A Letter from Steven R. Eichenbaum

Collectors, Clients and Colleagues,

In the last few days, I have gotten more calls and emails than at any time since Blackstone invested in the Certified Collectibles Group in 2021. Everyone wants to know what I think about the recent developments in our markets and how we’re going to respond.

I’ll tell you. We are going to focus on the one thing we do exceptionally well: expert authentication and grading. While other companies try to be everything to everyone, we stay in our lane and be the absolute best at what we do.

Many of you already know what we’re all about and have used our services for years, if not decades. However, I suspect that many people reading this are just now learning about the Certified Collectibles Group, so let me give an introduction.

The Certified Collectibles Group was established in 1987 with NGC, a third-party grading service for coins. We weren’t the first coin grading service, and we weren’t the largest either. However, we differentiated ourselves from the competition by providing fast turnaround times, consistent grading, the best holders, great customer service and complete impartiality.

Over time, with a focus on these key principles, we grew to become the world’s largest coin grading service with more than 70 million coins graded.

We also expanded into other categories. In 2000, we started CGC as the world’s first comic book grading service. We’ve been the leader in comics since day one, never ceding any ground because of the same emphasis on speed, accuracy, quality and impartiality. This year, a CGC-graded Superman #1 shattered the record price for any comic by realizing $9.12 million at auction.

In 2005, we started PMG as our paper money grading arm. It was the same scenario as coins: We weren’t the first, but we are now by far the largest paper money grading service with more than 13 million notes graded.

Stamps followed in 2017 with ASG. Again, we weren’t the first, but in time we grew to become the largest stamp grading service in the world.

We entered the card market in 2020, first with TCGs and then with sports cards a few months later. I bet you can guess how this story goes.

We don’t need to be first to market; we need to be the best. We need to focus on the reason we exist — to protect collectors and dealers by providing accurate and impartial grading services. We need to give what collectors want from a grading service: fast turnaround times, consistent grading, the best holders and great customer service. All done with integrity.

By the end of 2025, we will have graded nearly 5 million sports cards and TCGs — more than double our volume in 2024. We achieved this extraordinary growth through the same proven playbook that we’ve used in every other category.

We invested millions of dollars in hiring and training as well as deploying robotics and other automation technology. We’ve greatly simplified our submission process, with further efforts to improve our digital experience underway. We’re also piloting the use of AI to improve accuracy and efficiency.

We have also focused on initiatives that have made our services more accessible. For example, we are now co-located with Fanatics Collect in Oregon to provide lightning-fast turnaround times for the sports cards and TCGs that they sell. We’re also launching full-time TCG grading in Munich in a couple of weeks, with further international expansion planned.

In addition, we've enhanced our services through our acquisition of JSA, the world leader in autograph authentication. Collectors and dealers can now submit their autographed cards, comics and magazines for seamless authentication and grading services, with additional integrations in the works.

These and other investments have resulted in a better submission process, greater capacity, improved quality and faster turnaround times. Despite having the highest growth rate of any grading service in 2025, our turnaround times have actually come down in recent months as our investments start to pay off for us and our customers.

I could not be more excited about our position in the card market as we head into 2026. We are the strongest competitor to Collectors Holdings, which now owns PSA, SGC and Beckett. If you like having choices, your choice right now is clear: CGC. Collectors and dealers should expect us to continue to fight to earn your business, making further investments in expanding and enhancing every aspect of your grading experience.

If you want to learn more about what's happening to card grading, read this letter from Congressman Pat Ryan.

I’ve been at helm of the Certified Collectibles Group for over 25 years, and I know that change is inevitable. While I can’t predict the future, I can study the past. And what I’ve seen time and again is that when you stray from your mission, you start to slip. You’ve got to be true to your roots and be laser-focused on who you are and where you want to be. And for us, that’s being the world’s best and largest grading service in each of the categories that we serve.

Today, the Certified Collectibles Group has certified more than 100 million collectibles, including nearly 14 million in 2025 alone. We are the leader in coins, banknotes, comic books, magazines, autographs and stamps, and the fastest-growing grading service in cards. We not only serve more categories than any other grading service, but also more regions, with offices in the US, UK, EU, UAE and China.

We provide our authentication and grading services using the best experts, supported by advanced technology and extensive data. When a collectible is encapsulated in one of our holders, it is covered by our industry-leading guarantees. We stand behind our services, and in the rare event that there is a problem, we provide a financial remedy.

More and more people are entering the world of collectibles, driven by nostalgia, an interest in alternative assets, a passion for the history, a love of the artistry — whatever it may be that excites them. As these new collectors navigate this incredible hobby, we’ll be here to provide them with the confidence, trust and safety that enables them to get the most out of collecting.

You have a choice when it comes to grading. If you’ve never tried our services, I’d be happy to help you get started with $50 off our Premium membership, which comes with $150 in grading credits. Simply enter code CLEARCHOICE at CGCcards.com/join (or any one of our other grading service websites).

Sincerely,

Steven R. Eichenbaum
CEO

Discount code expires December 31, 2026.