PCGS Photograde Goes Mobile

Ever since Martin Brown and John Dunn published the first coin grading book in 1958, collectors have sought a portable and effective tool to help them grade their coins. At last, technology has come to the rescue with the release of PCGS Photograde™, a recent addition to Apple's App Store.

Designed for use with the iPhone and iTouch, the free application currently offers high-resolution photographs of 25 popular coin series from Indian Cents through Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles in an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. Using a photo menu system, collectors and dealers can quickly bring up any of the series, and scroll through clear photographs taken from the official PCGS Reference Grading Set of both the obverse and reverse in up to 12 grades – ranging from Good-04 to MS65.

According to John Nelson, the programmer of the application, one of the great advantages of using the new technology is "the extreme light weight and portability of the information. One of the most useful places for this application is at a coin show, when you're examining possible coins to add to your collection. Carrying around a book or two at a show is a burden most collectors are happy to do without... "

The navigation is accomplished entirely by the touch screen. A quick swipe of the finger across the screen will scroll quickly through the images, and a double tap on the photo will enlarge it to full screen.

Co-developer Michael Sherman noted that the present version of the application is only the beginning. "We shortly expect to be adding an additional 35 coin series, and doubling the number of grades shown for most series in the near future. We'll cover everything from Flowing Hair and Draped Bust material through Seated coinage in grades from Poor-01 to MS-69. Eventually we will cover all U.S. series with multiple photographs of each grade."

To download the free application, check out Apple's App Store, Lifestyle section, and search on either "PCGS" or "Photograde."