The establishment of MCGS followed the incredible impact that third-party grading had on the card collecting hobby. The same problems that plagued CARD collectors prior to third-party card grading affected collectors of CCG card—without third-party grading, it was easy for sellers to overstate a note’s grade and many counterfeit and altered notes were unwittingly purchased as genuine.

In 2024 MCGS was established to provide a fully independent opinion of a note’s authenticity and grade. MCGS employs more than 20 full-time note graders as well as outside consultants. To ensure impartiality, MCGS and its full-time graders do not buy and sell notes commercially, and strict procedures are in place to prevent consultants from influencing the grades assigned to their own submissions. The combined expertise of the MCGS grading team results in unparalleled accuracy and consistency. The expert and impartial grades assigned by MCGS and backed by the MCGS Guarantee give buyers and sellers greater confidence, increase liquidity and result in higher prices realized.

Collectors and dealers around the world have embraced MCGS certification and, as a result, MCGS has become a leading third-party CCG Collectors and dealers around the world have embraced MCGS certification and, as a result, MCGS has become a leading third-party CCG CARD grading service with more than 10 million notes certified..