Spectrum Fine Wine Auctions Home

Spectrum Group International’s Spectrum Wine Auctions Hires Wine Expert Kevin Swersey

(January 4, 2011; IRVINE, CA)—Spectrum Group International (SPGZ.PK) announced today that it has tapped renowned wine authority Kevin A. Swersey as senior consultant and strategic advisor for its subsidiary Spectrum Wine Auctions. The alignment with Mr. Swersey is an important part of the expansion of Spectrum Wine Auctions, which conducted its first live sale in November 2009 and has since sold $17.7 million with its live auctions in California and Hong Kong.

 

“Since launching Spectrum Wine Auctions a year ago, we’ve been working carefully to build a team of the leading experts needed to create an exceptional service company. Kevin has an unparalleled understanding of and experience with the fine wine market. We’re in an extremely competitive industry which is experiencing a surge of interest from emerging markets, and it is our intent to be recognized as an industry leader,” said Spectrum Group International CEO Greg Roberts.

 

A major participant at multiple levels in the US wine auction market for nearly two decades, Mr. Swersey helped establish and implement the joint venture between Zachys Wine and Liquor Inc. and Christie’s in 1994. Under his guidance as auction director (April 1995-May 2000), Zachys/Christie’s established many new world auction records, sold more than 45,000 lots, and recognized sales totals in excess of $86 million. Thereafter, Swersey continued as consultant to Zachys Auctions Inc. and was instrumental in establishing its presence for fine wine auctions in both Los Angeles and New York. Most recently he was senior consultant for Chicago-based Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. during the period which saw its annual auction sales grow dramatically from $13.7 million in 2006 to over $39 million in 2010.

 

“I am very excited about this great opportunity to join the young and dynamic team at Spectrum Wine Auctions. It is doing unique and interesting things to serve buyers and sellers of wine while distinguishing itself from its competitors.  Some of these include live streaming video of the auction room, 360-degree images of every lot on offer, and buyer and seller benefits that break with tradition in favor of a user-friendly customer experience,” says Mr. Swersey. “Spectrum Wine Auctions is committed to amassing a top-level team and providing the resources necessary to establish itself as an industry leader.”

 

Mr. Swersey, who is based in New York, will also continue to advise ultra high net worth individuals in the acquisition, disposition, and management of their wine collections on a worldwide basis.

About Spectrum Group International, Inc.

 

Spectrum Group International, Inc., named to the Fortune 500 list in 2010, is a global trading and collectibles network. We are a trader of precious metals and an auctioneer of coins, stamps, wine, and antique arms, armor and historical memorabilia, serving both collectors and dealers. We are also a merchant/dealer of certain collectibles. Our collectibles offerings span the price spectrums from modest to ultra-high end. Furthermore, we offer loans to coin dealers, collectors and investors backed by their precious metals, rare coin and other collectibles as collateral.

 

Our Trading business is conducted through A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. and its subsidiaries. A-Mark is a full-service precious metal trading company, and an official distributor for many government mints throughout the world. A-Mark products include gold, silver, platinum and palladium for storage and delivery in the form of coins, bars, wafers and grain, and our services include financing, leasing, consignment, hedging and various customized financial programs. A-Mark’s subsidiary, Collateral Finance Corporation, which is the official Numismatic Lender of the American Numismatic Association, provides financing on a wide array of bullion and numismatic products.

 

Our Collectibles business operates as an integrated network of leading companies concentrating on numismatic (coins) and philatelic (stamps) materials, and rare and fine vintage wine. We have offices and auction houses in North America, Europe and Asia. In addition to traditional live auctions, we also conduct Internet and telephone auctions.

 

Our Collectibles companies in the philatelic field are auction houses H.R. Harmer Global Philatelic of Irvine, California, Corinphila Auktionen of Zurich, Switzerland, Heinrich Köhler Auktionshaus of Wiesbaden, Germany, Corinphila Veilingen B.V., Amstelveen, Netherlands, and John Bull Stamp Auctions, Ltd of Hong Kong. Spectrum Group’s Collectibles companies in the numismatics field include Bowers and Merena Auctions (rare coin and currency auction house), Ponterio & Associates (world and ancient coins and currency auction house), Teletrade (online coin auctions) and Spectrum Numismatics International (wholesale rare coin dealer), all based in Irvine, California. Spectrum Wine Auctions is engaged in the sale by auction of rare and fine vintage wine.

                Safe Harbor Statement

 

Statements in this press release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ are identified in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and include the fact that we have disclosed that you should not rely upon our previously published financial statements and the fact that we have not filed all of our reports required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. More information about factors that could affect our business and financial results included in our public filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov.

 

The words “should,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “foresee,” “plan” and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they were made. Additionally, any statements related to future improved performance and estimates of revenues and earnings per share are forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.