(Newport Beach, CA) -- Professional Stamp Experts (PSE) has updated and more than doubled the size of its precedent-setting booklet, "A Guide to the Grading of United States Postage Stamps." The 28-page, illustrated guide is available free.

"Response was excellent to the first, 12-page grading guide PSE issued two years ago to encourage consumer education and increase confidence in the philatelic marketplace. We distributed more than 6,000 copies free," said Michael Sherman, PSE President.

"The revised 2004 edition has new, enlarged and enhanced photographs, and more detailed descriptions on the importance of soundness and eye appeal."

Other sections of the booklet examine centering, gum condition, fakes and faults that can occur in the printing process and after a stamp is issued.

In addition, three hyphenated grades have been added to the grading table: Fair-Good; Good-Very Good; and Very Good-Fine. The entire PSE numeric and adjectival grading scale system, from Fair (10) to flawless Gem (100), is clearly described with text and color photos.

In the booklet's introduction, the authors state:

"The correlation between a stamp's grade and its market value is absolute, and the absence of explicit standards for determining a stamp's grade leave the market with an undesirable degree of uncertainty, particularly for novice collectors and sight-unseen buyers."

The booklet was written by PSE President Sherman and PSE Vice President William A. Litle, with technical input from Director of Expertizing Randy Shoemaker and PSE's 31-member Board of Philatelic Experts.

"We recognize the controversies and differing opinions about grading, but believe the philatelic community must establish and adopt uniform standards. Stamps evaluated and graded in adherence to explicit standards will be far less likely to be misrepresented. Novice and intermediate collectors now will have the information to buy with vastly increased confidence. Even experienced collectors who may be branching out into new areas will find this additional information extremely useful," said Sherman.

PSE offers three types of independent, third-party authentication and grading services: a tamper-evident Certificate of Authenticity with full-color photographic representation of the expertised stamp; the expertising certificate with the stamp's grade; and protective encapsulation of authenticated and graded stamps.

Founded in 1987, PSE (www.PSEstamp.com) is a division of publicly held Collectors Universe (NASDAQ: CLCT).

For a free copy of "A Guide to the Grading of United States Postage Stamps," contact PSE at P.O. Box 6170, Newport Beach, CA 92658. Phone: (949) 567-1346. Fax: (949) 567-1173. E-mail: pse@collectors.com. Web: www.PSEstamp.com.