I've got a question. Why aren't there any other coin grading experts competing with CAC? Hell, all it takes is a sticker, and you're in business. Could it be possibly because most coin grading experts find such forms of market-exploitation beneath their dignity? CAC has enjoyed this monopoly, now, for how long, 1-1/2, 2 years? That's a long time. I'm just sayin'...
Rick Snow is competing. Other than that there are not too many folks who have the recognition, the means to back up the sticker and the know how.
Well, there goes my theory. I wasn't aware of that. For a series like IHCs, though, it makes much more sense to me, given the specialized knowledge. What about that expert on TV pitching the President Dollars? I wonder when he'll get into the sticker business.
You are correct, G...Mike p.s. Grizz, I'm not upset in the least. I just find the "when will it end" arguments (which is actually more a comment on consumer demand than anything else) against the CAC illogical. Let's remember there wouldn't be a CAC (or TPGs for that matter) unless there was demand for for it.
Well, you do have a point there, you and some others do use their service. I'm curious, have you ever bothered to look into their grading standards? If you have bothered to take the time look into them, I'm curious whether you'd say they're ANA market standards, TPG market standards, or just plain technical standards.
Why post if you feel that way? Your posting to it again ensured that it kept going at least a little bit longer.
I'll give it a BHP sticker if you want so you can feel certain what you have, I'll give it a BHPIII sticker if you want so you can feel certain what you have is a coin. A true coin and nothing but the coin so help me golly jee. It is of course another way to separate a coin collector from his money. I mean who next is going to certify that the CAC is genuine and correct? Then who and what and where and how - learn to grade, trust your choices and save your money.
......i agree there is a demand for CAC. i also believe there will be a demand for sticker approval stickers. i guess we'll just have to get a bigger box or album to store the over sized slabs because of all the extra stickers.
Don't ya think it is rather obvious ? I mean, if they are agreeing with the TPG grade, then don't they have to be using TPG market standards ?
Yep - but just like with CAC - a second opinion is great from an expert, but if you can not grade then it really means nothing. Rick Snow is a very nice and knowledgable guy(and I believe there is sometype of guarantee on his sticker) for IHCs - but that does not mean I agree with all of his stickered coins. Yes - most are nice and primo, but everyone makes mistakes. Still reserving my final opinion on CAC and this is my own opinion.
That's the obvious assumption, but let's give it a little trouble, think on it a little bit. Can you nail down those grading standards? When ANA says strike is irrelevant to the grade, do you know that the TPGs are ignoring that when they grade? What about good toning? How much does a TPG bump a grade for that? Do you know? Does CAC know? If "good for the grade" means "good for the TPG grade," the TPGs are presumably basing their grades on their experience, which is right there, presumably, in the forefront of their minds, in their database of market comparables. I don't have that database to draw from. When I see a "Guess the Grade" question, and am unfamiliar with that date and mint mark, I go right to Heritage, and check out those market comparables. But, that's a drop in the bucket. OTOH, are these rather CAC grading standards? Is a stickered-coin "good for the grade" because it passes CAC's grading standards? And, if so, what are those standards? Are they "by-the-book," ANA standards? I doubt they're simply technical standards, I threw that into the question just for the sake of completeness. Why is any of this relevant to anything? I'd think it's relevant to tell us what we're getting when we pay for their service. Are we just getting a $10 sticker, good enough, what the hell? Then, just go ahead and represent to the buyer, it means anything we want? Another issue, if CAC is just applying TPG standards, is that like they're sitting in the grading room, but are looking through plastic? How accurate is that when the TPG graders have the coins in-hand and are tilting them under the light? Bottom-line, what does that CAC sticker, that "plastic grade," mean? I'm just wondering, really, if anybody knows.
All of my coins are PCGS and CAC. Unfortunately a lot of them were stolen and unslabbed so I am sending them back to Legend to get reslabbed and hopefully CAC'd again. They are all top notch coins. Laura's expertise at Legend plus CAC = WOW coins!!!
I would, but the point is, if the submitters don't know the standards, how could the standards be said to be meaningful to the submitters? I'll put all my marbles on the table. That leaves, IMHO, nothing more than a status symbol.
Their grading is based on (and closest to) the TPG coins they sticker, IMO. My sense -- having used the service on coins that I know very, very well -- the biggest difference I noted between JA's eye and PCGS/NGC is that JA's eye is a bit more descriminating when it comes to "acceptable" problems than the TPGs. For instance, many of the coins that I received back from CAC without a sticker, the majority (virtually all of them) were for "probems" that were not sufficient for the coins' grade. Not many were because of "overgrading" per se, but low end coins because of issues toning, spots, hairlines, nicks and other "liner" type problems were among the most frequent issues noted for not getting the sticker. For instance, of the 14 coins that didn't make the grade, 10 of them were rejected for being "low end", 3 for being"QT", and 1 for "Putty". FWIW, 60% of my coins got the sticker, against an average of 40% last I heard.
p.s. I would very much like to hear Mark Feld's take on the issue you asked (and the points I raise about his eye versus the TPGs). He as exponentially more experience than I on this issue in particular.
