As Professional Coin Grading Service (www.PCGS.com) closes a year of rapid growth, the world’s leading third-party coin and banknote grading service is making further expansions to its team of experts.
Joining are Jamie Kiskis as PCGS parent company Collectors Universe Vice President of Product Development, Mark Ferguson as PCGS Senior Price Guide Consultant, and Peter Anthony as PCGS Modern Chinese Coins Consultant.
"These key professionals will help drive where PCGS goes during its 35th anniversary year in 2021 and beyond," remarks PCGS President Brett Charville. "We’ve always had a transformative role in the coin and banknote marketplace, and we look forward to unveiling many exciting things to come in the upcoming year."
As Collectors Universe Vice President of Product Development, Jamie Kiskis will offer multifaceted leadership on many new and ongoing projects. Among his chief responsibilities will be helming the PCGS Set Registry, which since 2001 has been a popular online platform for coin collectors to display their coin collections and compete with fellow collectors for prizes and awards.
"We have done a great job building the Set Registry, and there is still room to grow and make it be all that it can be and will be in the future," says Kiskis. Additionally, he will be enhancing the PCGS customer experience by creating the products and features they want most.
"I view everything we do at PCGS as a product or service that can and should be strategically planned to maximize collector interest," he remarks.
Kiskis boasts an outstanding collector background, joining the Upper Deck sports collectibles and memorabilia company in 1993 and creating their first Product Development Team. The Los Angeles native grew up near PCGS’ Corporate Headquarters in Santa Ana and prizes a pair of collectible Adidas shoes signed by late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
"I’ve been a collector throughout my life," he adds.
With the addition of Mark Ferguson, PCGS welcomes back a familiar face to enhance its price guide and market analysis.
"I first graded coins for PCGS in the 1986-1987 period and then again in 1990 full-time," recounts Ferguson, who comes aboard as PCGS Senior Price Guide Consultant.
As part of the PCGS pricing team, Ferguson will capitalize on his experience working for other coin pricing publications over the decades to provide the most accurate and comprehensive prices across various PCGS information platforms.
Ferguson offers unique perspective on PCGS-graded coins, having been directly involved with the company during its infancy.
"It’s amazing to see where PCGS is today, compared to the first year," he remarks. "PCGS revolutionized the coin collecting hobby, and it’s been very interesting to have experienced the innovations as a dealer, PCGS coin grader, and in my roles working with three major price guides."
While bolstering its team of U.S. coins market analysts, PCGS further adds a top expert who will lead the company’s development efforts on one of the most popular areas in the world coin sector. Peter Anthony joins the team as its Modern Chinese Coins Consultant.
"I am very happy to join PCGS," he says. "It is a company that is completely devoted to expanding the collector market for Chinese coins along with promoting international cooperation and friendship. PCGS has a roster of experts at the highest level of Chinese numismatics and it is an honor for me to become part of this group."
Anthony has been a coin collector since his childhood and for the last two decades his main numismatic interest has been to research, write about, and publish books and articles about Pandas and other modern Chinese coins. Anthony’s exemplary writing and research has garnered him two Numismatic Literary Guild awards. Anthony received a bachelor’s degree in art from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1975.
In addition to its three new hires, PCGS promotes Writing and Editing Consultant Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez to Editor-in-Chief of Rare Coin Market Report. The bimonthly magazine, sent to more than 20,000 PCGS Collectors Club members, offers readers a diverse array of informative content, including a comprehensive price guide, in-depth articles from the hobby’s leading writers, and regular columns by a variety of featured PCGS experts.
"I’m thrilled to take the helm of Rare Coin Market Report," says McMorrow-Hernandez. "I look forward to building on the publication’s tradition of excellent numismatic journalism while also listening to our readers and ensuring they get even more of the content they want to see in themagazine."
Becoming a coin collector in 1992 at the age of 11, McMorrow-Hernandez has been a numismatic writer and editor for more than a decade and has won three Numismatic Literary Guild awards. He has also authored several books, including one profiling the history of the United States Mint in Philadelphia.
About Professional Coin Grading Service
Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is a third-party coin and banknote grading company that was launched in 1986. Over nearly 35 years, PCGS has examined and certified more than 45 million U.S. and world coins, medals, and tokens with a combined value of over $41.7 billion. For more information about PCGS products and services, including how to submit your coins for authentication and grading, please visit www.PCGS.com or call PCGS Customer Service at (800) 447-8848.
Both PCGS and NGC claim to be the world leading coin grading service. Grade a coin gets from both depend services depend how much one spends with them. If one spends millions they not only get higher grades but special service not offered to the litte guy. Still have not forget that not long ago NGC graded a Mint sealed bag of 1964 JF Kennedy Half Dollars as First Day of Issue for Rick Tomaska. That was for coins over 50 years after they were struck. But for Raphael whom had a mint seal box of 2016 Reagan Coin &… Read more »
Mike Mezack and ANACS are the best. They get their PLASTIC from CHINA!!! UNDERSTAND!!!!!!
PCGS does sweetheart deals as well. Look for more now that they can do IT in private. Despite my belief that regardless, PCGS is the most objectively subjective in grading, but I see A LOT of cleaned older AG now graded w/o notation. Bust halves that have been sanitized for your protection get a clean slab. Funky looking modern silver as well, maybe a mid cleaning is ok>?? I sent them a coin I got @ auction as a W/L only a ‘BU,’ clean coin, they slabbed it @ 65, I thought it was nice……