Collectors Universe, Inc. provides authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value coins, trading cards, event tickets, autographs, and autographed (collectibles). The company markets its services directly to collectibles dealers and auctioneers to promote their use of its authentication and grading services. Services Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) Coin Authentication and Grading Services PCGS employs coin graders, who are independent of coin buyers and sellers, to provide impartial authentication and grading services. The company has graded high-value U.S. coins, including an 1804 Draped Bust Silver Dollar and the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. In addition, the company began to provide a range of authoritative content on coin collecting to inform and communicate with the collector community, including guides and reports that track the trading prices and the rarity of PCGS-graded coins. Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) Trading Card and Authentication and Grading Services The company launched PSA, which instituted a similar authentication and grading system for trading cards. Its independent trading card experts certify the authenticity of and assign grades to trading cards using a numeric system with a scale from 1-to-10 that it developed, together with an adjectival system to describe their condition. On receipt of trading cards from dealers and collectors, the company removes all packaging that identifies the submitter in any way and enter information regarding the trading cards into its proprietary computerized inventory system that enables it to track the trading cards throughout its authentication and grading process. The company primarily authenticates and grades baseball trading cards and, to a lesser extent, football, basketball, hockey and entertainment, as well as other types of collectible cards. PSA/DNA Autograph Authentication and Grading Services The company’s vintage autograph authentication business offering authentication services for vintage sports autographs and memorabilia that were autographed or signed prior to the time they were presented to it for authentication. It also offers grading services for autographs, beginning with baseballs containing a single signature or autograph. The company’s vintage autograph authentication service consist of the rendering of an opinion of authenticity based on an analysis of the signed object, such as the signed document or autographed item of memorabilia, to confirm its consistency with similar materials or items that existed during the signer’s lifetime; a comparison of the signature submitted for authentication with exemplars of such signatures; and a handwriting analysis. Certified Coin Exchange and Collectors Corner The company owns the Certified Coin Exchange, a subscription-based, business-to-business Internet bid-ask market for coins that have been certified by it or by other independent coin authentication and grading services. The Certified Coin Exchange Website features approximately 100,000 bid and ask prices for certified coins at www.certifiedcoinexchange.com. The company offers the Collectors Corner, a business-to-consumer Website that enables sellers on Certified Coin Exchange to offer certified coins simultaneously at wholesale prices on Certified Coin Exchange and at retail prices on Collectors Corner (www.collectorscorner.com). Publications and Advertising The company publishes authoritative price guides, rarity reports, and other collectibles data to provide collectors with information that makes them better informed consumers and makes collecting interesting and exciting. Its publications also enable the company to market its services. The company publishes the Sports Market Report on a monthly basis primarily for distribution to approximately 4,800 PSA Collectors Club members. It sells advertising to dealers and vendors for placement in its publications. The company manages a Collectors Universe Website and individual Websites for its authentication and grading services. On those Websites, the company offers collectible content, relevant to the marketplace for that specific authentication and grading service, some of which is available for a fee and some of which is available without charge. The company sells advertising to dealers and vendors on these two Websites and on the Websites it maintains for PSA/DNA in autographs and Certified Coin Exchange and Collectors Corner in coins. Competition Coin Authentication and Grading: The company’s principal competitors in the coin authentication and grading market are Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America, Independent Coin Grading, and ANACS. Trading Card Authentication and Grading: The company’s primary competitors in trading card authentication and grading are Beckett Trading Card Grading Corporation, and Trading Card Guaranty, LLC. Autograph Authentication and Grading: In the vintage autograph authentication market, the company competes with James Spence Authentication. Dispositions In June 2012, the company sold its stamp authentication and grading services business. History Collectors Universe, Inc. was founded in 1986.