Unique Rarity to be Auctioned by Bowers and Merena

Newport Beach, CA (June 22, 2000) – Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT; www.collectors.com) announced that its Bowers and Merena Galleries coin division will be auctioning a newly discovered, possibly unique U.S. coin rarity in its August auction held in Philadelphia on behalf of the American Numismatic Association. The new rarity, technically a "mint error", is a double denomination coin which has the obverse of a Washington quarter and a reverse of a Sacagawea dollar. The coin was struck on a Sacagawea dollar planchet and was discovered by an Arkansas newsman as he was searching through a bankroll of new Sacagawea dollars. The possibly unique double denomination rarity will be available for online bidding on the Collectors Universe website (www.collectors.com) starting the week of August 1 and the auction will close with live bidding on August 9.

Collectors Universe Chairman, David Hall, commented on the importance of this new rarity, "This is an important first time event for the coin market. In the past, there have been double denomination currency notes, for example a $5 bill printed on the front of the note and a $10 bill printed on the back of a note, and these double denomination notes are quite rare. However, in the entire 208 year history of the United States Mint, there has never been a double denomination coin. This coin has totally captured the imagination of the numismatic fraternity. The important fact is that this coin was found by someone outside of the mint just searching through coins. I have no doubt that collectors all over the country are now searching through rolls of Washington quarters and Sacagawea dollars hoping to find another example of this incredible rarity. Already, this coin has attracted nationwide attention. Bowers and Merena Galleries president Dave Bowers was the guest of Matt Lauer on NBC’s Today Show, where the coin was featured, followed by a segment on Dan Rather’s CBS Evening News."

Hall discussed the possible value of the new discovery, "The real question is whether other examples will turn up. It is possible that other double denomination Sacagawea dollars may turn up. If they do, the value of this important coin will be largely determined by the number of specimens available. The record auction price for a mint error is the $115,000 paid for a 1943 copper penny, of which there are about 18 known examples. There are about 500 mint state examples of the famous 1955 double die Lincoln cent and they sell for approximately $2,000 to $20,000, depending on the quality. There's also a possibility that this is a truly unique coin and no others will turn up. One thing is certain, whatever the outcome, the discoverer of this coin will do very well for his $1 investment. If the Sacagawea double denomination coin turns out to be unique, one would certainly think that it should break the auction record for a mint error. My advice to everyone is to look at both sides of any Washington quarters or Sacagawea dollars that they have in their pockets."

About Collectors Universe.
Collectors Universe is the world's leading provider of grading and authentication services to the collectibles markets and one of the world's leading multi-market, multi-venue (Internet, telephone, and live) collectibles commerce providers. Collectors Universe grading and authentication services are an essential component of collectibles commerce and make sight-unseen collectibles e-commerce possible. Collectors Universe markets its online services through its own website (www.collectors.com) and co-branded sites with eBay (example: www.collectors.com/psa/ebay.) To date Collectors Universe has graded and authenticated 8,515,365 coins, sportscards, stamps, and autographs with a total declared value of $ 9,082,575,837. Collectors Universe market leading, dominant grading brands include PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) and PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator). Collectors Universe market leading, dominant collectibles commerce brands include Bowers and Merena Galleries (Coins), Lyn Knight Currency Auctions, and Good Rockin' Tonight (rare records). Collectors Universe auction companies hold numerous price records including; the highest price for a collectible sold on the Internet ($264,000), the highest total for a coin auction ($20,400,000), the highest price paid for a rare coin ($4,140,000), the highest total for a currency auction ($5,900,000), and the highest price paid for a record ($38,500).

The Bowers and Merena Galleries division, based in New Hampshire, is a leading rare coin auctioneer, direct coin seller, and publisher of numismatic reference books.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: acceptance by the collectibles market, our company's limited operating history, potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, seasonality, competition, a possible decline in the popularity and realized selling prices of some high-end collectibles, the limited availability of high-end collectibles and the risk that Internet based e-commerce providers could make exclusive arrangements with our competitors or other service providers. Certain of these risks and uncertainties, in addition to other risks, are more fully described in our Prospectus dated November 4, 1999, which was part of our Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the company's Form 10-Q for the first and second fiscal quarters ended October 2, 1999 and January 1, 2000, respectively.