I’m sure part of the answer is that I’ve wondered to far into the interweb. I’ve seen to CAC stickers in my short time learning a little. So some guys and/or gals get together and grade the graders? Why don’t they just do it themselves? What’s a MAC sticker? Same concept? If you can get a deal on a slabbed coin with stickers can you just remove them? Without residual?
I knew it was a good idea! So they’ll immediately join the “trusted” two or three or four grading services? Is CAC the only trusted sticker outfit?
There are three (or four) main grading/encapsulation services. If you look at 10 different slabbed coins all with the same grade and all from the same service, they will all look different. Some will look better than others, some will look undergraded and some will look overgraded. That is the purpose behind CAC. They are a service that says the coin looks exceptional for the grade (green bean) or that it may be undergraded (gold bean). Their new grading service will have to prove itself.
Why do I think you already knew about CAC and who they are and the business plan? Some guys and gals? Really?
Well, John Albanese isn't just "some guy". And the market likes the CAC stickers, so probably best to leave them on. Though removing them from coins you own if you want to is your prerogative I guess.
I said in my OP that I’d seen the CAC stickers. I know nothing of them. Then I asked about other stickers. MAC in particular. That question has gone unanswered and I’m smart enough to figure out why. So tomorrow I might message a seller an offer without the MAC sticker premium.
That’s one that I’ve seen. Though I’m not in that market. Thanks for your input. I guess I wasn’t clear or asked too many questions in my OP. It was more about stickers in general; not CAC in particular, and the premium associated with stickers when buying. I’ll head back to the shallow end. Lol
In my 70+ years of collecting Mostly U.S. coins, I've acquired coins that generally met the eventually published 1977 pictorial A.N.A. standard. Eventually buying slabbed coins, from AGC to PCGS. When CAC came, I switched to their coins, now having a 4 figure quantity of their coins, applying a bean to pre-1965 Silver and pre-1933 Gold. I can hardly wait to see if their service will apply a fair standard when submitting my past-opinioned CACed coins.
Not sure if this answers your question or not….. For years we collectors were satisfied with a simple system of good, fine, extra fine and uncirculated. That system was good but left a lot of room for interpretation…. Then came along the numerical system (Sheldon scale) and that fine tuned things pretty well. The encapsulating companies came along and used that numerical system and that was fine for a while. What we found over the years is that the numerical system has been interpreted differently (for lack of a better term) over the years. A coin that grades MS64 by one TPG may grade MS65 by another which is why you will see discussions here from time to time about which TPG a guy should use for his particular coin.….. Then the sticker guys came along. The sticker is supposed to be a seal of assurance that the grade given by the TPG is valid and a premium example of the grade given… My MS64 coin blessed with a CAC sticker is a very high end MS64 coin…… Hope that helps to confuse things for you. We coin collectors are often a goofy bunch.
Thanks for the history. I’ve got a handle on the situation (said the novice). If I see something I want with a CAC sticker, I’ll compare apples to apples.
