Just received my First CAC Certified coin that I won off of E-Bay. Common Date. Common Condition but I still think it's a Nice coin purchased for just over Grey Sheet Value. Hard to believe that on more valuable coins this little green sticker can make as much as a $25,000 Difference in Grey Sheet Price.
Nice looking coin. Btw, concerning the "CAC sticker making the coin worth so much more..". This is simply untrue. The COIN was worth that much more. The sticker is simply an indication this may be true, but the coin was always the coin. Same as with slabs. The slabbed never did anything except maybe confirm what the coin was. The coin was always a superior, standard, or subpar example with prices to match. Long before there were TPGs or CAC stickers the same date and grade coin would trade at very different prices. The coin SHOULD always be what the value is tracking, not the slab or sticker. If you are buying a slab or sticker you are setting yourself for disappointment.
Curious, is there a counterfeit issue with CAC stickers? Or I suppose you can check their online registry?
They have an online database you can check. They're also extremely accessible to collectors if you get in touch with them about something. JA is/was the head of a nonprofit that helped collectors recover funds from scams as well. I am not sure if he is still a part of it, but given the people involved and the financial resources at their disposal they would be the most likely out of all the companies to take legal action against someone who tried to fake it.
Good to know. I just see some of the scams coming out of China, they're even starting to do a decent job on the slabs, it just gets worse. I can see the day coming when there will be an expected chain of ownership on top tier collectibles. The ingenuity of the criminal mind is amazing. Ha. Then again I bid on a Henning Nickel the other day. An endearing sort of counterfeiter, nickels. Gotta love it.
I know what your saying...But let's say a XXXX Morgan Dollar lists for $5,000 in MS-65 on the Greysheet. But it lists for $6,500 in MS-65 with a CAC sticker. Why bother getting the CAC sticker ? Just say "It lists for $5,000 but I want $6,500 because I think it's a nice coin"
It's simply a matter of removing some of the subjectivity from the coin for the buyer (read - removing much of the "skill" required in purchasing high quality pieces). If a given coin grades MS65 with PCGS...that means they believe that it's MS65. That being said, there's a significant amount of wiggle room within that grade. There are high end MS65 coins and low end MS65 coins and everything in between. CAC attempts to distinguish the quality. A coin that receives a green bean sticker is at least a solid for its grade...not low end. This is what justifies the higher greysheet price. These coins always carried a higher price before CAC came along, the dealer would recognize the higher quality and price accordingly. The problem was, you needed an educated buyer to come along and see that too and agree with the higher price tag. CAC takes that education factor out of it. It gives less educated buyers a tangible reason why one coin is more expensive than the other. It makes the coin easier to sell. Often that is worth the extra fee in getting the sticker for the seller. Not saying this is a good thing...but that's how it is.
I agree. Knowledgable collectors knew higher quality was worth it. However, the slab mentality has removed for many the need to educate themselves about coins. That is why I said the sticker or slab grade was never the value, the coin was. Its simply in the past collectors had to be knowledgable, and slabs and stickers removes SOME of that need for real knowledge.
I totally agree with you...too an extent. The only thing I disagree with is the notion that the slab adds no value. The slab does have value in it's own right. This is because the slab is a market accepted third party experts opinion and evaluation of the coin. It doesn't make the coin more valuable...it's the same coin. But that expert evaluation does have value of it's own. Put together as a tangible package you have slightly more than just the coin. You also have something that is more liquid and thus easier to sell and appealing to a wider array of (uneducated) buyers. You also have something that is safer to buy without seeing the coin in hand (online)...educated or not. I completely agree that the TPGs and CACs of the world have created a crutch (to put it mildly) to allow collectors to cut corners (or avoid all together) their learning about the coins. It gives them a safety net. But, I do believe that the slab has value and thus the coin in the slab has more value than the coin alone. How much more...that depends totally on the situation and the buyer.
