Mild-mannered John Albanese is the rare coin market’s most forceful leader and number one professional numismatist.
Albanese has over 40 years of experience in numismatics. In 1978, he opened his own coin company, and in 1980, he became head buyer for a leading coin firm that had average annual sales of $20 million.
John Albanese is best known today for founding the Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC). He and CAC have rendered opinions on about $8 billion worth of rare coins. Coins that are, at minimum, “solid for the grade” are identified with a green CAC holographic sticker placed on the front of the coin’s holder. Under Albanese’s auspices, CAC Grading recently introduced a full-service grading and encapsulation company with over 150 coin industry co-founders.
In 1986, Albanese was one of the original founders of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). In 1987, he formed the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).