History - The Mint? no. PCGS? Yes. - Internet Auctions?
MsMorrisine
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from the 09/25/01 Annual Report
<< <i>DEVELOPMENTS SINCE OUR INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
We completed our initial public offering in November 1999, selling
4,000,000 shares of common stock and raising, net of offering expenses,
approximately $21,400,000. In January 2000, we extended our authentication and
grading services into the rare and collectibles stamp market, launching
Professional Stamp Experts ("PSE"), our stamp authentication and grading
division, which complements our other two authentication and grading divisions,
PCGS (coins) and PSA (sportscards).
In furtherance of our strategy to become the leader in each of our
collectibles markets, in March 2000, we acquired the rare coin auction and
direct sales businesses of Bowers and Merena, one of the largest and most
respected rare coin auction companies in the United States, to complement our
Lyn Knight Rare Currency division, which is a leading rare currency auction
company in the country. In addition, we have combined the auction operations of
our Kingswood Coin Auctions Divisions with that of Bowers and Merena, to further
strengthen our position in the rare coin market.
During fiscal 2000, we also acquired the operations of James Spence
Autographs, one of the foremost sports autograph authorities in the United
States who has the know-how and skills to identify, with a high degree of
accuracy, forged autographs from genuine autographs. That acquisition has
enabled us to offer autograph authentication services to collectors of sports
memorabilia. In July 2000, we also acquired the business of Odyssey
Publications, the publisher of Autograph Collectors Magazine, and during fiscal
2001 we expanded its operations to include the sale of celebrity and historical
autographs and memorabilia. The autograph market in the U.S. is very fragmented
and is plagued by forged autographs offered across most channels of
distribution, including the Internet, which has been an obstacle to the growth
of this collectibles market. We believe that these acquisitions will enable us
to facilitate commerce within this collectibles market among dealers and
collectors and, in turn, generate new sources of revenue for our business.
In June 2000, we discontinued the conduct of weekly Internet auctions
because they failed to meet management's profitability goals. We are continuing,
however, to offer an Internet venue to collectors and dealers who participate in
our premium collectibles auctions and to offer publications and content to collectors
via our website at www.collectors.com.
During fiscal 2001, we established a retail rare coin sales unit at our
offices in Santa Ana, California that works in conjunction with Bowers and
Merena's retail sales operations conducted in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. This
West Coast retail operation is headed by Van Simmons, a founder of our
predecessor company and the former president of David Hall Rare Coins and
Collectibles, which we operate as one of our divisions.
>>
Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
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<< <i>Collectible Commerce. We conduct premium auctions of high-end
collectible coins, currency, sportscards and sports memorabilia, rare records
and entertainment memorabilia. Our premium auctions utilize a "multi-venue"
auction format that allows buyers and sellers to select the bidding format that
is the most convenient and comfortable for them. These auction formats include
mail-in-bids, telephone, Internet and live bidding. Our premium auction
companies, include Bowers and Merena Galleries and Kingswood Coin Auctions for
rare coins, Lyn Knight Currency Auctions for U.S. Currency, Superior Sports
Auctions for vintage sportscards and sports memorabilia and Good Rockin' Tonight
for rare records and entertainment memorabilia. Each of our auction companies is
prominent within its respective collectibles market. In 1999, Bowers and Merena
auctioned the 1804 Childs Silver Dollar for $4.1 million, the highest price at
which a U.S. Coin has been sold at auction. Lyn Knight Currency Auctions holds
the record for the highest gross auction sales for US Currency at $6.5 million.
Good Rockin' Tonight auctioned The Beatles "Butcher" album cover for $38,000,
the highest price at which a rare record has ever been sold at auction.
In conjunction with our auction commerce, we also sell high-end
collectible coins and autographs through direct sales, catalogs and via the
Internet on our web site at www.collectors.com. These "e-Shops" are expected to
become a more important component of our direct sales activities in the future.
In addition to auctions and direct sales of collectibles, we also
participate in e-commerce through co-branded websites with e-Bay, Yahoo and
others. These co-branded websites offer our authentication and grading services
to their users and also direct them to our web site for price guides on certain
collectibles, rarity reports, verification of previously authenticated
collectibles and other commerce opportunities. >>