Certified Coin Exchange

What Certified Coin Exchange does

Certified Coin Exchange (CCE), founded in 1990 and headquartered in Newport Beach, California, operates the largest dealer-to-dealer numismatic trading network in the United States. The platform is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT) and traces its lineage to the Fox and Crabbe Teletype System (FACTS), originally a 1960s teletype dealer network that migrated through satellite delivery to the internet in 1990, was purchased by American Teleprocessing Corporation in 1984, and was acquired by Collectors Universe in 2005. CCE serves a closed membership of 650+ professional coin dealers who post bids and asks across PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ICG, and CAC-certified rare coins under a rule-governed exchange governed by a Board of Governors with formal arbitration for dispute resolution. Core technical components include the CCE Exchange (live bid/ask trading, 200,000+ live prices, 350,000+ available bids/asks), the CCE/FACTS Messaging System (free-form dealer-to-dealer buy/sell messaging with search history, now internet-based after originating as teletype), the Bullion Quotation System / BQS (tick-by-tick pricing for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium with dealer-posted spot differentials), CCE Spots Data (proprietary daily precious-metals closing-price analysis), and CCE Quick Price (a single-screen aggregator combining CCE prices with PCGS/NGC population data, CAC market values, PCGS/NGC Auction Prices Realized, PCGS Price Guide, Blue & GreySheet, NumisMedia, FMV, current auctions, and PCGS CoinFacts).

CCE monetizes entirely through recurring monthly subscriptions across four tiers: Member Firm at $435/month (full trading plus Quick Price and Collectors Corner listing), Associate Member with Quick Price at $279/month (view-only pricing plus messaging and listing), Associate Member at $249/month (basic pricing view without Quick Price), and Currency Associate at $99/month (paper money focus). The minimum subscription is three months, billed in U.S. dollars on month-to-month auto-renewal with 30-day cancellation notice. Beyond dealer subscriptions, CCE extends the network to retail collectors via Collectors Corner (collectorscorner.com), a no-fee marketplace covering coins, currency, sports cards, and stamps, where 78,199 coin items valued at $287.6M are currently listed. Customer segments are vertically defined: professional coin dealers (primary), coin collectors (retail via Collectors Corner), and bullion traders and investors (using BQS and Spots Data). Geographic focus is the United States with global buyer reach via Collectors Corner.

Name

Certified Coin Exchange

Legal name

Certified Asset Exchange, Inc.

Website

https://certifiedcoinexchange.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Certified Coin Exchange is a membership-based dealer-to-dealer numismatic trading platform serving 650+ professional coin dealers, currency dealers, sports card, and stamp businesses under Collectors Universe (NASDAQ: CLCT).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Monthly subscription fees for three tiers of membership providing access to the trading exchange, pricing tools, messaging system, and Collectors Corner marketplace listing capabilities.
2. Transaction Facilitation: Facilitates dealer-to-dealer trades on the exchange where all prices are firm and fall under CCE Rules. Collectors Corner allows dealers to list inventory for retail sale to collectors with no transaction fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Certified Coin Exchange operates a membership-based dealer-to-dealer numismatic trading network where vetted professional coin dealers post bids and asks, execute trades under CCE rules, and access integrated pricing, messaging, and bullion quotation tools. Through its Collectors Corner marketplace, member dealers can also list certified coins, currency, sports cards, and stamps for retail sale to collectors. CCE does not buy or sell coins itself; it monetizes access to the exchange and pricing data via monthly subscriptions across four tiers ($99–$435/month).

Product overview

Certified Coin Exchange operates as a membership-based dealer-to-dealer numismatic network and collector marketplace platform. The core offering consists of the CCE Exchange for wholesale dealer trading, CCE Quick Price for comprehensive coin pricing, the CCE/FACTS messaging system, and CCE Bullion Quotation System (BQS) for precious metals pricing. CCE serves as a sight-seen/unseen, rule-governed trading system where over 600 member firms post bids and asks for PCGS, NGC, ANACS, and ICG-certified coins. The platform extends to retail collectors through Collectors Corner, a dealer-to-collector marketplace spanning coins, currency, sports cards, and stamps. Additional services include CoinSearch mobile app for show floor coin location, Wish List notification service, and Collectors Finance Corporation for collateral-based loans. The company is a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CCE/FACTS: The messaging and trading system for CCE member dealers, originally known as Fox and Crabbe Teletype System
• CCE Quick Price
• CCE Spots Data
• Bullion Quotation System (BQS)
• Collectors Corner

Products and services

• CCE Exchange The core dealer-to-dealer numismatic trading platform on which vetted member firms post bids and asks for certified rare coins, execute trades under CCE rules, and access real-time market data. Available to Member Firm tier subscribers ($435/month) for full trading and Associate tiers for viewing.
• CCE Quick Price A comprehensive coin pricing resource that aggregates CCE bids/asks with dealer IDs, PCGS/NGC/CAC population data, PCGS/NGC Auction Prices Realized, PCGS Price Guide, Blue & GreySheet, NumisMedia Market, FMV & CAC prices, current auctions, and PCGS CoinFacts on a single screen for member dealers.
• CCE Bullion Quotation System (BQS) Real-time bullion pricing system providing tick-by-tick prices for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, enabling dealers to post price differentials off spot price for American Eagles, Maple Leafs, Krugerrands, and other bullion coins and bars.
• CCE Spots Data Proprietary daily precious metals price analysis offering closing prices, change data, high/low records, London Bullion fixing, and exchange rates (World spot price, New York spot price, London bullion) for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
• CCE/FACTS Messaging System Dealer-to-dealer messaging system (originally the Fox and Crabbe Teletype System, converted from satellite to internet) for posting buys and sells. Enables free-form messaging to 500+ dealers with private messaging capability and message history search.
• Collectors Corner Marketplace The retail collector marketplace connected to the CCE dealer network, allowing collectors to purchase certified coins, currency, sports cards, and stamps from member dealers with no listing fees or transaction fees.
• Currency Marketplace A Collectors Corner section for certified paper money (bank notes), launched in conjunction with PCGS Currency, available to CCE Currency Associate Member Firms ($99/month).
• Sports Card Marketplace A Collectors Corner section for PSA-certified sports and non-sports trading cards, enabling collectors to browse and purchase authenticated cards from member dealers.
• Stamp Marketplace A Collectors Corner section for PSE-certified stamps, offering collectors access to authenticated stamp inventory from member dealers.
• CoinSearch Mobile App Mobile application enabling collectors to instantly locate specific coins at coin shows by searching dealer inventories and pinpointing exact table locations on the bourse floor via smartphone or tablet.
• Wish List Service A collector notification service that alerts users by email when items on their personal wish list become available from member dealers on Collectors Corner.

Quantifiable outcome

• Just one trade can pay for the service for the whole month

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Collectors Universe (NASDAQ: CLCT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCE is a division of Collectors Universe, Inc., a public company (NASDAQ: CLCT) that also owns Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), PCGS Currency, Professional Stamp Experts (PSE), and Expos Unlimited. Forbes named Collectors Universe #50 on America's Best Small Public Companies list in 2013.
• PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service)coreTechnology or IntegrationCCE trading floor features PCGS-certified coins. CCE Quick Price integrates PCGS/NGC population data, PCGS Price Guide, and PCGS CoinFacts. The companies share common ownership under Collectors Universe.
• NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation)coreTechnology or IntegrationCCE trading floor features NGC-certified coins. CCE Quick Price integrates NGC population data and NGC Auction Prices Realized.
• PCGS CurrencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCE and PCGS Currency jointly established the Currency Marketplace for paper money, allowing collectors to view and purchase certified bank notes from CCE member dealers.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stack's Bowers Galleries: Long-standing numismatic auction house conducting major US and international rare coin auctions. Operates as both a competitor and occasional alternative liquidity source for CCE member dealers.
• Heritage Auctions: The largest US collectibles auctioneer with a major numismatics category, conducting both public auctions and private sales. Competes directly with CCE for dealer-to-dealer and dealer-to-collector trade flow in rare certified coins.
• GreatCollections: Online-only coin auction platform accepting certified coins from collectors and dealers. Provides a direct sale channel for inventory that competes with CCE's Collectors Corner retail marketplace.
• Teletrade: Online coin auction company closely related in heritage to CCE. Provides an alternate dealer/collector trading venue for certified rare coins, overlapping with CCE's exchange and marketplace.

Others

• Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS): Sister company under Collectors Universe (NASDAQ: CLCT) that authenticates and grades rare coins. PCGS-certified coins dominate CCE's trading floor, making PCGS a complementary — not directly competing — infrastructure player.
• Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC): Major third-party coin grading service whose NGC-certified coins are actively traded on CCE. Functions as a complementary ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor for CCE's exchange and marketplace flow.

Broad incumbents

• Sotheby's: Global auction house offering high-end numismatics, fine art, and luxury collectibles. Overlaps with CCE at the upper end of the rare coin market through its collector and single-owner sale catalogs.
• APMEX: One of the largest US online precious-metals and rare-coin retailers with broad retail and dealer trading activity. Competes broadly for collector and dealer coin flow that might also pass through CCE.
• eBay: Mass-market collectibles marketplace with substantial fixed-price and auction activity in coins, currency, stamps, and trading cards. A broad incumbent where many CCE member dealers also list inventory alongside their CCE activity.

Emerging players

• LiveAuctioneers: Aggregator of online auction listings across collectibles categories including coins, currency, stamps, and trading cards. Competes for collector eyeballs that might otherwise browse Collectors Corner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Certified Coin Exchange