The Action Figure Grading Phenomenon: Part II - The What, Who, Why and How

Pete writes:

 Coming back into the discussion that we launched over a year ago, I bring you the second in our trilogy of articles on the action figure grading phenomenon. Last time I talked in length about the history of grading as it related to a wide spectrum of collectibles. Here we established a baseline for the overall conversation on grading. If you missed that be sure to take a quick read through of how the grading practice originated in other hobbies and ultimately made its way into our hobby.  

                                                              

With this installment we cover the bigger picture of what grading offers collectors and its place in the hobby today. In short, this is the what, who, why and how of action figure grading.     

The What (i.e. What is Grading?)

Not getting overly complicated, grading in its simplest form is the evaluation of an item's condition and the assignment of a numeric score based on a third party inspector’s (grader’s) assessment. The items are then encapsulated in a container that is sealed to preserve, protect and display the item itself.

At the center of this we have the score (grade) that is assigned to the item. Simply put, whether via a 1-10 or 10-100 scale, it’s about placing the condition of the item on a numeric spectrum for comparative purposes. The score unfortunately draws a disproportional amount of attention from many collectors, as many ultimately oversimplify the grading practice as a whole, making it about this number and the assignment of it. Those shortsighted individuals are missing the bigger picture -- that being that the score itself is not the be-all-end-all reason why this practice has become so popular. We’ll discuss this more later in the article.

Truly the score is about removing subjectivity and biases. Some of you have been collecting long enough to remember the days where you didn’t get pictures of items before you bought them. For those in that group, I bet you are more than likely to have at least one or two stories about receiving an item and feeling like it differed greatly from how it was described. With those that have been collecting over the last twenty years, similar issues come up on eBay and other sites. Poor pictures, lack of descriptions and just generally lackluster information on an item lead to a gap between perception and reality.

Even the usage of collector-made scales like the C-Scale, which is used to help clarify condition and value, has its own flaws on this front, mainly because one person’s evaluation could be based on completely different conditional attributes than another. There are other factors that come in as well, such as experience and literal objective biases. But at the end of the day the biggest flaw in the scale comes from its universal subjectivity and lack of specificity in how a score is being assigned.       

Given its scoring system, grading has become increasingly popular in the hobby, especially on platforms like eBay. Some customer types in this venue include those with a “burn” effect -- collectors who have had issues with condition of items from online auctions and websites. This effect along with the general mistrust of others that people seem to have online has played very well for the practice as the subjectivity is lessened through the third party representation.  

The standardization of evaluations has become one the most prevalent benefits when it comes to the practice of grading. Most companies carry examples on hand of the same items that you are getting graded, thus they have a basis for comparison from mint down to poor condition. This is important in many ways to establish what a figure should look like in pristine condition, especially given the drastic differences you see in color variance and depth within certain toy lines. At the core this has reduced the “he said – she said” situation that we run into.

The Who of Grading

Another aspect of grading is the graders themselves. Who are these people, where do they come from, and what makes them an expert in toys? These are some of the most common questions that are brought up with it comes to another factor around the great grading phenomenon: the WHO. No, not the British rock band from the 60s, but more who are the people that are grading these items.  

Some of the backgrounds of these graders include artists, critics, auction house evaluators, architects, and other job fields where aesthetics and preservation are critical. The long and short is that these companies employ individuals who are creative and detail-orientated -- the two factors that I think are most important when casing items. Whether it’s Leigh and Ken at CAS or Chad and his team at AFA, each brings a unique perspective to their evaluation and casing style.

We'll dive more into the Who with our next article as we take a deeper look at each company, but I wanted to mention the people behind the scenes here, as they are a critical component of what makes grading a popular practice today. 

Why would a collector be inclined to do this? 

So why would someone grade their collectibles? This must be the most common question among those who are new to the practice of grading, and ultimately, it’s probably the most important among established and new collectors. The elusive why.

There is no universal response to this question as ultimately there are several reasons why. Depending on the audience, this is asked with resilience or sometimes tongue-in-cheek, as many collectors already have preconceived notions about the practice.

To quote the AFA website, “Authentication, Preservation, and Evaluation” are the main reasons people grade their collectibles. 

We’ve touched on evaluation already so let’s look at the other individual components:

Authentication: In simple terms authentication is ensuring it’s an original, legitimate item and not a fake or reproduction, and whether it's altered in some way. When it comes to grading, authentication can be a bit of a misnomer (explaining ink touch-ups, reseals), as certain items are not truly authenticated but rather they’re reviewed to ensure lack of tampering and compared with known examples. This is most common with production items, i.e. what made it to store shelves.  

Additional authentication may take place for pre-production or more commonly faked items like double-telescoping lightsaber figures and vinyl cape Jawas. At AFA it’s called the Grading and Authentication service and is paired with a review by Collectible Investment Brokerage (CIB) -- one of the foremost authenticators in the hobby.  

When it comes to pre-production items, this service involves additional steps through experts in the field to verify the origins, purpose and variation from the production counterparts. Sometimes this is obvious with different molds or paint jobs, but it involves more detail review using advanced tools to ensure that you’re production items weren’t stripped, sanded or altered to make them appear different in a way that could be construed as pre-production. This is typical and an additional service where in turn collectors are presented with a COA (Certificate of Authenticity) with additional details on the item.

As important as authentication is to grading, it’s not the driving force behind why most collectors grade their collections. That title goes to Preservation.

Preservation: Whether it’s protecting the item from natural elements or protecting it from your kids or pets, encapsulation (casing) of items always ranks up there as a top reason as to why grading has become so popular over the years. Encasing items in acrylic doesn’t make them bullet proof, but it could be the next best thing besides locking items in a bank vault. In similar fashion to how a museum may protect something that’s precious or valuable, acrylic encasement gives the item an added level of protection and improves the aesthetic of many items. This can be seen across almost any vintage item, but is extremely important for items containing cardboard, weak plastic bubbles, and tape or glue-sealed items. Different methods have been employed by multiple companies to address these issues and help items stay in their original unaltered condition for as long as possible.  
 

There have been a few innovations over the years to really help with some of the more common problems via case design. The most commonly seen of these innovations would be the bubble protector. These four-sided walled structures were introduced for lines that have significant issues with the plastic figure bubbles remaining adhered to the packaging. These bubble protectors keep the bubble and card more securely held together to help stave off separation as these pieces age. The structure of cases has morphed as well. Simple changes such as using dowels vs. square inner bracing or the advent of using shoulder pads and handcuff style inner bracing have lead to the cases themselves doing a better job protecting the items over the years. 




With advancements in the casing of mailers and multi-packs along with the aesthetic progression that we’ve seen with CAS and AFA on the loose action figure front, grading has conversely brought about new possibilities from a display perspective into multiple segments of the hobby. In the case of loose action figures, grading has really invigorated a segment of collecting that was being overlooked by many “higher end” collectors and hobbyists.

Not only have case styles evolved to address the aforementioned issues, the materials used in these cases has evolved over the years as well. Museum or archival quality acrylic has helped maintain the lifetime of these items by offering additional solutions for light sensitive items. This is mainly seen in additional UV protection that different types of acrylic can offer. UV light, which can be a major concern for people displaying their collection, is thus partially or fully blocked through unique blends of acrylic and the utilization of UV resistant film. This helps the items maintain the depth of color and also helps in protecting some plastics from turning yellow due to UV exposure.

Much like case designs, the scoring of a piece has taken on changes over the years to accommodate growing segments in the hobby. Moving from single to three tiered scoring along with the addition of Y grades to designate yellowing plastic were good moves and helped with the accuracy of scoring. In this situation I’m referring to more sweeping changes that impacted the scope of what could be graded, specifically the Ps ad Qs.

The Q-Grading Scale was introduced by AFA in the early 2010s and expanded upon a major segment that grading companies had stayed away from historically: new in box toys that were no longer sealed. The Q in Q-Grading stands for Qualified. It was a simple augmentation on the current grading scale, allowing collectors to quickly identify that the item has been open by adding the letter Q to the grade and also changing the background of the label from red, which is seen on sealed items, to blue. Items do need to be new and unused in order to qualify for this scale. As such, it wasn’t an open invitation for all MIB items to come in. Instead this was about helping a conditional fringe in the hobby, as double taped, questionable taping, and items that were new but not sealed now qualified for grading. It was a big win for the hobby, as these items should be documented and preserved in a similar light to their sealed counterparts.

CAS has taken this even a step further in their fight to maintain the integrity of items that have been severely damaged from a preservation perspective. The P-Scale (Preservation Scale) is used on cut card figures to ensure they aren’t removed from their bubbles and preserved. Given the lack of new inventory to hit the market in the past 20+ years, this has become a more protected segment for collectors over time, and as such the service meets a growing need for preservation. New concepts like the P-Scale are important as grading needs to evolve like the hobby. Where there is new demand, we need new concepts. 

Remember when I told you not to get stuck on the numbers? It wasn’t that far back and there’s a reason. Many are unaware still to this day that there really are two main services offered by these companies when it comes to sealing items in acrylic: grading and encapsulation. These two activities are not one in the same. The latter is a less expensive way to preserve the items and gain the aesthetic and preservation elements that are associated with grading. Thus if you truly don’t care about the number you can save yourself some money and maybe a little stress by going this route vs. traditional grading. 

How (How’s it done)?

Now that you’re excited about this (or extremely annoyed) and armed with the background, just how in the heck does this work? Well, the “how” varies for each company to some extent, but we’ll cover the broad strokes and try to address a few of the specifics of each company.  

First the specifics. Each company has their own process for submitting items to be graded and I’ve linked to the different processes below for reference:

• AFA process here.
• CAS process here.
• UKG process here.

Given both the length of this article and the particulars of each company, I won’t drone on about this in detail, as both companies do a great job summarizing what you need to do and where you need to send your items.

In short, the broad strokes of the process involved the following steps:

• Paperwork – either online or handwritten.
• Packing – protecting the items so they make it there unscathed.
• Payment – show us your money!
• Grading – the evaluation and casing.
• Return Shipments – getting your items back.

Turnaround times and prices vary by company, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the specifics of each organization via their website.

Summarizing a few tips from a seasoned collector:

1. Ensure you’re familiar with the price structure, specifically bulk or member discounts.
2. Pack your items appropriately. The websites will make mention and give suggestions, but take extra care as there’s nothing worse than something happening on the way to the graders.
3. Be familiar with turnaround times prior to submitting. Make sure you’re okay with not seeing your items for 3-4 months in a lot of cases. Take things like pending trades and your own sanity into account.                                                                 

If you don’t have much background on the companies or want more details on them, sit tight as our third installment in this digital trilogy will be released in the coming months which will cover the companies, their backgrounds, the evolution of their services, and which services they offer.

Concluding this article, let’s summarize:

• There are many reasons for grading beyond the numerical value itself.
• It’s a widely accepted practice.
• Opinions are opinions, make up your own mind and don’t let any tell you any different.  
• It is a good thing for the hobby. Times change and sometimes people can’t accept that.

Be sure to stop back to the Star Wars Collectors Archive for more articles, our podcast and other new features to help stave away the social distancing period.

Until then... Wampa, Wampa!

Pete

MarketWatch: 2020 Prop Store Toys, Comic Art & Collectibles Auction

Pete writes:

 Well, with a new year comes the second iteration of the Prop Store Toys, Comic Art & Collectibles Auction out of their Los Angeles office. Like last year we were treated to a full color catalog featuring a plethora of items from the Star Wars Saga, including vintage and modern, as well as cast and crew pieces. In short, they ran the gamut with the assortment that was brought to market for this event.


The layout of the catalog was augmented slightly, but still offered a range of information not just on bidding and the auctions, but the items themselves and where some of the more niche pieces fit into the bigger picture of Star Wars and movie collectibles and toys.

The presence of more items from the Howard Kazanjian collection was a nice addition to the already robust catalog. These cast and crew items mixed with the occasional toy or lunch box are an extremely important part of the Star Wars movie ethos. Howard being the producer of Return of the Jedi and working hand in hand on so many key details of the production brought another level of validation for the auction and helped separate it from many of the other large scale auctions taking place these days.  

The online interface for the event was good overall. All live auctions have some delay, but this was pretty good both performance-wise and functionally. The test lot is a great idea and shows that no matter how mainstream online auctions are, auction houses still use a lot of tactics to keep people engaged, as the ringing of the bell was fun to watch.

Brandon Alinger, the proprietor of the Los Angeles office, gave a good kick off and overview and the hand off to the auctioneer was good. He brought great energy to a long day. In fact, some of the last 100 lots were some of the most interesting of the day to watch.

Enough with that though. Let’s look through a sampling of some of the cool vintage Star Wars pieces to show up in this auction.

JAWA COLLECTION

We’re going to kick off with all things Jawa. One of the if not the most special part of this auction was the sale of the vintage Jawa collection. From the 6:1 and other coin related items to the EP and first shot, there were some special pieces. In fact there was enough to start 2-3 strong focuses just in this auction alone. Let’s look at the highlights. For ease of pulling this together I am listing everything in hammer prices, thus these prices do not include the 25% buyers premium that was added onto final hammer prices.

In the world of coins this was truly a cool experience. The ability to find all of these pieces together will never be duplicated. All of the 6:1 pieces did well, and by that I mean that even in a slightly down market, items like these were obtainable by a large chunk of collectors -- although the supply is very limited. We won’t cover all parts of the coin set, but it’s worth mentioning having a nice internal QC copy of the coin artwork with several spots of live ink/stamps was a nice touch, not discounting the die sets themselves which really rounded out the collection. In this situation we’re keeping it to the big four.

-        6:1 Coin Hardcopy Stage 1 - $6,000

-        6:1 Coin Hardcopy Tooling Master Stage 2 - $6,000

-        6:1 Soft Copy - $6,000

-        Etching Plates - $6,500

Moving past the coins we have a great variety of 2D and 3D preproduction items. The simple but rarer Land of the Jawas box flat was one of those pieces that you didn’t need in there, but just fit so well with the rest of the items.   

Looking at figures, there were a good selection of MOCs from around the world, but the piece that stands out the most is the Vinyl Cape Jawa Engineering Pilot. This was by far one of the most surprising pieces of the day and saw an incredible final price.    

In addition to just Jawas, we got a great selection of the Jawa Limo itself: the Sandcrawler. Both the EP and artwork were incredible pieces to see, but the highlight of the whole Jawa set has to be the first shot Sandcrawler. Whether it’s the details it was lacking or the sweet blue door that it had, the first shot Sandcrawler was the king of the Jawa auctions and brought an incredible price for a unique and exceptional piece of vintage Star Wars history.

-        Land of Jawas Boxflat - $1,700

-        VCJ EP - $10,500

-        3-Pack Backdrop Concept - $6,500

-        Sandcrawler EP - $5,250

-        Sandcrawler First Shot - $17,000

ROCKET FIRING BOBA FETT

Like other auction houses such as Hakes, this round Prop Store found themselves with a Rocket Firing Boba Fett, and in all honesty it was the first “mainstream” example to come to one of these large scale auctions over the past few years. Thus, this wasn’t as much about seeing Prop Store’s presentation on the item but more about how much it was going for and how aggressive people went after it.

Comparing this piece to the Hake’s sale last November is like comparing an apple to a watermelon, but alas that’s what seems to be the mindset among a lot of collectors. There may be some price adjusting going on in the lower and middle ends, but this really bucks that trend. If anything impacted this piece negatively it was the fact that it was being sold within a week of the DOW having record losses and a potential global pandemic with the COVID-19 virus, as that’s the stuff that people that buy these pieces are looking at: the former more than the latter.  

Nonetheless this was a great auction for a great piece, and appropriately ended with a price point of $75,000 ($93,750 w/BP). Not breaking the 6 figure number, but still a hell of a showing for a non-painted, non-AFA90 example of the L-Slot Rocket Fett.

Rocket Firing - L-SLot Boba Fett First Shot AFA 85 - $75,000

A FEW OTHER PIECES TO NOTE

There were several other noteworthy auctions and here are a few of my personal favorites. Starting out was one of the most fun to watch auctions of the day: the R2-D2 Playdoh Dynacast hardcopy.   Measuring under 2 inches tall, he was one of the smallest of the day, but with the buyers premium cracked the $1,000 mark.

R2-D2 Playdoh Dyancast Figure - $900

Revenge of the Jedi proofs have been all over the board the last 5 years, with Fetts pulling in $8,500 in the last 12 months. Thus it was disappointing to see an AFA90 example of Fett not move. On the flip side we saw a great example of Ben Kenobi sell for a healthy sum in this auction. 

Ben Kenobi Revenge of the Jedi Proof - $2,000

It should have its own section, but given it didn’t sell it’s hard to give it too much of the limelight, but it goes without saying that it was very cool to see the 12” Lando come up for auction. Falling short of its reserve like many auctions of the day, this was a special piece and just didn’t have the right buyer this day. 

Lando ESB Unreleased 12” Action Figure (Headless)

For the full review on prices realized visit their site.

With another successful auction in the books, this hopefully cements this as an annual or even better bi-annual event for the Los Angeles location.

--Pete

Summer 2019 MarketWatch

Pete writes:

 Hello Space Freaks!

 As we melt our way through Summer let’s take a look back at how the market has been shaping up since the end of the Spring and into the season of collecting.



The Celebration Effect:

As with every year of a Celebration, the surrounding months were very light in terms of major market activity. Average prices dropped, availability dropped, and this is to be expected. When you take 100,000 Star Wars fans and drop them together in a giant convention center, some sales are going to happen and budgets are going to be blown. This year I think the effect was even greater than in years past, in part due to the lack of things to do at the convention center. There was no time spent line queuing overnight, and a lottery system that basically left a large part of the audience with no access to stages led to more time on the convention floor.

The market has finally picked up following this typical slump. Recent auction house sales along with some treats that hit the market in May, June, and July led to a good rebound from the lull taking place post Celebration Chicago. Here are some of the highlights.

EBAY:

Ben Kenobi Meccano MOC - $1,800 - eBay listing

One of the more common of the Meccano figures, here we have a great example of Ben with a decent price overall given its condition. 

Radio Controlled R2-D2 AFA 80 - $2,200 - eBay listing

A great piece and tough to find in good condition, the RC R2-D2 is one of the truly great one-off toys in the vintage Star Wars toy line. A strong price on a piece that doesn’t come up as often as they did historically, showing condition is everything these days.

Loose Set of 77 Complete - $2,225 - eBay listing

We don’t cover loose pieces that often on the MarketWatch unless they're of unique origins. When full sets turn up I try to pop them in here just to keep track of where the market has been. In this case, the market still seems to be creeping up on loose figures, as with no rarities or POTF figures this was a bit of a high point at an average of nearly $30 per figure.

ESB Red Six Pack Set MIB - $3,170 - eBay listing

This was a very good price for what was an overall strong piece. Like almost all boxed multi-packs the box itself was where the majority of condition issues came in with one large tear, but overall solid condition structurally.   

Darth Vader 12 Back AFA 95 - $6,100 - eBay listing

Like some of the Hake’s auctions last year we have a crazy price being realized for a one of the nicest MOCs out there. Getting the grade of 90 or higher is not an easy task with the vintage Star Wars line and thus these mint condition items will always bring a premium. This is one case where we do see some depreciation from the item's sale at Hake’s last year.

Death Star AFA 85 - $6,855 - eBay listing

One of the holy grails for collectors of sealed items, the Death Star Playset is always a favorite among collectors. Here we have an immaculate example of this beast of a playset. Given the size and rarity of sealed examples it’s hard to say that this is over-priced. Rather, I think it’s about right, but like many things is seeing a bit of a premium.

First 21 on Star Wars Cardbacks - $12,600 

Finding a nice set of the first 21 on Star Wars cardbacks is one of the most common runs collectors seek. And for good reason -- they were some of the most heavily produced toys in the vintage line.   Even with that information in mind it was nice to see what was still a very palatable selling price on a nice set with an average of $600 per figure.

HAKE'S

Rocket-Firing Boba Fett L-Slot Prototype AFA 85 - $112,926 - auction listing
First off, I won’t infer that people were on some type of substance while bidding on this auction, as there are always outliers. I’m always excited to see things reach new heights as it means things are healthy in the hobby, but there was something almost off-putting about how the Rocket-Firing Fett auction ended, as unlike the last auction this was the more common unpainted L-Slot.

Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter MISB AFA 85 - $19,989 - auction listing
Another piece of noteworthiness was an original DV Tie Fighter, which came just shy of breaking $20K!

Both high grade examples went for well beyond estimates and stood out against the rest of the gallery of items.

On the inverse we did see a few good deals that night as well.

Anakin Skywalker Charcoal First Shot AFA 85 - $4,802 - auction listing
Although high end estimates on this piece were in the 5-figure range, this example of a Charcoal First Shot Anakin Skywalker failed to break the $5K mark with a modest selling price of $4,802. Anyone looking for a great deal on a first shot, well you just missed an opportunity…  Given $7K+ selling prices for the more common first shots in the past year, it’s difficult to see why this example didn’t pull in a better price.

That’s it for this time, but we’ll have more updates on the market and other topics coming soon.

Wampa Wampa,

Pete

The Great Grading Debate: The History of Grading Collectibles

Pete writes:

 On a plane heading back from the Columbus Toy Show I found myself working on the post I’m presenting to you today. Queensrÿche's "Operation: Mindcrime" was playing on my iPhone -- a great album and appropriate for what we’re discussing as the album, like our topic, is multi-layered. 

Grading. It’s probably the most discussed/debated topic in the hobby over the past 20 years. It’s been the center of casual conversations, debates, and even protests. Thus, the big question is what’s the big deal with grading action figures and why does the topic elicit emotional responses ranging from joy to rage and happiness to sorrow in the collecting community? As a long time collector, this has been a question that has perplexed me for years, and so I thought it was time to dig in and really get to the root of what grading is, why it’s controversial, and ultimately, why it’s so topical among collectors.

Without calling a lot of us whining entitled fanboys and girls, I would have to say that the concept of community and the culture within our hobby is an underlying factor as to the range of reactions this topic brings up. Call it the "sandbox mentality," call it standoffishness, or just call it pathetic. However you want to classify it, at the end of the day everyone has opinions on this subject. Even before the age of modern day Social Media we found ways to make the world smaller and to present these opinions. Through forums we formulated and expressed these opinions and ultimately tried to shape what others thought about grading. We debate the topic to no end and classify casual relationships, friendships, and other social biases around the topic.  

Now, this article isn’t really about the social implications of grading. But before I dive into the topic itself, I find it important to call a spade a spade, as one of the first steps of understanding something is being able to remove your own biases about it and look at it subjectively, and ultimately that’s what is at the core the great grading debate: subjectivity.    

In the spirit of this and full disclosure, I’m a big fan of grading...

Over the years I’ve probably fed over 1,000 pieces into toy grading companies spanning almost my entire Star Wars collection. I have no affiliation with any of these companies. I have no ownership interests in any of these organizations (complete or partial), and I never intend to. I am the end user and an end user for over a decade. Therefore my approach here in discussing the topic or the companies involved is neutral, but educated. I take a personal approach of pro-grading which I will explain, however my purpose here is not to make you send in all of your toys to get encased in acrylic, but rather to be honest and direct about something that I personally do.   

If you’re reading this to debate facts, or if you’re reading this because you have a  predisposed position on grading and want to tear this article apart with your own opinions, then you’re probably wasting your own time. That said, if you are reading this article to gain insights, understanding, or a broader perspective on the grading phenomenon, then please read on.  

The History of Grading Collectibles

As a species, we are prone towards items of value. It’s an inherent part of our nature. We hear the comment “it’s not about the money,” and truly that isn’t the point of collecting, at least for most of us. For many it’s about the enjoyment of the hobby, the thrill of the hunt, the time spent on Facebook telling others how to live their lives; you know, the fun stuff. The point of this is there is an inherent value in the things we collect in the Vintage Star Wars community, and that’s where grading first started. No, not with toys, but rather with items of value.

Historically we’ve gone through an evolution of how we exchange goods: barter and trade, cash, and today's digital assets. For centuries gold, silver, and jewels were coveted as the most valuable items on the planet, precious in nature, and used in the production of several items into the modern age. These were the equivalent of walking around with a roll of hundred dollar bills in your pocket today. It’s no surprise that these items were also some of the first items to be evaluated by a third party and still are today. This is really the genesis of the appraisal of valuables by another party and that’s the basis of modern day grading.

The modern era of grading collectibles started in the last half of the 20^th Century and was first introduced in the stamp collecting category. At the time, stamp collecting was a fairly sizable hobby among the populous, and forgeries were starting to become more common. Through the years a few companies were founded focusing on the stamp collecting hobby, and eventually moving into the next big grading category: currency. Although evaluation and preservation were the key concepts of these early companies, they would start trends that are used by all grading companies to this date. One of which was the method of using serial numbers on their items. Though a simple concept by today’s standards, at the time the use of serial numbers was quite effective for its main purpose of preventing fraud. In the modern era, serial numbers serve multiple purposes: fraud prevention, tracking, but more importantly a digital ID, as they serve as the foundation for accessing information on an item through digital interfaces. This is just one example of how an early idea morphed into a necessity for all modern era grading companies.

As the hobbies grew so did the companies as well as the base of collectors as a whole. In many ways grading led to a renaissance in many hobbies at the time, as it added an element of confidence that fostered renewed interest and ultimately growth in these collecting areas. It was during this era that a new concept was introduced, and one that is so synonymous with grading today that’s it’s hard to imagine one without the other -- that being the idea of encapsulation.      

Encapsulation is an important practice to understand in the world of collectible grading. While serial numbers and COAs led to improved confidence in the authenticity of items, they didn’t create an impenetrable fortress for them.  Encapsulation benefited the hobbyist in several ways.

1.       Confidence (reduce the risk of buying a forged/fake item)

2.       Protection (from breaks, drops, sunlight and other risks)

3.       Presentation (easier to display, better aesthetics)

4.       Preservation (increase the longevity of the condition)

Needless to say encapsulation is a crucial aspect of modern day grading, and with the collectible toy hobby it saw a second evolution driven by variation which led to customization (shape, size, compartments etc.) to support the category. Here we saw the first divergence from the “slabs” that were used in almost every other hobby up until that point.

Speaking about other hobbies, the practice of grading as it exists today was really brought to life by another semi-paper based and highly forged collectible: currency. Collectible currency and coins were one of the first types of collectibles to be graded by a third party and put into slabs, so at the end of the day it was really a continuation of what had been done before them, or in unison with them, depending on which side of the fence you fall on. During this era we saw the last key (but often forgotten) aspect of modern day grading: the use of a hologram. 

By the 1990s, slabs, serial numbers, and holograms were mainstays for third party graders -- all of which are present with the major toy grading companies today. Since these pieces of the grading puzzle were put together, the trend of grading collectibles has become even more expansive. One of the first of these new generations of companies was PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator). Many people know PSA as the authority when it comes to autographs and really all things pop culture, but the company started off on a smaller scale in 1991 focusing on sports cards. They are one of the few multi-category grading companies out there touching dozens of categories including covering autographs, cards, and posters today, and maybe toys tomorrow...

Following the success in the sports card category we saw yet another expansion as the 1990s came to a close, and one that is near and dear to many of our fellow Star Wars hobbyists: comic books. Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) was founded in early 2000 and is one of the premier graders of comic books. I say "one of" as the comic book grading market has been flooded by several companies, each with their own standards and style. This segment has been one of the most successful and expansive in the world of grading, with graded comics present at every major and minor comic con out there.

Before the turn of the century we saw yet another categorical expansion, this time into our own backyard.  Taking the ideas we've covered thus far but with a higher level of customization, the company was Collectible Grading Authority and the category of course was collectible toys. CGA has been the originator in the concept of incorporating grading into action figures and other popular toy lines. Although CGA employed a multi-category strategy like PSA, they kept their focus on all things toy related, breaking their categories into four separate but connected divisions: video games (VGA), action figure (AFA), dolls (CDA), and die cast (DCA).    

The idea of customizing the process is a tricky riddle to solve. You have to be able to grade everything from small items like loose figures to large boxed items such as the Imperial Shuttle. Both take a unique touch when it comes to the design of cases themselves.   Additionally, the category as a whole is much broader and less centralized than the others we've covered thus far.   

With over 400,000 pieces graded by CGA alone over the years, it’s easy to see that the world of grading toys is a healthy industry and one that like coins, cards and comics has now spawned several organizations participating in the practice, including Collector Archive Services (CAS) and UK Graders (UKG). With the complexion of this industry changing regularly, it's easy to surmise that the practice will be around for quite a while.

In summary, the practice of third party valuations has been around for centuries, the practice of encasing items in plastic with a numerical grades has been around for decades, and grading action figures just became old enough to vote. It’s an old practice but a popular one. But still not sure why?   Well, keep an eye on the SWCA Blog and our Facebook page for the next chapter in the topic: The Action Figure Grading Phenomenon: What, How and Why.

Until then... Wampa, Wampa,

"Fratastic" Pete