November 9, 2017 – Certified Collectibles Group (CCG®) announces the formation of its newest member company: Authenticated Stamp Guaranty™ (ASG™), a third-party authentication, grading and encapsulation service for collectible stamps.
Left: China 2017. 120 Yuan, Year of the Rooster. XF/Superb 95 Mint. – Right: China 2017. Gold 120 Yuan, Year of the Rooster. Superb 99 Mint.
ASG is the sixth independent affiliate within CCG. The oldest and largest of the CCG companies is Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®), which was established in 1987 as a third-party collectible coin authentication, grading and encapsulation service. NGC has since certified more than 39,000,000 coins.
The other CCG member companies include two that provide similar services for paper money and comic books: Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) and Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®), respectively. CCG also includes two professional conservation services: Numismatic Conservation Services® (NCS®) for coins and Classic Collectible Services® (CCS®) for comic books. NGC, NCS, PMG, CGC and CCS have each achieved global recognition as leader in their fields.
ASG replicates many of the proven practices that have been developed by NGC, PMG and CGC. For example, a proprietary system and extensive security measures will track stamps at every stage of the grading process, from the moment they are received until the time they are returned to the submitter, to provide submitters with greater peace of mind.
China 1980. Gold 8 Fen, Year of the Monkey. XF 90 Mint.
Stamps determined to be genuine by ASG are graded according to a 100-point scale, with a Gem 100 being defined as having no post-production imperfections at 5x magnification. To ensure impartiality, ASG’s graders are prohibited from buying and selling commercially and never know the identity of a stamp’s submitter. Multiple professional graders examine every stamp for consistency.
After stamps are graded, they are securely encapsulated in ASG’s holder, which was custom-built using high-quality, inert materials to provide superior long-term preservation. The ASG holder boasts an elegant, patent-pending design and an advanced hologram that contains a dozen different covert and overt security elements.
China 1992. 20 Fen, Year of the Monkey. VF/XF 85 Mint.
Stamps are encapsulated with an attractive ASG certification label that features a description of the stamp, its ASG grade and other relevant details, as well as a unique identification number for the holdered stamp. The label also includes a distinctive image of metallic silver scales, which represent the impartiality for which the CCG companies are known.
ASG-certified stamps are backed by the comprehensive ASG Guarantee of grade and authenticity. This guarantee provides a higher level of protection for ASG-certified stamps.
“We are excited to expand our expert and impartial services to the world of philately,” says Mark Salzberg, chairman of CCG. “We believe that our accurate, consistent and impartial assessments of a stamp’s authenticity and grade will add value and liquidity for the stamp hobby, just as they have for the coin, paper money and comic book hobbies.”
ASG will initially focus on the philatelic market in mainland China but plans to expand to other markets, including Hong Kong and the United States, in the future. Updates and additional information, including submissions instructions, will soon be posted to ASGStamps.com.
This is the website of Certified Collectibles Group.