Why Was IGA Born?
In every industry, some companies are born to provide a service, others to sell a product, and others because they spotted an opportunity in the market. IGA began with none of these. It began with a question that echoed in our minds for years: why, despite our region holding one of the richest numismatic histories in the world, is there no specialized reference that places this heritage at the center of its work? And why must the Arab collector look for knowledge, expertise, and service far from the very region that produced the thousands of coins they collect today? From this question, the idea of the International Grading Agency – IGA was born.
We did not set out trying to become a new version of an existing company, nor to measure ourselves against names that preceded us in this industry by decades. We know well that the global companies that came before us in this field played a pivotal role in developing the concept of coin grading and in building trust within the global collectibles market — a role we respect and appreciate. But we believe that the best way to add value to any industry is not to repeat what others do, but to offer what the market needs and has not yet received. And so we never asked ourselves: how do we become like them? We asked a different question: what can we add?
The answer was clear. The Middle East and the Islamic world are not merely a geographic region; they are among the most important centers in which the history of money was written across thousands of years — from the earliest Islamic coinage and the Umayyad and Abbasid issues, through the Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras, to modern Arab coins, medals, and tokens. Yet this heritage has remained scattered across separate references and individual efforts, without an integrated project that makes documenting and studying this history one of its core goals.
From here, IGA's identity took shape. We grade coins, medals, and tokens from all over the world according to unified professional standards, without placing geographic limits on our work. But we have also chosen a clear mission: to become the most specialized reference for Arab, Islamic, and Middle Eastern coins — not through grading alone, but through building knowledge itself: more accurate databases, scholarly research, rarity reports, the study of varieties and errors, and the documentation of historic issues — so that what we accomplish today becomes a foundation that collectors, researchers, and future generations can build upon.
We also had to look at the collector's experience from a different angle. For years, many hobbyists and dealers in our region grew used to sending their pieces outside the region for grading — with all that entails: high shipping costs, long waiting periods, complex customs procedures, and most importantly, the risk to pieces that may be rare or irreplaceable should they be damaged in transit. Our goal, therefore, was not only to provide professional grading, but to redesign the entire experience: the same level of quality, with a journey that is easier, faster, more affordable, and more secure.
This is why, from day one, we made sure our pricing was competitive — not because the quality is lower, but because we removed a large share of the costs unrelated to grading itself. When the need for international shipping drops, logistical risks fall, and the service center moves closer to the client, the real value the collector receives rises while the standards remain the same. In our view, professional grading should not be a privilege that is hard to reach, but a service available to anyone who wants to document their collection to international standards.
This vision was built not on ambition alone, but on experience. IGA's founding team includes professionals who previously worked at one of the most prominent coin grading companies in the world, among them specialists in Islamic and Middle Eastern coins — giving the project a deep understanding of this industry, its standards, and the challenges collectors in our region face. We did not start from zero, nor did we seek to reinvent the science of grading; we began from the best this industry has reached, then developed a vision suited to our region's needs, identity, and history.
As for choosing Egypt as our starting point, that was no passing decision. Egypt is the heart of the Arab world and a bridge connecting Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean — a land across which civilizations and empires have succeeded one another, each leaving its mark on the history of money, trade, and culture. We did not choose it because it is closest to us, but because it is closest to the history we seek to document; a project serving Arab and Islamic numismatic heritage deserves to be born from a land that has remained an authentic part of that history.
We do not claim that authority is built in a year or two, nor that trust is earned overnight. Authority is built through thousands of pieces examined, millions of data points gathered, research published, expertise accumulated, and the trust collectors place in an institution that honors its promises. And so our real journey begins now — a journey we hope will last for decades, and leave an impact that goes beyond issuing a grading certificate to building knowledge that preserves the history of Arab, Islamic, and Middle Eastern coins for generations to come.
Perhaps, years from now, the question will no longer be: is IGA like the major global companies in this industry? It will be: if this is a piece of our region's history… isn't it only natural that its reference be here?
This is the dream we began for, and we invite every collector, researcher, and enthusiast to be part of the journey.
