Hi all, I did a couple of quick searches of this forum for an answer to this question, but I came up empty. How does a coin acquire a 'CAC' sticker on the outside of it's slab and what all does that mean? I found the CAC coin site (www.caccoin.com) and read "It has been verified as meeting our strict quality standards." Do I understand correctly that a coin first gets sent out to be graded by a company such as PCGS or NGC (or one of the others) and after it gets returned, it then gets sent to CAC for further verification where upon it then receives the CAC sticker? I'm browsing coins on a local dealer's web site and I see two similar coins (same denomination, grading company, grade, mint mark, etc), and one has a CAC sticker on it. The one with the CAC sticker is selling for considerably more than the one without (like 80% more). Please help me understand the value that a CAC sticker brings to coins. Thank you, StephenS
Be forewarned CAC is one of the topics where a lot of people lose their mind trying to talk it down or discredit it. Essentially yes but CAC only does PCGS/NGC coins and only certain series which you can find on their website. That's not uncommon especially with more expensive coin. If you're looking at 50 dollar coins it doesn't really matter, but if you're looking at 2k coins it can matter a lot especially when the next grade up is a big price jump
Don't be fooled. A CAC sticker is used to say that it is on the high end of the grade. Not necessarily that it is worth being graded one point higher. But that it meets the grading standards for todays market. There have been more than a few coins that were CAC'ed in a 65 slab, then same coin being resubmitted for grading and CAC'ed at a one point even two point increase. It doesn't seem that CAC has a grading scale that they use. They are only there to agree or disagree.
A CAC sticker on a holder means CAC feels it is within the higher end of the grade assigned by the TPG. IMO I don't think, generally, that a coin with a CAC sticker is worth 80% more than a coin with the same grade. But, it all depends on the particular coin.
Be careful with CAC stickers and do your price homework as if the coin didn’t have a sticker. Generally, a seller will want more for the CAC coin, but some want ludicrous premiums. And some buyers — I think misjudging what a CAC sticker really means — will bid them to the moon.
You’ve told us how the holders, stickers, and prices compare, but how do the COINS compare? How original are the surfaces (yes, the TPGs straight-grade cleaned coins all of the time)? Are there distracting marks? How is the color? How is the strike? Does one have less wear than the other? Keep in mind there are two reasons why a coin does not have a CAC sticker: 1. It did not meet CAC’s standards. 2. It simply has not been sent in yet.
Sure you have. As pointed out above, a coin might not have been submitted to CAC. Or maybe it has and didn’t get a sticker. You’ll never know.
As always buy the coin not the holder or sticker. And as already mentioned watch out for the premiums. I have actually seen some dealers list two coins in the same grade - one with the sticker and one without. The coin without was considerably cheaper - and if the pictures were accurate I liked the unstickered coin better.
You'll find that a "Green Bean" only indicates that the coin is better than the current average condition of that TPG for that type of coin at the time of submission. Look at some of the "market grading" coins certified by the TPG as might currently be offered on eBay. You'll probably find some very poorly graded coins relative to the published "official A.N.A. grading standards" of 4 decades earlier. I believe it's more likely that you'll find the better graded coins on major auction sites. JMHO
