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ICG
(Independent Coin Grading Company)
ICG was formed in 1998 by some of the leading people in
the hobby. Like SEGS, they use a separate company that processes the coins
and places them into flips before entering the ICG office. This has helped
stop the ideas of favoritism that many collectors feel happens within
the grading services. The label has basically stayed the same green color,
but over the years has changed from a darker green, to a lighter green
color while the slab has remained the same. ICG is the most prolific company
when it comes to sample slabs and many more are still being discovered.
Below is a good mixture of them, but by far not a complete list. I will
continually update it as more pieces surface.
| ICG 1
Dark green label with “ICG-Sample” where the grade would go. Teletrade was the first major auction house to accept ICG coins and this sample was pedigreed to them to give out at shows. The back of the label is blank with the hologram on the left hand side.
ICG 1.1
This sample must have been made around the same time period as ICG 1, since the coin date, type and label description is the same. The only difference is th pdigre to wgauctions. I have never heard of them as an auction company or eBay id.
ICG 1.2
Made about the same time period as the previous two samples, this one has the same year from the State Quarter series but with no pedigree to a company, and instead has the denomination in the lower left hand corner.
ICG 1.3
The same date and mintmark Kennedy half is used for this sample, but it has the pedigree to G.R. Tiso.
ICG 1.4
Pedigreed to the “Luxor Hotel-Casino” this sample also has a 1971-D Kennedy half inside. |
| ICG 2
Same label type as ICG 1 with “Delaware Quarter” in large letters below. |
| ICG 3
“ICG-Sample” remains where the grade would be, but the State is written in smaller letters and the word “Quarter” is removed. |
| ICG 4
“Sample” is taken from the front of the label and placed on the back. “Quality you can see” which is used on many samples from here on out is placed below the second line. Mr. Barlow said 200 of these samples were made for his company.
ICG 4.1
Made during the same time period, this sample has a Connecticut quarter with the word “Sample” below “Quality You Can See.” |
| ICG 5
Made for the 2001, ANA Atlanta show, these were given out at the YN breakfast and on the back says “courtesy of coinland.com” on the white stripe. |
ICG 6
Quality you can see is placed on the front without “ ” on either side. “Sample” is on the back of the label and the white strip across the back of the label is blank.
ICG 6.1
This sample was made for Leonard Albright Numismatics with
his pedigree (L.A.N.) below "quality you can see."
The word sample is on the back of the label, and all 250 of
the ones produced have the 2000-D Massachusetts State quarter. |
ICG 7
Earlier slab from 1999 and is similar to ICG 3. The back label is blank.
ICG 7.1
Much like ICG 6, but labeled under ICG 7 since it has the same pedigree to collectorusa.com
ICG 7.1.1
The font on this sample is a little smaller and not as bold as the previous one. It was produced in 1999, one year prior to ICG 7.1.
ICG 7.2
This slab has a numerical grade unlike the previous two sample, but still has the regular 1-10 digits where the serial number should go. The back has a more bold website name with a differnt type font used than the regular www.coinclub.com samples. The person who owns this particluar sample said he received it as a free promotion since he was one of the first 100 people to register on ICG's website. It appears that only 100 of these were made.
ICG 7.3
An early State quarter sample made within the first 2 years of ICG's existance.
ICG 7.4
Another slab with a website on it. Made for www.cheapslabs.com, they sell mostly cheap slabs as the name implies through their website. They are still in business today but ICG hasn't made a sample for them for a few years now.
ICG 7.5
This sample has the same early State quarter as the previous samples, and has the pedigree for Cameo CC on the label. The slab was made circa 1999-2000.
ICG 7.6
Pedigreed to J&D Coins. |
ICG 8
This is the mother of all ICG sample slabs. It was produced by ICG for Lucent Technologies when the Intercept shield was first introduced in the ICG slab. The intercept shield was supposed to protect the coin from harmful gasses for over a 100-year time frame. This slab was made as a test for the lab to test in their chambers. The shield passed and ICG has been using it ever since in their slab if you choose to pay a little more for the intercept core. “Sample” is across the front where the grade would go and “Interceptor ……Test” is below. |
ICG 9
Once the intercept shield came out, ICG made samples to show what the shield looks like inside a slab. Using a 2000-D Lincoln Cent, they made tons of these samples and three varieties now exist. The front label is the same on all three and the difference can only be seen on the back. Large hologram and no white stripe on ICG 7.
ICG 9.1
No white stripe across the back label, but with a smaller hologram on the left hand side.
ICG 9.2
Small hologram like ICG 9.1, but a white stripe has been added to the back of the label and the phone number placed on it.
ICG 9.3
This is an interesting sample promoting the Intercept Shield technology. Instead of a Lincoln Cent, a Louisiana quarter is placed inside and the label gives the Intercept website in bold letters. Although the coin is dated 2002, these samples first appeared in late 2004. |
ICG 10
This slab was made for a specific coin club that ICG attended (Denver Coin Club). Two types are known with the intercept shield slab and both are from Colorado, ICG’s home base. “Sample” is written on the back label.
ICG 10.1
Pueblo Coin Club sample slab. |
ICG 11
A bunch of samples were made in 2001 and 2002 for specific coin shows and the most common is the San Jose, CA show samples. 500 were made for each show and this one is from January of 2002.
ICG 11.1
Central States 2000 show slab. This slab is cracked across the front, which makes the picture look funny.
ICG 11.2
This sample was passed out at the June, 2001 Santa Clara coin show and has the word "Sample" on the back with the number #053 of 500. All 500 samples of this type should have the same Rhode Island quarter inside.
ICG 11.3
The word "sample" is on the back of the label. This type does not have #00 of 000 on it like the later Santa Clara samples do.
ICG 11.4
Below "ICG" is the number of slabs produced and this
one is "167 of 500". The show's website is now placed
below the pedigree "Fall show 200".
This sample was produced in 2002 for the ANA Jacksonville show. |
ICG 12
Hallenbeck Rare Coins is located in Colorado Springs, CO about a block away from the American Numismatic Association. They have several types of sample slabs, but I only have pictures of two right now. I have seen a sample with a 1999 SBA dollar and a few other State quarters than the two listed here.
ICG 12.1
2001-D North Carolina Quarter sample slab. |
ICG 13
New dealers and collectors that submitted 5 coins or more for the first time to ICG, would receive a free pedigree State Quarter with their return submission. There is only one made, but the word Sample is listed on the label. I would imagine hundreds have been made over the years, but I will only list one unless the label changes. |
ICG 14
Numismatic wholesalers sample slab. “Sample” is written on the back of the slab.
ICG 14.1
Numbers 1-10 are added above the barcode with the website still placed on the front of the slab. |
ICG 15
Mark’s Coins sample slab. I have no clue where he is located or the history behind the company. I’ll admit I haven’t spent more than 5 minutes looking for info on the company though. |
ICG 16
Neat slab. A barcode is both on the front of the label and
the back on the white stripe.
ICG 16.1
Made during the same year as ICG 16, and with the same layout of the slab label, this one has a pedigree to a dealer who I have never heard of before.
ICG 16.2
ICG 16.3
Similar to the above samples since they were made around the same time period, this type has the State’s name below “ICG”. Monaco Financial had them made and passed them out to prospective clients. |
ICG 17
Here is a neat sample slab. If you present “this holder” to the ICG table, they will give 10% off that submission. There is no coin inside and most people probably just threw them away since there is no real “value” to the slab. Several types exist from different shows and this one is from the 2002 NY ANA Summer convention.
ICG 17.1
Prior to the ANA shows is a non ANA sponsered coin show in the same city usually the weekend before. This sample was produced and distributed at that show by ICG and probably in smaller numbers than ICG 17 because of the smaller size of the show. |
| ICG 18
This is a controversial slab of whether it should be considered a sample or presentation slab. Keith Love went to the University of Texas and gave a talk to the numismatics class that is held there. At the end of the talk, he gave out samples of the companies slab and is pedigreed to the Fall 2002 class with “University of Texas” where the grade would go. 50 of them were made and they are scarce today since nearly all the students have moved on and kept the slab. |
ICG 19
This is similar to ICG 11, but there are enough differences to make it it’s own slab number. The Lincoln Nebraska Coin Club celebrated their 500th meeting on July 10th, 2003. ICG made a sample slab for the historic event and each member received one. It has a 2003 Sac dollar and is “Compliments of the Coinery” as stated on the back of the label. |
ICG 20
ICG got into the casino chip slabbing about 2 years ago. There was an uproar among the traditional chip collectors who got together and decided to not do business with any chip dealer that sells slabbed chips. Samples were still made, but no one really liked the idea and it has since not caught on. “Sample” can be seen in the bottom left hand corner on the front of the slab. The website www.coinclub.com is listed on the back of the slab, with the white stripe below. |
ICG 21
ICG came out with a “flag design” label after the tragic events of the last few years. ICG 21 is from “The New Silver Dollar Show” with 2000 of these slabs made.
ICG 21.1
This is the same type of label as ICG 21, but was made for the Front Range Coin Club by ICG. I don't know how many were made, but probably not many and getting one may be tougher since nearly all of the members are locals who will want to keep their slab because they were "Compliments ICG" (on the back of the label). This type does not have a # made, but does have the exact date on the front which makes it very easy to tell when it was produced. |
ICG 22
The latest flag label sample from ICG. Keith Love taught at the ANA Advanced grading class during the second session of 2003. He had a sample slab made for each student and instructor (total of 33) with a graded MS-68, 2001 Sac dollar inside. The label was from a special spool that they did not use on any other slab since it was a test spool. You can see the difference in ICG 21 and this one, since ICG 21 does not show the green ground with the crowd below. The label is darker in color than ICG 21 and the flags are more pronounced. |
ICG 23
A sample from www.coinland.com
ICG 23.1
Same label type, but with a State quarter inside.
ICG 23.2
This is a neat sample that was given out by www.coinland.com and has their pedigree on the front. Instead of a normal dime or quarter, it has a buffalo nickel which makes it more attractive and would most likely be kept by non sample slab collectors. The back has the word "sample" above the white stripe.
ICG 23.3
Same slab and label as ICG 23.2 but the slab features the coins reverse facing towards the front! They either made two batches of these or just didn't pay attention when they were slabbing a few of them. This is the only one I have seen of this type this so far.
ICG 23.4
This type has the 2001-D Lincoln cent just like the Intercept shield Lincoln cent samples. It is in a normal ICG slab with the pedigree to www.coinland.com. “Quality you can see” is below ICG.
ICG 23.5
A 2000-P Lincoln cent replaces the 2001-D, and the “quality you can see” has been removed. |
ICG 24
This slab dates back to 2001 and has the "ICG-Sample" like the 1999 sample slabs, but with "Quality You Can See" below which started roughly during 2000. www.coinclub.com link is on the back and the white stripe appears below the smaller hologram. |
ICG 25
During the 2003 ANA Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs, CO ICG made up samples for Brian Fanton (the instructor) for the "Adventures in Numismatics" class which was a beginner class for the wives of coin collectors. I don't know how many were made, but I know there were less than 20 students enrolled. A neat sample with a pedigree to the instructor and a specific class. |
ICG 26
This type is similiar to ICG 18 and was also made for the University of Texas numismatic class taught by Dr. Lane Brunner. 22 of them were made by ICG and passed out by James Taylor after his talk. The slab dosen't have the date like ICG 18, but it was made for the 2003 class and has a smaller mintage than the previous years slab. |
ICG 27
This sample was made for my website by ICG. They were kind enough to put the website on the label and 150 were produced. The coin is an Irish Penny dated 1968 in Mint State condition, and carries a neat story. The story is that they bring good luck when given as a gift at the end of a business deal. As a result of its large size and neat look, I picked the coin to put in the sample and too give after someone has purchased a sample from me. The word "Sample - not for resale" is on the back of the label on the white stripe. I do not sell them. |
ICG 28
Sometime in Februrary 2004, ICG changed the label color to a more aqua green color. You can compare it with the sample above to see the difference. This is the first sample from the April 2004 Bay State coin show to have this new type of label. The back still has the white stripe with the website to www.icgcoin.com above. |
ICG 29
This sample and ICG 29.1 were made for a class at the 2004 ANA Summer Seminar. They were passed out by the instructors to the students to show them what a slab looks like. 20 of each type were made and the word “Sample” is on the back of the label.
ICG 29.1
This class was taught by Dr. Lane Brunner and had about 15 middle school teachers as the students to help them with ideas on how to bring numismatics into the classroom. The word “Sample” is on the back of the label. |
ICG 30
Two types of samples were given out by ICG at the 2004 A.N.A Convention. Both types have a 2004-D Peace Medal nickel with the flag label type of insert. This sample has the Intercept shield around the nickel.
ICG 30.1
This sample is very similar to ICG 30 but does not have the intercept shield. “Not for resale” is on the back of each slab. |
ICG 31
This slab has the pedigree for the Long Beach, September 2004 coin show. The back of the slab has the word “sample” above “Not for resale” and www.icgcoin.com.
ICG 31.1
This sample and the next sample were made in 2004 for slightly smaller shows. Usually 40-100 are produced for these size shows. I am not sure on the number of actual samples that were made for either of them at this time. This one is pedigreed to the 2004 Bay State Show.
ICG 31.2
2004 Portland ANA. |
ICG 32
“Quality You Can See” is placed back on the front of the slab, and is again in a smaller font. This sample was passed out during the Fall, 2004 Long Beach show and several other regional conventions. |
ICG 33
The Omaha, Nebraska coin club celebrated their 800th meeting on Dec 17th, 2004. To commemorate the special event samples were made with the new Keel-Boat Nickel both in P&D mintmarks. Several dozen samples were made of each mintmark for the members attending the event. |
ICG 34
For the Fall, 2005 Long Beach show ICG produced a special sample slab with the newly released “ocean view” nickel. The label is the type used for the “Westward Journey” nickel sets. 200 of these samples were produced and they were all given out at the show. |
ICG 35
This sample was made for the 2005 Baltimore show. 45 of them were made and passed out at the ICG booth. |
| ICG 36
Pedigreed to the 2006 FUN show. 200 of them were produced.
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