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Summary graphic of coin grading apps: they look up certification numbers, the services define a 70 at 5x magnification, and melt value of a tenth-ounce Gold Eagle at an example $4,000 is $400

Coin Grading Apps: What the PCGS and NGC Apps Can and Cannot Do

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No coin grading app can give your coin an official grade. The free apps from PCGS and NGC look up coins those services have already graded, show price guide values and population counts, and let you estimate a grade by comparing your coin with reference photos; a numeric grade, and the guarantee behind it, still comes only from a grading service examining the coin in hand. Used for what they do well, the official apps answer most of the questions a buyer or a first-time submitter has, including whether a graded coin’s number checks out.

As of October 10, 2026: PCGS says it has merged its Price Guide and Photograde apps into PCGS CoinFacts, which its App Store listing calls 100% free and says covers over 40,000 U.S. coins. PCGS Cert Verification checks a 7 or 8 digit certification number, and PCGS says NFC chips have been included in all its coin holders since October 2020. The NGC App verifies NGC-graded coins by barcode, and its listing says it shows images for nearly 20 million of them.

The official apps and what each one is for

Search an app store for coin grading and the results mix the grading services’ own apps with identifier and pricing apps from other developers. The ones published by PCGS and NGC are the only ones tied to the databases behind their holders:

App Publisher Main job
PCGS CoinFacts PCGS Prices, population, Photograde, barcode lookup
PCGS Cert Verification PCGS Checks a PCGS cert number or NFC chip
NGC App NGC Verifies NGC certs; census, prices, registry
Coinflation Listed by PCGS Melt calculators for silver, base metal, scrap

CoinFacts is the broad research tool. Its App Store listing promises barcode scanning for coins graded by both PCGS and NGC, the full PCGS Price Guide and population report for U.S. coins, and Photograde reference images by grade. It needs an internet connection to work. PCGS’s apps page adds that CoinFacts now holds more than 3.2 million auction prices realized and shows real-time gold and silver prices on its home screen. Older articles that send you looking for separate Price Guide or Photograde apps are out of date; PCGS says it folded both into CoinFacts.

The NGC App, published by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, is narrower. Its listing describes certification lookup, the NGC Census, the NGC Registry for organizing a collection, and NGC news. For buyers, the lookup is the part that matters.

Cert lookup: checking a graded coin by its number

Every PCGS and NGC holder carries a certification number, and both services let you check it from a phone. PCGS says its cert number is the one after the slash on a standard PCGS holder, and its Cert Verification app accepts a scanned barcode or the typed 7 or 8 digit number. Newer PCGS holders can also be tapped: PCGS says you can hold an NFC-capable phone up to the slab, or scan the front barcode, to verify it. PCGS’s cert page says the lookup returns certification, pricing and population data, and that checking a number “helps mitigate the risk of purchasing counterfeit or altered coins.”

NGC’s app does the same job by scanning the label barcode. On holders with NGC’s newer hologram, introduced in 2023, a QR code at the left of the hologram opens that exact coin’s record. On the NGC website you enter the grade along with the number; NGC explains that this stops people from crawling its database. NGC adds that it has photographed nearly every coin outside bulk submissions since October 2008, so for most coins graded since then you can compare the photos on file with the coin in front of you.

A match proves less than it seems. It shows that the number exists in the database, not that the coin and holder in your hand are the ones that were graded. The image and description still have to match the coin, which is the subject of our fake coin slab checklist. The same logic applies to jewelry paperwork, as our piece on a certificate number that does not match the listing explains.

Price guides, auction records and population counts

The second thing these apps do well is put reference prices and counts in your pocket. PCGS describes its Price Guide as updated daily, and the NGC App shows NGC Price Guide values for US coins alongside each verified coin. Both are reference figures; NGC’s disclaimer calls its guide prices averages rather than prices for any particular coin.

Check the date on any figure. NGC’s page for the 2025 $5 Gold Eagle, read October 10, 2026, showed price guide values last updated in February 2026, while the census counts on the same page had been updated that day. For a gold coin, a guide value set months ago reflects the gold price of months ago.

Population figures (PCGS calls them the Pop Report, NGC the Census) count how many coins of a date and type each service has graded at each grade. NGC says its census helps you research the relative rarity of your coins and is updated every week. Two limits apply: each service counts only its own holders, and coins that were never submitted do not appear at all. For how those counts drive the premium between grades, see our MS69 vs MS70 Gold Eagle comparison.

Photograde: estimating a grade by comparison

Photograde is the closest thing to a grading app that PCGS publishes, and PCGS is careful about what it claims. “With PCGS Photograde™, you can obtain the approximate grade of your coin by comparing it to the photo that most closely matches its appearance,” its page says, adding that the PCGS Price Guide can then give “a ballpark idea of how much the coin is worth.” Approximate and ballpark are PCGS’s words. PCGS’s apps page counts 2,580 high-resolution reference photographs.

The method suits coins where grades are separated by visible wear, because the photos for each grade show where detail disappears. For a coin with no wear at all, such as a Gold Eagle that never left its capsule, the grades that matter are separated by much finer things. Our coin grading chart lays out the whole 1-70 scale.

What a coin grading app cannot do

We found no PCGS or NGC page that offers to grade a coin from a photograph, and their own descriptions of grading show why. These are the jobs that stay with the grader:

  • Telling a 69 from a 70. NGC defines a 70 as having no post-production imperfections at 5x magnification. PCGS describes a 69 as having minuscule imperfections visible upon close inspection, and a 70 as fully struck and lustrous, free of visual marks. The gap between those two grades is what the top of the market pays for.
  • Several sets of eyes. NGC says at least two professional numismatists look at every coin it grades, one grader at a time, and each enters a grade.
  • Authentication. When NGC graders decide a coin is not genuine, NGC says they draw on resources “from X-ray fluorescence spectrography to comprehensive image databases.” A phone camera cannot test what metal a coin is made of.
  • Problem coins. NGC says coins with surface problems such as scratches, cleaning or damage can be ineligible for a numeric grade and get a details grade instead. That call is made with the coin under the grader’s eye, not from a picture.
  • The guarantee. PCGS guarantees the authenticity and grade of coins “graded and encapsulated by PCGS,” and NGC guarantees coins encapsulated in an NGC holder. An estimate from any app, including the official ones, carries no guarantee.

Apps from other developers that promise an AI grade from a photo sit outside all of this. Neither PCGS nor NGC stands behind their results, and a buyer paying for a guaranteed holder will not pay for an app’s opinion.

Coin value calculator searches: melt is arithmetic

Many searches for a coin app are really searches for a value calculator. For a bullion coin, the starting value is its metal, and that takes no app. PCGS’s apps page lists a Coinflation app with four calculators covering US silver and base-metal coins plus gold and silver scrap, along with a live gold and silver price. A Gold Eagle needs only its gold content, which the U.S. Mint publishes for each size:

Gold Eagle Gold content Gold value at a $4,000 example
1 oz ($50) 1 troy oz $4,000
1/2 oz ($25) 0.5000 troy oz $2,000
1/4 oz ($10) 0.2500 troy oz $1,000
1/10 oz ($5) 0.1000 troy oz $400

The dollar column assumes gold at $4,000 an ounce, an example figure we picked to show the method; it is not a quote. Swap in the live price from CoinFacts’ home screen or any gold quote, and multiply. Count only the gold content, not the coin’s total weight, which includes silver and copper. Our article on what a $5 Gold Eagle is worth works through the tenth-ounce coin in detail, including dealer premiums.

A sensible order for using the apps

Put together, the official apps support a simple routine before you buy, sell or submit:

  1. Work out the metal value from the gold content and a live price.
  2. Look up the date in CoinFacts or the NGC App for guide values and population at each grade, and note when the guide was last updated.
  3. For a worn coin, use Photograde to narrow the likely grade range. For an uncirculated modern coin, treat any estimate above MS68 as a hope until a grader sees it.
  4. For a coin already in a holder, verify the number with the service that graded it and match the photos and description to the coin.
  5. If the numbers favor grading, read our step-by-step guide to getting coins graded and the full Gold Eagle grading cost breakdown before you ship anything.

How the two services differ beyond their apps is covered in our PCGS vs NGC comparison, and the American Eagle gold grading pillar ties the series together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an app that can grade coins from a picture?

Not one that gives an official grade. PCGS describes its Photograde comparison tool as a way to get the approximate grade of a coin, and the grade that dealers and auction houses rely on comes from PCGS or NGC examining the coin itself. Both services guarantee only coins they have graded and sealed in their own holders.

What is the best coin grading app?

For lookups, the free apps published by the two big grading services: PCGS CoinFacts (with the PCGS Price Guide, population report and Photograde built in), PCGS Cert Verification, and the NGC App. Each looks up coins in that service’s own database, so which one you need depends on whose holder the coin is in.

Is the PCGS CoinFacts app free?

Yes. Its App Store listing, read October 10, 2026, calls it 100% free to use and says it covers over 40,000 U.S. coins. It needs an internet connection to work.

What happened to the PCGS Photograde app?

PCGS says it merged PCGS Photograde and the PCGS Price Guide into the PCGS CoinFacts app, so the reference photos are now inside CoinFacts. The same Photograde comparison is also on the PCGS website.

How do I check a PCGS or NGC certification number on my phone?

For PCGS, scan the barcode or enter the 7 or 8 digit number in the PCGS Cert Verification app, or tap a newer holder with an NFC-enabled phone. For NGC, scan the label barcode in the NGC App or the QR code on newer holograms; on the website NGC also asks you to select the grade with the number.

Is there an app to calculate the melt value of gold coins?

You do not need one for a Gold Eagle. Multiply the gold price per troy ounce by the coin’s gold content: 1, 0.5, 0.25 or 0.1 ounce. PCGS’s Coinflation app has calculators for US silver and base-metal coins and for scrap gold and silver, and CoinFacts shows real-time gold and silver prices on its home screen.

Sources

Grading standards, fees and policies are quoted from each organization’s own pages on the date shown and change often, so check the current terms before you submit, buy or sell. This article is general information, not investment, tax or legal advice. Top Tier Drip is not affiliated with any grading service, laboratory, mint or dealer named here and earns nothing from them.

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