collectible significance is better maintained by keeping the notes physically together.

“The benefit of grading an entire pack of bank notes rather than individual notes has a lot to do with certain collectible characteristics that are unique to packs of bank notes, such as keeping together a run of notes with consecutive numbers, consecutive Star Notes, and the like,” explains Stephanie Sabin, PCGS president. “There are even cases where a pack of notes may be historical or collectible for other reasons, such as having an origin associated with a bank hoard, a notable collector, or other numismatically significant factors.”

In addition to the rollout of pack grading, PCGS also unveils its new small-size note holder.

“Collector and dealer feedback led to our decision that we should provide a holder specifically designed for these notes,” remarks Sabin. “So many of the submissions we received are U.S. small-size notes, Fractional and postage currency, and other notes from around the world that are smaller than the large-size notes our holders were designed to accommodate. With these new holders, PCGS offers a right-sized solution for a wide variety of banknotes.”

All PCGS bank note holders will continue to include anti-counterfeiting Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology.

Earlier this year, the very first pack to be encapsulated in the new multi-note holder was a full 100-note consecutively numbered pack of Series 1934A $500 Federal Reserve Notes. Submitted by U.S. Coins of Houston, Texas, and pedigreed to the prestigious Taylor Family Collection, it is one of the oldest-surviving packs of bank notes and presumably the only pack of $500 notes known in existence.

Currently, pack grading is available for U.S. small-size notes in the quantities of a complete full pack of 100 notes or half packs of 50. All notes in the pack are examined by graders, and a single grade is granted as a composite for the entire pack. However, the stated grade does not guarantee that any single given note within will grade at that level if it were submitted individually. Each pack is a single grading fee based on the declared value of the pack with an additional $60 fee for the unique new pack holder. More information and guidelines for submitting packs is available at www.PCGS.com/banknote.