CAC. Stands for Certified Acceptance Corporation. The little creen stickers you see on some slabs. So from what I can tell they certify that the grading service did their job. Seems like a waste to me. I mean if its already certified by NGC or PCGS why do you need an additional certification? I doesn't even sound like a CAC MS65 is necessarily a "high end" MS65. So why bother? I'm just not sure about it. So should I start a company that checks certifies the green sticker and the PCGS hologram? From the website. WHAT THE CAC STICKER MEANS: • Verified. Your coin has been verified as meeting the standard for strict quality within its grade. • Guaranteed. CAC stands behind our verification by making markets in most actively traded coins. Many coins that CAC has reviewed, but did not sticker, have been accurately graded by PCGS or NGC. However, CAC stickers only coins that are solid for the grade, often referred to as B quality coins, and those that are considered high-end for the grade, which are often called A quality coins. Those that are accurately graded by PCGS or NGC, but are considered low-end for the grade and often referred to as C quality coins, are not stickered by CAC.
I'm guessing they are trying to be an auditor to keep the third party graders on an even playing field? It doesn't mean much to me, nor does the eagle eye designation.
First - I think CAC does provide a valid service. Everybody knows overgraded or mis-graded coins exist in NGC and PCGS holders. Now that does not mean that these same coins might not receive a CAC sticker. I just think you odds of getting a low quality coin for the hold is less if you buy only CAC graded coins.
I agree they may provide a valid service. But they also play at dumbing down the collector. If you can't tell the difference between a nice coin and a not very nice coin, even in the same grade, perhaps you need to invest in a few books before you invest in coins. I've nothing against slabs or CAC, but I see it as a lazy man's way of collecting. Guy
CAC divides a grade into three parts , low quality for the grade , solid for the grade , and high end for the grade . It will only give a green bean if it is solid for the grade or high for the grade . It also will not sticker coins that they feel have been altered in any way , cleaned , tooled etc. It's good for buying coins at auction where you can't view the coin in hand only by pictures . The grey sheet equivalent for slabbed coins is for sight unseen coins . These are usually low for the grade coins so the price guide reflects this with cheaper prices . If it has a CAC bean on it , it will almost always sell for more than the slab guides price , which it should because it should be a better coin . Rusty
I wonder why they don't sticker the slabs that fall into the other two parts? For those learning subtleties of the grade could learn a lot from seeing the difference between a coin thats solid for the grade versus those that are high and low for the same grade.
If you sent a coin in and it brown stickered for being a POS, would you leave it on there to educate other buyers at your expense?
The Greysheet bids reflect "slabbed" coins, as well. The Greysheet reflects correctly graded sight-seen levels. There exists a true market of sight-unseen trading that most general collectors never see. The Bluesheet reflects these bid levels, and as you said, they are usually lower. The transactions that occur are not coins that are simply sent from dealer to dealer to peruse through and send back if they do not like it. True sight-unseen is sale final. This is where CAC has its "use" in the industry. It is to help identify sight-unseen offers that are not sub-par, and may in fact be "PQ" for the grade. By offering an PCGS MS-66 Gold CAC, you can be assured you will receive more than simply PCGS MS-66. At least, that is the idea behind it. Now, because CAC is also a market-maker, this means that they are also directly active in purchasing CAC stickered sight-unseen PCGS and NGC coins. So, to a dealer, not only do you have the high prospect of your green or gold CAC sticker bringing you a premium above sheet bid, but also the assurance that there would be a market for the slab...even if a CAC member has to be the one to purchase it.
Sometimes the grading services overgrade so there is a need for CAC plus it brings a premium so that means makin' MORE MONEY!
I was under the impression that it would also give buyers a second opinion on Star and Plus designations, perhaps FBL or FS too. Is that true?
That is not always true. I have gotten several CAC coins at the same price as a regular graded coin. I don't pay a premium for the CAC sticker, but maybe for the coin in the holder. I have a few where I did and did no pay permiums. I am happy with all the coins.
I assume this to be true. However, only CAC can answer those questions authoritatively. I would wonder why they would want a reference set on file if they were not considering the designations applied.
Hypothesis: If someone sends in a PCGS/NGC slab to CAC and it doesn't Green or Gold Bean and they decide to get rid of it as a result, do you think they will tell you it didn't qualify?
I look at CAC the same way I look at "Martinizing" dry cleaning. When your coin is CAC'ed it still looks the same as it did before it was CAC'ed. Same as Martinizing.
I believe CAC is to verify that the coin received the right grade, its like spotting over graded or under graded coins in slabs.
