PMG

What PMG does

PMG (Paper Money Guaranty, LLC) is a third-party grading and authentication service for paper money, operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Certified Collectibles Group, LLC (CCG), a privately held Florida LLC that also owns NGC (coins), CGC (comics), ASG (stamps), and JSA (signature authentication). Headquartered in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, PMG was founded in 2005 and serves banknote collectors, dealers, and numismatic marketplaces globally from offices in the United States, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Munich, London, Dubai, and India.

The core product is expert authentication and grading of banknotes under a proprietary 1–70 scale, with specialty designators including Exceptional Paper Quality (EPQ) and the PMG Star designation. Notes are encapsulated in tamper-evident holders; each certification is assigned a unique number that can be verified online along with holdered note images. Supporting products include a weekly-updated Population Report, the World Paper Money Price Guide (powered by NumisMaster and covering notes from 1368 to present), a dealer locator, the PMG Registry for collector set competitions, and curated galleries of notable certified collections. Distribution is hybrid: direct submissions to PMG offices, a global network of thousands of Authorized Dealers and Official Submission Centers, and on-site grading at numismatic events.

PMG generates revenue from a tiered fee schedule for grading services (priced by declared value and service tier), annual membership subscriptions (starting at $39 per year, with ANA members receiving a $15 first-year discount), per-unit special labels such as the America250 commemorative label ($8 each), and ancillary income including advertising to its 70,000+ subscriber email list and affiliate commissions from the eBay Partner Network. The company has served as the Official Grading Service of the American Numismatic Association since 2007 and the Professional Numismatists Guild, and is an Approved Grading Company on CDN Exchange and Catawiki.

Name

PMG

Legal name

Paper Money Guaranty, LLC

Website

https://pmgnotes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PMG (Paper Money Guaranty) is a privately held third-party banknote grading and authentication service, operating as part of Certified Collectibles Group. It serves collectors, dealers, and numismatic marketplaces worldwide through tiered grading fees, membership subscriptions, and a global Authorized Dealer network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sarasota

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Paper Money Grading Services: PMG charges fees for grading and certifying paper money/banknotes submitted by collectors and dealers. Fees are based on declared value and selected service tier.
2. Special Labels and Designations: Additional fees for special labels such as the America250 label ($8 per label) and other designation labels.
3. Membership Subscriptions: Paid memberships starting at $39 per year for collectors to submit directly to PMG.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PMG (Paper Money Guaranty) provides expert third-party authentication and grading of paper money and banknotes for collectors and dealers. Submissions are evaluated against consistent, accurate, and impartial grading standards, encapsulated in tamper-evident holders, and backed by the PMG Guarantee that protects buyers and sellers. The service is delivered via direct submissions, Authorized Dealers, Official Submission Centers, and on-site event grading worldwide.

Product overview

PMG (Paper Money Guaranty) operates as a paper money grading and authentication service within the Certified Collectibles Group. The core offering is expert grading and certification of banknotes, backed by the PMG Guarantee. The product suite includes the primary grading service, certification verification tools, population reports, a world paper money price guide powered by NumisMaster, a dealer locator, collector registry for competition, specialized holder/label products with designations like EPQ and PMG Star, video content, and curated galleries. PMG also offers direct submission services and attends events globally for on-site grading.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Paper Money Grading & Authentication Service
• PMG Membership Subscription
• PMG America250 Label

Quantifiable outcome

• Buyers and sellers protected by PMG Guarantee

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Numismatic Association (ANA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007PMG has been the official grading service of the American Numismatic Association since 2007. ANA is a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization devoted to collector education. ANA members receive $15 off the first year of PMG membership.
• Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial Grading Service of PNG, a professional organization of numismatists.
• VcoinscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial Grading Service of Vcoins online marketplace for coins and paper money.
• CDN ExchangeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerApproved Grading Company of CDN Exchange, a currency trading platform.
• CatawikiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerApproved Grading Company of Catawiki auction platform for coins and banknotes.
• eBayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partner through eBay Partner Network. PMG-certified notes are tracked and can be found on eBay.
• Whitman (Official Supplies)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial PMG store partner for archival supplies through Whitman.
• Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC)coreTechnology or IntegrationSister company within Certified Collectibles Group (CCG). Both NGC and PMG share cross-promotional opportunities, joint advertising, and combined registry programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ANACS: ANACS is one of the oldest third-party coin grading services in the US and an established external competitor to NGC. It shares PMG's foundational business model of expert authentication, numerical grading, encapsulation, and population data, applied to coins rather than paper money.
• Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC): NGC is PMG's sister company within Certified Collectibles Group and the world's largest third-party coin grading service. It shares the same parent, leadership, infrastructure, grading-standards methodology, and target collector base, and is the closest internal business-model comparable to PMG (coins vs. paper money).
• Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS): PCGS is a long-established independent third-party coin grading service and operates PCGS Currency as its banknote grading business. It is the most prominent external competitor to NGC, and by extension to the broader CCG family, sharing the same business model, premium-positioning strategy, and collector target market.
• Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC): SGC is an independent third-party grading service focused on sport and trading cards. It mirrors PMG's business model of expert authentication, numerical grading, tamper-evident holders, and a registry/comp set program, and competes for the same collectibles-collector marketing channels and event presence.
• Certified Guaranty Company (CGC): CGC is the third-party grading arm of Certified Collectibles Group focused on comic books, magazines, and similar paper-based collectibles. It is a direct PMG sister company under CCG, sharing the same holder/label system, guarantee framework, verification tool, and registry platform adapted to a different collectible category.
• Beckett Grading Services (BGS): BGS is the card-grading arm of Beckett, a long-established collectibles price-guide and authentication publisher. It operates a comparable third-party grading and holdering service for trading cards, sharing PMG's reliance on expert human grading, sub-grade designations, and a price-guide ecosystem.
• PCGS Currency: The currency-grading arm of PCGS, providing third-party authentication, grading, and holdering of paper money. PCGS Currency is the most direct head-to-head competitor to PMG in the banknote grading category, using a comparable business model, fee structure, and target market of collectors and dealers.
• American Stamp Authentication & Grading (ASG): ASG is PMG's sister company within CCG and provides third-party authentication and grading of postage stamps. It runs the same operating model - expert grading, tamper-evident holders, designated labels, registry, and a guarantee - making it a directly comparable CCG business in an adjacent collectible category.

Broad incumbents

• PSA / PSA Card: PSA is the dominant third-party grading service for trading cards and sports memorabilia, operating at significantly higher scale than PMG. It shares the same third-party grading business model, holder/label system, guarantee structure, and registry, and competes with the broader CCG family for collector mindshare and marketing partnerships.

Others

• Heritage Auctions: Heritage is the largest US collectibles auction house and a major distribution channel for PMG-certified notes, including high-profile sales of collections like the D. Brent Pogue Collection. It is not a grading competitor but a key ecosystem partner and downstream beneficiary of PMG's certifications, making it a strategically adjacent company in the banknote market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PMGnotes
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC0F60LLZeNrnTi4a-FLqhyg
• Facebookfacebook.com/PMGnotes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paper-money-guaranty-llc
• Instagraminstagram.com/pmg_notes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PMG