Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and GreatCollections are joining forces to honor Michael “Miles” Standish, one of the most prominent figures of the coin industry over the past two decades. Standish passed away on July 11, 2023, at the age of 58, leaving behind a legacy of helping to build the third-party grading industry as it is known today while giving back to the causes that were close to his heart.
Standish will be inducted into the PCGS Coin Dealer Hall of Fame at a ceremony sponsored by U.S. Coins during the American Numismatic Association (ANA) World’s Fair of Money on August 10, 2023. He began working at PCGS in his early 20s back in 1987 to become the company’s first full-time grader. He also cofounded Collectors Universe, which became PCGS’s parent company.
“Standish’s impact at PCGS was profound,” said PCGS President Stephanie Sabin. “We are grateful that he dedicated so much of his career to PCGS. Therefore, we are memorializing him in the PCGS CoinFacts Coin Dealer Hall of Fame, which is the highest honor our company can bestow upon an innovator like Standish who helped shape our industry.”
Ian Russell, President, and his team at coin auction house GreatCollections are also paying their respects to Standish by way of a charity auction that will benefit the Standish Foundation 4 Children, a non-profit focused on healthcare for children created by Standish and his wife Andy in 2010.
“I remember first meeting ‘Miles’ about 20 years ago – we drove up to a Lakers game together to watch Kobe [Bryant],” Russell said. “His mind was always thinking coins and marketing – he not only helped our firm in the early days, but many other dealers out there.”
Donations of certified coins can be made to be part of the Michael “Miles” Standish charity auction on Sunday, September 24, 2023. All coins should arrive at GreatCollections by Monday, August 21. All proceeds from these consignments will go to the Standish Foundation, including the full buyer’s fee.
For more information about the PCGS CoinFacts Coin Dealer Hall of Fame, please visit https://www.pcgs.com/pcgscoinfacts/coindealerhof.
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A Hall of Fame numismatist and a truly awesome person!