At what point do CAC stickers lose their value?

A good friend brought up an interesting conundrum when he commented on a video of the 1913 Walton Liberty Nickel which is valued somewhere around $3-5 million dollars. He commented on the fact that it's such a valuable and rare piece yet there is no CAC sticker to go along with it; which made me laugh but then I thought about it. As a collector, at what point would a CAC sticker lose its value? I might be wrong about this but when you get to a coin in the million dollar range chances are unlikely that a green or gold bean would significantly up the price. I mean CAC stickers aren't like PCGS or NGC slabs. At the end of the day, slabs guarantee the authenticity of a coin in the plastic at the cost of their respective company's reputation. On the other hand, in essence all that CAC stickers do is give the opinion of another company who may have stricter graders. Collectors who buy coins in the $100 to several thousand dollar range have come to really love the CAC stickers and the additional value they can bring. Personally, I think it's great to have a company like the CAC because it provides a type of checks and balances of the TPG's; but, the question remains, does a CAC sticker truly matter if a coin is a $1 million dollars? how about half a million? quarter million? Coins of that value are probably given a lot more time and attention from TPG graders so I doubt a company such as PCGS or NGC is likely to mess up as far as grading is concerned, though I may be wrong. I'm definitely no expert and would like more input and opinions,
-theSharpGun

 

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I'm not an expert either but CAC stickers do not make a coin more likely for me to purchase. In fact they probably do the opposite because sellers think they should get more for their coin because of it, then the coin gets another premium attached that I'm unwilling to pay for.

 

The cac sticker means little to me I judge coins more on rarity and eye appeal and often times I'm buying coins that were collected and slabbed 15-20 years ago long before there was a cac sticker even thought of its nice for resale purposes but I let the coin do the talkng

 

Like it or not, CAC coins will always command a higher value. The fact is that perhaps the most respected name in grading confirmed the coin as a premium example of the grade means plenty. That being said, most people who buy the super rarities could care less about the little green bean. For one, a high precentage of those high dollar coins go to investors who could care less what the coins grade is. And second, most of the higher transactions like that go through reputable dealers who are perfectly capeable of doing their own grading.

 

I think the CAC sticker is useless. soon there will be another sticker verifing the CAC sticker with another sticker. when does it stop ? and then another sticker verifiy that sticker... until the whole slab is full of stickers and you cannot see the coin. lol CAC sticker is a waste of money. IMO

 

at that point in time i will come out with my newest invention see a coin. u spray the slab and all the stickers drop off and you can see the coin

only $99.99 for a .9 oz bottle

dont worry ill make sure the slab gets damaged too so you have to submit back tot he TPg. That way i will become TPG approved and earn even more money.

Now who wants to be an angel investor in my company?

 

I've never thought about it like that. I just figured coins of that kind of rarity called for much more precise grading. Then again with coins that rare I doubt grades have too much influence over the value. After all if there are 7 certain rare coins, all worth upwards of a million dollars, I doubt the handful of potential buyers really have much choice on grade. I'm pretty sure at that point a collector will take what they can get. Especially since its rare for these coins to come to the market. Same thing with CAC stickers really.

 

I agree with GDJMSP with respect to the likelihood of a very rare or famous coin being graded to a slightly less strict standard by the TPGs. I have always thought this was similar to the TPGs "bidding" to grade the coin and have it in their holder by offering a more desirable grade.

Regarding CAC, I am including a cut-and-paste of something I have written before on these boards and then modifying it slightly, but I think should be repeated given some of the responses in this thread.

"The more valuable aspect of CAC for many, in my opinion, is that they are willing to look at coins for evidence of applied putty, methods of AT, laser etching, oiled surfaces, etc...as well as examining the grade. If the coin has evidence, in the opinion of CAC, of alteration then it will fail the process.

On multiple occasions I've written similar statements to what I am about to write, but will repeat again my thoughts on the issue. CAC is a tool that is available to all and, as such, it is quite similar to knowing how to use a loupe; having the knowledge to spot counterfeit pieces; understanding what manipulated and original coinage should look like or how they will likely appear; being able to interpret printed guide prices and auction results; understanding how to grade according to the ANA standards and how this grading differs from the various TPG grading standards; and learning all the options for buying and selling within the market.
Sadly, the vast majority of collectors ignore their study of coinage and thus are not truly numismatists. However, some folks pursue this knowledge and will happily listen to other opinions, regardless of whether or not they agree with those opinions. CAC can help all, but will help those who are willing to accept their help the most. Unfortunately, I have examined the collections of many long time collectors who believe CAC to be ridiculous, useless, redundant, a money-grab, etc...and they generally have collections that are at least sprinkled with altered coins to heavily infested with altered coins, yet they have no clue because they can't be told they might learn from listening to others with different or more experience in the hobby-industry."

 

That's a good point Tom, thanks for posting.

 

I think Tom hit the nail on the head, and my thoughts on CAC and TPGs have changed a bit from when I started collecting. I place little value on CAC or TPG grades as I study my coin, seek out multiple grading opinions from others, and try to learn about the little area of collecting I am interested in. However, if I were to step outside that area into a series I was not knowledgeable about I would seek out a trusted dealer and probably end up with a third party graded coin. Both the TPGs and CAC are crutches, nothing wrong with using them.

 

Seems like a high price for a bottle of acetone. Will take all the stickers off but will etch the surface of the slab,