Info please? First Token Grading Service (FTGS) 0

[Outhaul]

I have a few of these Collis restrikes in these holders. Can't find any info on FTGS.

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Outhaul

[RWB]

Well -- they used an IBM Selectric typewriter on folded perforated labels. FTGS (First Token Grading Service) operated 2000 - 2001. Here's a 2003 posted comment on PCGS message board by Conder101 [July 30, 2003 3:59 AM]

"I saw the thread earlier but didn't think there was that much more to add. FTGS, from what I have been told by token collectors, never did a lot of business because most token collectors would rather have their tokens raw. So FTGS was not in too great a shape when I first ran across them. I brought the company to Hagar attention when I asked him who had the license for the ACG shells. (I was trying to get a lead on who was running FTGS and where they were located.) Hagar told me that at that time only one person had a license to use ACG shells and that he only had a license for the larger photoslab shells, not the small sized shells. He also said that he had had problems with that license holder in the past for unauthorized use of the small ACG shells and hat he would have his lawyer send a letter the next day to stop using the shells. Next time I see Hagar I'll have to ask him how the guy was getting the shells. Was he counterfeiting them or ordering them from the same manufacturer as the large shells."

You'll find much more using any standard web searching engine.

 

Member Zoins posted this onApril 26, 2020 9:43PM (edited April 26, 2020 9:43PM)

PCGS has an announcement on this company from Jan 1, 2001:

• https://www.pcgs.com/news/the-coin-market-getting-ready-for-the-computer-marketplace

One of the year's more interesting developments was the establishment of the First Token Grading Service in Amityville, New York, a company that grades and encapsulates U.S. tokens. The company's founder, Kevin Donahue, is a coin-market veteran who hopes to attract submissions from solid collectors. I'm told that items certified by the service will soon be included on the Teletype trading network. The firm's address is P.O. Box 515, Amityville, NY 11701.

Edited April 24, 2021 by RWB

[RWB]

14 hours ago, RWB said:

The company's founder, Kevin Donahue, is a coin-market veteran who hopes to attract submissions from solid collectors.

This part of the business plan might have been key to the company's demise. People are composed mostly of water, and therefore humans are more liquid than solid. With few "solid collectors" running - rolling ? - about, there were few customers.

[Outhaul]

Thanks for the info! So, I will presume that these holders are fairly rare?

Cheers

Bob

[RWB]

They pop up on ebay and other sites occasionally. You'd have to ask token collectors if they place any "value" on the holders.