Our Story
Our StoryBy collectors, for collectors.
We do not chase the loudest auctions. We build the most respectful ones — where condition, provenance, and patience matter more than spectacle.
The Collector’s Standard was built for people who know the difference between stuff and a collection. We treat collectibles like artifacts, handled with care, described with context, and backed by clear, respectful service.
Philosophy
Three disciplines. One standard of care.
Sirius was assembled from three houses that earned their reputations the long way. Sirius Coin Auctions began in 2003 with a single rare-cent catalog. The sports card division was born during the 2009 Mantle estate sale. Humongous Hoard joined in 2016 to bring archival-grade protection in-house.
In 2024 we stopped pretending these were three businesses. They were always one ecosystem — and the collectors we serve deserved to feel that under a single roof.
Milestones
A patient timeline — two decades in the making.
Sirius Coin Auctions
Founded with a single rare-cent catalog in Boston.
Sirius Sports Cards
Vintage card division opens after the Mantle estate sale.
Humongous Hoard
Protection supply line acquired and re-engineered.
One House
Three legacy platforms unified under Sirius.
Founder's Story
A collector first. Always.
The roots of The Collector's Standard
Michael did not start in a boardroom. He started the way most real collectors start: curiosity, small money, and the feeling of finding something small that suddenly matters.
As a kid near his neighborhood swimming pool, he would walk to a convenience store for snacks and packs. That is where he bought his first Garbage Pail Kids. Pack by pack, his stack grew to around a hundred stickers.
Then he moved into baseball cards. His mom was relieved. Baseball cards felt more acceptable. For Michael, it was about the hobby opening up.
History you could hold.
Around age ten, he went to his first card show. It felt huge, like an armory venue, and it changed the hobby for him. For the first time he saw cards from decades before he was born: the 1950s, 60s, 70s, the 30s, and even the early 1900s. Collecting became history you could hold.
He learned that many early cards were inserts used to sell tobacco, cigarettes, gum, and candy. The cards were tied to culture and entire eras. That context fascinated him.
Preservation creates value.
He stayed close to the hobby through his teen years, learning by doing. At sixteen, he made it official. It became a business. But shows were expensive, and overhead made growth hard.
Around 1997, he began selling online on eBay. Lower overhead meant he could reinvest repeatedly. That is how momentum is built.
He also learned the hobby by living through cycles. He points to 1998, when the McGwire and Sosa home run chase pulled fresh attention into baseball and collecting. Demand rose. The market changed temperature. He did not learn the hobby in one easy era. He learned across different climates.
The eye gets trained over years.
In the early days, grading was not embraced the way it is now. Michael remembers people frowned on graded cards at first. He adopted grading early. He jokes that he overpaid by a quarter on a stack of rookie cards, then graded them and hit strong results because he had already trained his eye.
Collecting should feel fair.
Today the motivation is not just selling collectibles. It is protecting the collector.
Michael talks about the pandemic era when prices rose. Sometimes it was reasonable due to shortages. Sometimes it went beyond what felt fair. He wanted everyday collectors to have a place that stayed honest.
Treat people right. Ship fast. Deliver quality. Prevent issues before they happen. Make the collector feel respected, not processed.
If the collection deserves care, it deserves work.
His clearest difference shows up in consignment. Many houses take the easy route: sell a set as one lot, or sell the top handful individually and dump the rest into bulk groupings. Efficient, but it often leaves money on the table for the consignor.
Michael's philosophy is simple. If the collection deserves care, it deserves work. So instead of bulk shortcuts, he breaks things down intelligently.
The joy comes first.
Collecting should be enjoyable first. Value appreciation is a side effect over time. Not pressure. Not flipping culture. Just the joy of collecting, guided by experience.
Protect what matters. Keep it fair. Handle it right.
By collectors, for collectors.
Mission, Vision, Values
What we stand for, in three lines.
The principles that guide every catalog, every consignment, and every conversation.
Mission
To help collectors buy, sell, consign, and protect meaningful items with clarity, care, and collector-level respect.
Vision
To become the collector-first standard in collectibles commerce by unifying auctions, marketplace access, streaming, and preservation under one trusted brand.
Values
- Truth over hype
- Respect for the collector and the item
- Preservation of value and story
- Access without gatekeeping
- Clear, fair, honest dealing
- Calm expertise over performance
The Collector's Oath
Your collectibles. Our promise.
We believe the story matters, and the details matter.
We handle each piece with care, document what we receive, and communicate clearly at every step. We present items with clean photography and plain-language notes, then pack with the discipline the hobby deserves.
This is The Collector's Standard.
Our Promise, In Writing
We treat your collection like it is staying in the family, with clear terms, prompt communication, and careful handling from the first touch to the final shipment.