Hear CCG President Max Spiegel Reflect on CSG’s Inaugural Year

Max Spiegel, President of the Certified Collectibles Group® (CCG®), is joining Jeff Baker this Sunday, January 23, on Sports Collectors Club and the TTMCAST podcast. During the podcast, Spiegel reflects on the inaugural year of Certified Sports Guaranty® (CSG®), discusses how CSG is responding to customer feedback and shares exciting upcoming developments.

For example: “Within a matter of weeks, we will be releasing our CSG Population Report,” Spiegel told Baker. “I think it will help to let them [collectors] see the scale of how much we've already done.”

Launched in early 2021, CSG has now certified more than 600,000 cards. The first card that CSG certified was this rare LeBron James card from the 2003-04 Topps Chrome Refractor set. It realized $98,100 in March 2021.

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The CSG team is led by world-class card graders Andy Broome and Westin Reeves. Broome started grading sports cards professionally in 2000. Since then, he has graded millions of cards, including the most iconic ones such as the T206 Honus Wagner, T206 Doyl Nat’l and T206 Ty Cobb Back. While Broome has graded cards of all eras, he is particularly renowned for his expertise in vintage cards. Reeves brings to CSG 20 years of sports card collecting experience, including seven years as a professional grader. His primary area of expertise is modern sports cards (1980 and newer).

“It's really great working with people who love what they're doing. You can feel that energy and excitement from people, and to see it build from literally us hiring Andy Broome and Westin Reeves as our first two graders to now, seeing them lead a team of 25 people. It's amazing,” Spiegel shared with Baker. “You know, in all the collectible companies that we've started, I've never seen one grow that quickly.”

Spiegel and Baker, who has been involved in the sports collectible and memorabilia industry for more than 40 years, also discussed career opportunities at CSG. “We're always looking for graders, and we're actually looking for people who aren't graders. If you have a passion for collectibles or a passion for cards, definitely apply,” noted Spiegel. “Right now, we're paying $1,500 to anybody who joins us as a full-time employee. We offer very generous compensation, comprehensive benefits and a year-end discretionary bonus.”

To hear more of Spiegel’s conversation with Baker, listen on SportsMap Radio Network this Sunday, January 23, from 7-8 a.m. (ET). Find your local affiliate, here: https://www.sportsmapradio.com/. The extended interview will also be available online this Sunday at the TTMCAST podcast: https://ttmcast.com/.