In an attempt to strengthen one of its core services, Beckett has reached long-term contract extensions with its authentication team, the company confirmed to cllct Thursday.
According to Beckett, the group, which includes Steve Grad, Brian Sobrero, Zach Rullo, Charlie Price and Larry Studebaker, has nearly 100 years of collective authentication experience.
Details of the extensions weren’t immediately made available.
Though Beckett’s grading totals for sports and trading cards have significantly slipped in recent years, the authentication team remains a premier group in the collectibles industry. The team attended more than 125 events in 2024, ranging from private events to national trade shows, and authenticated more than 2 million items, a 15% increase from 2023.
Grad, Beckett’s senior principal authenticator, is often consulted as a guest expert on the popular History Channel series “Pawn Stars.”
The contract extensions were announced less than a month after Collēctīvus Holdings was announced as Beckett’s new parent company in December. Along with Beckett, Collēctīvus will also oversee card accessory brand Dragon Shield and card distributor Southern Hobby Distribution.
All three brands are expected to operate independently but will receive coordination and strategy from a single leadership team.
Days later, King Street Capital Management announced it would be leading a $250 million financing agreement for Collēctīvus. According to Collēctīvus, the capital would be used to reinvest in Beckett, Dragon Shield and Southern Hobby.
Founded by Dr. James Beckett in 1984, the Beckett Media brand is best known for its series of sports card pricing guides that served as a critical resource for collectors for more than two decades.
Beckett Grading Services was founded in 1999 and was considered an industry leader due to the additional transparency provided by subgrades for four individual categories.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.