Featured CAC Lesson Learned......

I've bought several coins that carried the CAC green bean and gladly paid a slight premium because they appeared very nice for the grade. I was impressed enough that I began to seek CAC coins over others as long as the premium wasn't too great.

I had seen enough CAC coins that I began to have great confidence in the sticker. So much so that even with bad pics online I would buy one knowing my experience to be a positive one. Then I got cocky.

In one week I bought MS66+ CAC Walking Liberty Half and an MS65+ CAC CC Morgan. I "assumed" that being a plus grade coupled with a CAC would border on making a next grade which could carry significant premiums. I was excited for them to arrive because they were bought off photos.

When they both arrived and were in hand I must admit I was disappointed. Neither impressed me much and certainly didn't appear worthy of a + grade, much less a + with CAC. Then I did what I should have done before hand. I researched CAC.

I found that CAC totally disregards the plus designation when assigning a bean. They will then grade it based upon the number grade and decide if it's an A,B or C coin. A & B get the bean and C does not. A is basically exceptional for the grade and B is solid for the grade. C is the low end.

The first lesson I learned is that a CAC coin could simply be solid for the grade, not top end of the grade as I had believed. In essence, not the best of the best.

The second, and very humbling lesson I learned is that you should not buy a plus grade with CAC and simply assume it's verified as a plus grade. Since CAC disregards the plus it is very possible, as I think I obtained one of them, that you can get a MS66+ CAC that is really only an MS66.

I'm not slamming CAC as I have usually found their coins to be better for the grade and at least solid for the grade, but I do question why they disregard the plus. In my opinion they should only bean what they consider solid for the grade and if the grade is a 66+ it should be a 66+ before getting a sticker. It seems pointless to even send in a plus grade to CAC because it really won't benefit the seller. But again, that's my opinion only. They obviously have a solid business model that works.

I do know this though, a CAC on a plus coin that I see in the future will not get my attention as it has before. As always, buy the coin not the slab, but with some less than stellar photos out there I will now pass on the CAC+ unless in hand.

That probably explains why I got these coins at what I though was a really good price.

 

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I like your post and you are correct that CAC disregards the + or * designations that are given out by PCGS and NGC. A CAC sticker on such coins still has value since CAC is estimating the base grade to be correct or even slightly undergraded and they are also stating that they do not believe the coin has been manipulated beyond market acceptance.

 

This is why you should never pay for a second or third opinion (unless it's a Dr's). There's only one that matters in the end.

 

I never knew that CAC disregarded the +. It's disappointing to hear that, as MS64 is not the same grade as MS64+. The differences in value between a + grade and a normal grade can be astronomical!

 

They do NOT deserve the phrase COOL BEANS when it comes to their service.

 

Here is an example of one of my coins that if the + designation were CAC recognize could add significant value. I do like CAC coins. I have some in my collection. I also have some that did not receive a CAC sticker in my collection.

 

CAC is simply agreeing with the grade, not that it is high end.

If they think it is undergraded you can get a (rare) gold bean.

 

Frank, if CAC thinks it is high end for the grade (but not deserving of a gold bean) why don't they give the green beanie a tassel or something?

Chris

 

Thanks for the information..sorry about your coin you submitted.

 

or a beret!

or bean the bean

 

There are some nice 64+ coins that, upon resubmission, could achieve a 65 grade. Those are the coins that I would pay a large premium for. I like to buy the coin, not the slab. I agree that people should not pay astronomical prices for a + grade. I would pay a premium for a +, but not a huge one, unless I believed that it could achieve the next grade. But + coins do still go for a premium, so CAC shouldn't act like the + isn't there.

 

I agree with Frank. But won't buy a coin for the sticker green or gold..
Buying a coin you should first do homework and know what grading standards are.
No disrespectful intention meant .

 

Quite Frankly, I hate the blasted things. It makes some dealers think they charge for the moon.........

 

I thought the "+" grade meant the TPG thought the coin was high end for the grade, but not quite the next grade. IMO, that means it's an A coin and should have a green bean.

 

Yeah, so CAC should sticker all + coins, as long as they are accurately graded, because they are solid or high-end for the grade. Someone could make a profit sending in + graded coins to CAC because most would get the green bean.

 

CAC also inspects coins for various levels of surface manipulation, which means that a coin might have a market and TPG accepted level of manipulation that is also unacceptable to CAC. Therefore, they cannot blindly put beans on accurately + graded coins.

 

Of course they wouldn't blindly put the CAC stickers on the coin. What I'm saying is that most coins with a + should get CAC stickered because they are solid or high-end for the grade, which is what CAC is looking for. I'm not saying that all + coins are guaranteed to get stickered, I'm just saying that the chances are much higher. And with every coin sent into CAC, there is a possibility that CAC will not sticker because of surface manipulation.

 

I essence, the '+' grade should cancel out the CAC Sticker or vice versa since the '+' signifies that the coin is in the top 20% of coins for THAT grade while the CAC sticker signifies that the coin is "solid" for the grade.

Too often, folks interpret the CAC sticker for more than what it actually represents.

IMHO, it's simply another marketing tool and "collectors" ought to not pay attention to it unless they want CC to buy it back.