Here's a question for all of you. Since the value of a FB merc is significantly higher than a non-FB merc (for a given year), would CAC give a gold bean to one that isn't FB but thinks it should be? Just asking....
I'm not sure. In theory, the answer should be "no" as they are looking at just the grade on a non-FB merc (and it could be FB but only solid for the 65 grade as opposed to solid for the next grade). In practice, there might be some positive bias towards a sticker for an FB in a non-FB holder.
The rest of the story, eh? Well, it's not a good one for me. I buy this coin at the Long Beach show in the fall of 1993 (in an MS64 holder) for the color mostly. It was close to FB but that didn't mean all the much to me...I didn't think it would pass and it probably already would have long before I bought it. In 1999 I decided to give it a try so I cracked it out. It came back MS65...that's good but no FB. So time passes and then in 2012 I send this to CAC where it GREEN beans. Ok, that settles it, right? Now I still don't know what CAC does when it sees a coin with a strike designation that merits the "full" whatever. Maybe I assumed that it would have GOLD beaned...I don't know. Then a couple of years ago I did send the coin in for "reconsideration" with a minimum of MS64FB and it was a no-go. Now, they tell you you have to crack coins to really get the grade...not using "reconsiderations". However, I was hesitant after a bad experience cracking a 14S Half Eagle that I lost a bundle on when an MS62 turned into a "no grade". Whatever the case I decided to sell this (at auction) early 2019 and I got good money since MS65 value was well up from my original purchase price. Unfortunately, a month of two later it shows up at auction again in....that's right...an MS64FB holder with a GREEN CAC sticker to boot. Do I blame myself. Sure but, frankly, isn't it PCGS that should really be blamed? Why not give the grade under "reconsiderations"? I don't know...I just feel a bit cheated after owning the coins so may years...so that's the sad story as I left money on the table. So...the verdict is GREEN CAC at MS65 (and later MS64FB GREEN CAC). jom
Summary Rd. 1: 1921 MS 65 Green CAC Morgan--> Yes: 4 vs No: 3 Rd. 2: 1835 AU 50 Green CAC 50c--> Yes: 2 vs No: 8 Rd. 3: 1939-S Oregon MS 65 Gold CAC 50c--> Yes: 10 (8 Green and 2 Gold) vs No: 0 Rd. 4: 1838 AU 58 Green CAC (Gold $5)--> Yes: 1 vs No: 5 Rd. 5: 1908 MS 63 Green CAC (Gold $20)—> Yes: 5 vs No: 1 Rd. 6: 1885-CC MS 63 PL Green CAC Morgan--> Yes: 8 vs No: 1 Rd. 7: 1946-S MS 66 Green CAC Walker 50c--> Yes: 7 (6 Green and 1 Gold) vs No: 1 Rd. 8: 1885-S MS 62 NOT CAC Morgan--> Yes: 5 (4 Green and 1 Gold) vs No: 1 Rd. 9: 1830 EF 45 UNKNOWN CAC 50c--> Yes: 10 vs No: 1 Rd. 10*: 1899 MS 65 BN UNKNOWN CAC 1c--> Yes: 4 vs No: 5 Rd. 11: 1942 MS 65 Gold CAC 50c--> Yes: 4 (4 Green and 0 Gold) vs No: 2 Rd. 12: 1940-D MS 67 Star UNKNOWN CAC 10c--> Yes: 3 vs No: 4 Rd. 13*: 1884-O MS 61 Gold CAC $1--> Yes: 9 (4 Green and 5 Gold) vs No: 0 Rd. 14: 1827 AU 55 CAC 10c--> Yes: 1 vs No: 7 Rd. 15: 1851 MS 66 CAC 1c--> Yes: 5 vs No: 4 Rd. 16: 1919-S MS 65 Green CAC 10c--> Yes: 12 (11 Green and 1 Gold) vs No: 0 Green CAC on coin and deserves it: 6 Green CAC on coin and doesn't deserve it: 3 Gold CAC on coin and deserves it: 1 Gold CAC on coin but should only be Green: 2 Gold CAC on coin but should not sticker: Failed to sticker but deserves a sticker: 1 Failed to sticker and should not sticker: Unknown sticker status and deserves a sticker:1 Unknown sticker status and does not deserve a sticker:2 Note: if we don’t know the status of a coin before the reveal and more people say green CAC for a gold CAC coin, then it will go in the area of “Gold CAC on coin but should only be Green” ....see round 3 as the example case * Rd. 10 was 4-4...I interpreted that CircCam would consider it a no (based on a similar example), which swayed the overall vote to a lean towards no. Rd. 13 was tied between green and gold at 4-4...I interpreted that geekpryde would consider it a gold
@jom interesting journey that coin took and unfortunate that you weren't able to get the grade. From what I've seen, it appears you would have to try multiple times for it to get the grade (or know the right people-maybe a conspiracy theory, maybe not). The story I heard with the $130k Franklin (that was in a lower grade before being bumped up in grade) was that it was submitted double digit times (including in person at a big show).