Certified Guaranty Company, known to comic fans the world over as simply CGC, is the third-party grading company which fans can use to slap a number on their books that guarantees their quality should they be eager tos ell them. Since 2000, they’ve been providing clear, objective and impartial assessments of authenticity for their grades and in a new series of videos offering some insight into that process. While most fans will recognize the numbering scale for comics by CGC raging from 0.0 to 10.0, there’s another branch of grading that they take part in which is for restored comics, which have their own scale and process that differs from the traditional grading. Watch the video below to learn more!
Videos by ComicBook.com
The restoration grading video focuses on CGC’s primary grader, Matt Nelson, who walks through the steps of a recent grading of 1942’s Superman #14. In addition to the traditionally grade applied to CGC books, comics that have had restoration are graded on a scale that has two factors: the Quantity scale, a 1 -5 number which indicates the levels of restoration applied to the book; and the Quality scale, measuring the professional to amateur level of work done to the restoration (scaled from A to C). Unlike traditional CGC grades, the higher the number here, the worse off the book actually is. This number appears at the top of the 0.0 – 10.0 score for a restored comic sealed by the company.
The purple “restored” label by CGC is one of several colored labels used by the company in addition to Universal Label (Blue), CGC Signature Series Label (Yellow), Qualified Label (Green), Pedigree Label (Gold), and the No Grade/Individual Page/Cover labels which are also blue. Combo labels also exist including Conserved Label (Blue/Grey), CGC Signature Series Qualified Label (Yellow/Green), CGC Signature Series Restored Label (Yellow/Purple), and CGC Signature Series Conserved Label (Yellow/Grey).
Comics aren’t the only thing graded by CGC though, despite it being what they’re best known for. In addition they also grade trading cards (including virtually all Pokรฉmon TCG and Magic: The Gathering cards), magazines, concert posters, lobby cards, and their Signature Series observation to guarantee signature authentication.
Earlier this year they company posted a video of the very first Pokรฉmon card graded by CGC, a No. 1 Trainer card from the Pokรฉmon World Championships in 2016 (it managed a “9” grade).
