The newest resource for paper money collectors is now available online. PCGS Currency has expanded the PCGS Currency Population Report, a report by grade of more than 250,000 notes authenticated and certified by PCGS Currency, to include population by serial number block. Updated daily and available by subscription to members of the PCGS Currency Collectors Club and all PCGS Currency Authorized Dealers, the new “Pop by Block” feature gives collectors and Small Size U.S. currency specialists the opportunity to view PCGS Currency grade populations by serial number block.

“Small Size U.S. currency collectors and specialists now have the availability to research population data and view the relative scarcity of individual blocks by grade,” says PCGS Currency Vice President Laura A. Kessler. “Our new “Pop by Block” population report expands the many resources available to our members. With it’s ease of navigation and 24 hour availability at your fingertips, collectors can quickly find and research pertinent information for over 150,000 small size notes by block. Our initial small size series release includes Legal Tenders, Silver Certificates, Federal Reserve Bank Notes, Federal Reserve Notes, WWII Emergency Notes, and Gold Certificates.”

While the initial release of population data for serial number blocks includes just Small Size notes, the data for Large Size notes by serial number block will soon be released as well. Population data for Canadian notes by serial number block will follow, as well.

“A great deal of work has gone into this project,” stated Jason W. Bradford, President of PCGS Currency. “Our experts have gone over the data line by line to ensure the accuracy of this report. The PCGS Currency Population Report expansion to include serial number blocks will provide collectors of all U.S. notes to gather more information and accurately gauge the relative scarcity of specific blocks by grade.”

PCGS Currency Collectors Club memberships are available online by clicking on our Collectors Club page, or you can join by calling (309) 222-8200. All PCGS Currency Collector Club members can submit notes directly to PCGS Currency, access the online Population Report, and receive a free sample note and a copy of the PCGS currency Grading Standards guide.

“Exciting and important step” says Jason W. Bradford, PCGS Currency President

Effective February 4, 2009, PCGS Currency is no longer a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. The PCGS Currency division has been sold to a new company led by current management, including Jason W. Bradford, President, and Laura A. Kessler, Vice President.

PCGS Currency will continue to operate out of their current Newport Beach location, and clients are advised that all contact information and shipping info remains the same as before. Submissions that are currently in-house will be graded and shipped as scheduled. PCGS Currency will retain its website, population report data, Currency Set Registry program, as well as manage and maintain the Currency Message Boards.

“This is an exciting and important step for our company,” said Bradford, who will continue in his roles as PCGS Currency President and lead grader and finalizer. “We have passed the start-up stage of our business, and are now entering into an exciting time of growth that we feel can be managed better outside the confines of a publicly traded company. By moving our business to a private enterprise organization, we can take advantage of increased efficiencies and reduced overhead to provide better and faster service to our clients.”

“The company has not changed, despite the transition in ownership,” added Kessler, who will continue in her duties as Vice President of PCGS Currency and will continue to develop new and existing clients and services. “The grading standards have not changed and will not change, and our commitment to providing a consistent impartial opinion with integrity will only continue. PCGS Currency remains a name that collectors and dealers can trust implicitly.” (more…)

With only a dozen exceptions, all the paper items in a Florida collector’s home safe were destroyed or damaged by intense heat during a house fire. The only papers that survived unscathed were 12 bank notes inside PCGS Currency holders, including two 1907 $10 Gold Certificates.

“There were eleven large size and one small size PCGS Currency-certified notes recovered from the fire earlier this year. The holders were sooty and some had blisters and discoloration on their surface, but the notes inside all survived without damage,” said Laura A. Kessler, Vice President of PCGS Currency, a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT).

All other paper items in the five-foot tall gun safe at the anonymous collector’s central Florida home were destroyed or damaged from the extreme heat, including family documents, photographs and bank notes not housed in PCGS Currency holders. Hundreds of encapsulated coins survived the fire, although their holders partially melted and were deformed.

“The house had a metal roof and was built on stilts that collapsed during the fire. The safe had a one-hour rating, but it took about four hours until the fire was put out. The Fire Department said the metal roof made it like an oven (under the collapsed building),” the collector said.

“When he submitted the notes he asked us to re-holder them, but at first glance I thought there’d be a change in grades because of the apparent damage to the outside of the holders. I didn’t know what we’d find when we carefully removed the notes from the holders, but they all survived with no damage. It was fantastic,” said Kessler.

“The top-grade materials that are used for our holders undoubtedly saved the notes. They’re made from DuPont Mylar-D®, the safest and best archival material for long-term storage of bank notes. This material is the same used by the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. for storage of important historical documents. It has a higher melting temperature, and thus is safer than other currency holders in the marketplace.” (more…)