No. They are not a fake coin grading entity, but the quality of the grade will not be as reliable as NGC or PCGS. Any individual grade may be spot on, but then again it may be 2 grades too high.
yes
yes, but not a very good or reliable one.
For an informal grading, bring it to a coin dealer for an on-site appraisal. For an official grading, it needs to be sent into a professional grading service.
Professional Coin Grading Service was created in 1986.
For an informal grading, bring it to a coin dealer for an on-site appraisal. For an official grading, it needs to be sent into a professional grading service.
The best way to be certain your coin is genuine is to have it graded by a third party grading company. Many coin dealers can assist you in this process for a fee. There is also a fee for the actual grading and authentication.
No, I can't seem to find -any- information on them. I wouldn't buy an NGA slabbed coin unless you felt that the price was right and you can tell (hands on preferably) that the coin meets your specification. Most likely NGA is a front created by a coin dealer to mark up common coins by certifying them as MS-70/69 when in reality they might only grade MS-63/4 by PCGS/NGC. So no, I would not classify NGA as a reliable grading company.
Raw refers to a coin that isn't sold in a case. Higher end coins are usually encapsulated and graded by a coin grading company such as PGS. A raw coin however isn't. Some people may try to assign numeric grades to a raw coin, however until it is graded by a reputable grading company, that number is only a rough estimate and most likely is going to be different than the coin if graded by a grading company.
Many coin shops can submit coins for grading. Also if you are a member of a grading service you may be able to submit them yourself.
Proof
"PL" in coin grading means "prooflike". It is used to describe a coin that has mirror fields and fine details resembling a proof struck coin but is not a true proof.
Mint status