Steve Grad Launches Grad Authentication: What Collectors Should Know

Steve Grad Authentication Is Now Its Own Name

For more than two decades, if you owned a signed piece with a PSA/DNA or Beckett certificate, there was a decent chance Steve Grad's standards were somewhere behind it. Now Steve Grad authentication has a name of its own. Through his company, Grad Collection and Consulting, he has launched an autograph review service and a letter program called Grad Authentication, and auction houses including Goldin and Pristine are already featuring pieces that carry it.

We follow every change in the authentication world closely, because it is the whole foundation of what we sell. Here is what launched, what it actually gives a collector, and how we are approaching it.

Who Steve Grad Is

Most collectors know Grad as the autograph expert on the History Channel's Pawn Stars, where he has appeared in more than 125 episodes. His career runs much deeper than television.

He joined PSA in March 2002 and became its lead autograph authenticator in 2005, a role he held until he left in September 2016. A few weeks later he joined Beckett and helped launch Beckett Authentication Services, which grew into one of the two or three names that matter most in the hobby. In February 2026, Beckett announced he was moving into a strategic consultant role focused on training new authenticators and building its reference image database. That change took effect March 1.

In other words, few people alive have looked at more signatures professionally. That is the reason this launch matters.

What Grad Launched

There are two pieces to it, and they are easy to confuse.

The Autograph Review Service

On June 23, 2026, Grad Collection and Consulting launched an Autograph Review Service. You submit clear photos of an item, or the link to a listing, and Grad returns a determination of "likely genuine" or "unlikely genuine." The standard turnaround is 24 hours, with a faster expedited option for an added fee.

From there you can add a digital verification letter, and an optional autograph grade on a 1 to 10 scale. Letters carry a certificate number that can be checked on Grad's own verification lookup, linked from gradcollection.com.

Grad Authentication for Signed Vinyl

Separately, Grad has partnered exclusively with Vintage Media Grading (VMG) for signed records. A signed album goes to VMG once, Grad authenticates the signature in house, VMG grades the record, and both results go into a single slab. For vinyl collectors, that removes a round of shipping between an authenticator and a grader.

Auction Houses Are Already On Board

The fastest test of any new authentication name is whether the major auction houses will take it. Grad authenticated items have already been used or featured by SCP Auctions, Pristine Auction, Iconic Auctions, Prop Store and Goldin. Goldin's 2026 Fall Music Memorabilia Auction, running September 23 to October 14, includes a consigned lot listed with a Grad Authentication Digital LOA. That is a meaningful signal for a program only a few months old, because auction houses put their own reputations behind the paperwork they accept.

What a Grad Letter Does and Does Not Tell You

A new name in authentication is a good moment to restate how any certificate works, because the rules are the same for all of them.

A letter of authenticity is an expert opinion on the signature. It is not a guarantee about the item it is on, and it is only as strong as two things: the reputation of the person behind it, and a public lookup that lets you confirm the letter is real. Grad's program has both. His name carries 24 years of professional authentication work, and his letters can be checked against his own database.

It is also worth knowing how an opinion was reached. The review service works from photos, which is how a great deal of modern authentication is done, and a high resolution image lets an expert study letter formation, pressure and flow. An in person examination can add things a photo cannot, like the ink itself and the surface under it. Neither is wrong. Just know which one you are buying.

The checks we recommend on any signed piece, from any authenticator, stay the same:

• Find the certificate or letter number on the paperwork and on the item.
• Look it up on the authenticator's own website, not a link the seller sends you.
• Confirm the lookup describes your item: the signer, the object and, where shown, the image.
• Be wary of any seller who cannot tell you who authenticated a piece.

Our guide to JSA, PSA, Beckett and ACOA walks through each lookup step by step.

How We Are Using It

We have opened an account with Grad Collection and Consulting and are preparing our first submissions. Grad Authentication will sit alongside the authenticators our collectors already know, not replace them.

Our standard does not change. Every piece we sell comes with a numbered certificate from an independent third party authenticator, and we check that certificate against the authenticator's own database before anything ships. You can repeat that check yourself, and we encourage it. Many of our pieces also carry a Custom Authentics hologram serial as a second record, which you can look up on our site.

Pieces From the Programs Grad Helped Build

Much of our catalog carries certificates from the two companies Grad spent his career inside. He did not review these particular pieces, but the programs behind their certificates are ones he helped run for 24 years.

For basketball, the Victor Wembanyama signed Spurs Icon Edition jersey is Beckett authenticated at $950, and the Jalen Brunson signed Knicks jersey is PSA authenticated at $798. Both are prepared to order.

For music, the Ozzy Osbourne signed electric guitar is Beckett Witnessed, at $1,298.98. And if you want something in hand quickly, the Bo Nix signed Broncos mini helmet is Beckett Witnessed, $488, and in stock and ready to ship.

Be First to See What Comes Next

When our first Grad authenticated pieces arrive, our email list will see them before anyone else. Join the early access list, and in the meantime browse the full collection, where every piece ships with its certificate in the box.