All-New PCGS Web Site is Launched

(Santa Ana, California) — Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASADQ: CLCT), announces the unveiling of a completely new version of its popular web site, www.pcgs.com. With 3 million page views each month, PCGS.com is one of the most-visited web sites in the entire numismatic field.

The new site represents more than just a face lift. Its cleaner feel and more logical arrangement of links and information make navigation much easier than in the past. "It shouldn’t take regular visitors long to adjust to the new site," said PCGS President Don Willis. "We’ve designed it to be less cluttered and more intuitive, making it easier for both frequent and newer visitors to find the information they’re looking for."

With ease of use in mind, PCGS has eliminated the left-side menu and made the most frequently used pages accessible via the main menu bar at the top. The buttons link directly to PCGS Home, Services, Price Guide, Set Registry, PCGS CoinFacts, Resources, PCGS Store and About PCGS.

Underneath these choices, PCGS offers a weekly video and a Product Spotlight to highlight new products and services and provide a snapshot of "What’s New" at PCGS and in the coin industry.

Beneath these features, the user is given the opportunity to navigate by topic. For example, on the far left, new collectors are encouraged to Take the First Step. Under this heading, there are links to everything they need to get started in coin collecting: a New to Coins link takes them directly to the newly updated Start Here page, and links to vital information like why you should have your coins graded and how to obtain ballpark pricing from the PCGS Price Guide.

The last link in that group is to a new PCGS service that will make it immeasurably easier for new collectors to ascertain ballpark values for their coins. "We feel this could be one of the most useful tools ever developed for obtaining coin values," Don Willis explained. "Once new collectors use CoinFacts to determine what they coin have, they can go to our Online Photograde™ to at least get an approximate grade."

"Armed with that information, they can then go to the PCGS Price Guide to determine roughly what their coin is worth. This is a huge advantage to people just starting out in the coin business, and could save them months and a lot of money as they try to find their way. PCGS Online Photograde also gives more advanced collectors the opportunity to sharpen their grading skills."

Other PCGS.com Home Page information groupings include How to Submit Coins, How to Join the PCGS Collectors Club, PCGS in the News, The PCGS Set RegistrySM, and Market Metrics that include the latest spot metal prices. To give PCGS.com users a feel for the caliber and experience of our graders and associates, a Meet the Experts section, complete with bios, appears near the bottom.

The Services Page, which is expected to be one of the site’s most frequently visited, is where visitors go to learn about submitting their coins to PCGS for grading, and gives them the tools to do so. In addition to providing Steps for Submitting, essential Submitter Services, Special Programs and New Services, the page also includes an informative video covering the entire PCGS grading process, narrated by PCGS founder David Hall.

The Resources Page can be thought of as the "information hub" of PCGS.com. It includes the PCGS Library of articles, videos and PCGS eCollector e-zines, our Show Schedule, access to our Message Boards, and links to information sites such as PCGS CoinFacts and CoinFacts Wiki.

At the PCGS Store, customers can purchase memberships to the PCGS Collectors Club (which includes free grades with certain membership levels), a subscription to PCGS CoinFacts or Online Population Report, or supplies such as Mylar coin flips and storage boxes.

Every page on PCGS.com includes a footer with the following links to frequently accessed features: PCGS Population Report, PCGS Price Guide, Auction Prices Realized, Message Boards, Show Schedules, Glossary of Terms, Research Archive, and Certification Verification. The Expanded PGCS Price Guide, Auction Prices Realized, and the Expanded PCGS Population Report require a membership to access all the information, while all other information on the site is free.