PITTSBURGH, Oct. 21, 2026 -- Dynamics Inc., the leader in security and collectible technologies, today announced the publication of the Universal Public Grading Standard™, the industry's first public collectible grading standard. For the first time, collectors can enjoy consistency in grading with the ability to confirm for themselves that an item was graded correctly.

Starting today, collectors can view the Universal Public Grading Standard™ on www.TheAuthority.com.

The first Universal Public Grading Standard introduced is the Universal Public Grading Standard for Comic Books.

"Without a public grading standard, the hobby is plagued by inconsistency, confusion, fraud, and mistrust. The dark ages of grading are coming to an end," said Jeffrey Mullen, CEO of Dynamics Inc. "Today, The Authority introduces the industry's first public grading standard. For the first time, everyone has access to a common standard for grading collectibles. Collectors can now independently determine, understand, and validate a collectible's grade using a transparent and repeatable process. Confidence in grading should not depend on simply trusting someone else's opinion. True consistency and trust can only exist when the grading standards and processes are open for everyone to see."

The Universal Public Grading Standard is broken into three steps:

• Identify the Components of the Collectible: Define the exact boundaries of each component on a collectible so each component can be independently evaluated. For the first time, collectors can understand where the spine of a comic book starts and the front cover of a comic book ends. 
• Identify Damage and Determine Component Grade™ with Damage Tables: Different components may have different types of damage, each with their own method of quantification. Identify the damage type and use the associated damage table(s) to determine the Component Grade.
• Final Grade Matrix™: Once all of the Component Grades have been determined for a collectible, the final grade is found using the Final Grade Matrix. This matrix provides the final grade for each possible component combination to ensure a precise, consistent grade for each collectible.

"A comic book is historically a very difficult item to grade because of its complex, multi-material construction," said Jeffrey Mullen. "Our goal in developing the Universal Public Grading Standard was not simply to teach a few hundred experts how to grade a collectible; it was to create a universal standard that anyone could read, understand, and apply to consistently arrive at the correct grade. We believe we have accomplished that goal."

The Comic Book grading standard is released today as part of the Universal Public Grading Standard for Trade Paperbacks and Periodicals (Comics, Magazines, Treasuries).

Dynamics manages The Authority™, the world's first real-time, vertically integrated, multi-category collectible e-commerce platform. The Authority™ enables users to instantly vault, purchase, encapsulate, authenticate, grade, sell, and fulfill a collectible within minutes. Dynamics is also the technical team behind the Universal Public Grading Standard™, the collectible industry's first public grading standard.

To learn more about The Authority, visit https://www.theauthority.com/ 

About Dynamics Inc.

Dynamics has three business units – an electronics, security and safety, and collectible business unit. The Company's electronics division has introduced market defining electronics products such as the world's first high-volume flexible consumer devices. During the pandemic, the Company's security and safety division worked with NIAID biodefense to be the first group in the world to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) using optical energy. Since 2012, Dynamics has also developed collectible platforms and technologies that have managed over 500 million collectibles. Dynamics operates multiple manufacturing facilities with its Global Headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa., APAC headquarters More information on the company, its technology and applications can be found at www.dynamicsinc.com.

About the Authority™

The Authority is the world's first real-time retailer integration, encapsulation, grading, buy/sell marketplace, and fulfillment all on a single platform. The Authority is the first trusted, vaulted marketplace for pre-authenticated trading cards, TCGs, comics, figurines, memorabilia, and associated CoAs. www.TheAuthority.com.

All Trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Attention Authority Members,

The following site updates have been implemented:

• User’s unlocked items will appear on the Marketplace and can receive offers without that user having gone through KYC:
  
• • They will still have to complete KYC before they can accept offers.
    

• Vault and Marketplace drill-down pages include checklist info about the item at the top
  

• • These can be clicked to search for a portion of the text
    

• New sorting behavior:
  • Date added (descending) and date added (ascending) have been added to the Marketplace.
  • Price (descending with unpriced), price (ascending with unpriced), and relevance (descending) (only for text searches) have been added to Vault and Marketplace.

• Shipping Protection has been updated:
  • Text is clearer about how Shipping Protection works.
    
    

• Tier 1 TCG and Trading Card submission fees have been raised to $1.35 each.

For questions, please contact Authority Customer Support through our contact page:

https://www.theauthority.com/ContactUs

Attention Authority Members,

Effective September 8, the Government of Canada will impose a new 50% counter-tariff on certain goods imported from the United States. For Authority shipments, this tariff applies to trading cards only. It does not apply to TCG products.

Trading cards shipped from the Authority to a Canadian address will be subject to the additional 50% counter-tariff, bringing the total applicable duties and tariffs to 55%.

Because the tariff is assessed when trading cards cross the U.S.–Canada border, shipments crossing the border on or after September 8 will be subject to the new tariff, regardless of when the shipment was requested.

Please note again: TCG products are not subject to this additional tariff.

We will provide updates if these conditions change. For questions, please contact Authority Customer Support through our contact page:

https://www.theauthority.com/ContactUs