What Percentage of CAC Coins Do Not Deserve Their Stickers?

CACfan

The only criterion is that green CAC coins must be in the top 50% of the grade, preferably for both eye appeal and technical quality. Gold CAC coins must be in the top 50% for the next highest grade.

I say 0% for gold beans and 10% for green, and many of those few may have turned in their slabs since CAC beaned them.

One dealer said 25% even though several coins that I had purchased from him did not CAC (that dealer places excessive importance on originality to the point that he loves dirty coins that CAC apparently hates!).

And no worries because CAC will buy your coins that you dislike, sight-unseen, for fair prices. And has a de facto grading guarantee for their rare blatant mistakes.

Coinstein

Ten to fifteen percent overall based on my observations.

amwldcoin

The glaring example to me is the 1933 Saint.

ChrisAtkins1

They set the standard and it’s strict so I would say a very small percentage are not deserving, just a few mistakes, <1%. 

Winesteven

I’m not convinced your premise is correct regarding a CAC sticker in theory means it’s in the top 50% of the grade. That statement implies that “C” coins represent a full 50% (the bottom 50%). I believe the sticker means it’s “solid” for the grade. So in theory, “B” coins might represent the middle area, like maybe from 25% or 30% or so, up to 80% or 85% or so, with “A” coins then representing the top 15% or 20% or so.

oreville

CACfan said:

The only criterion is that green CAC coins must be in the top 50% of the grade, preferably for both eye appeal and technical quality. Gold CAC coins must be in the top 50% for the next highest grade.

I say 0% for gold beans and 10% for green, and many of those few may have turned in their slabs since CAC beaned them.

One dealer said 25% even though several coins that I had purchased from him did not CAC (that dealer places excessive importance on originality to the point that he loves dirty coins that CAC apparently hates!).

And no worries because CAC will buy your coins that you dislike, sight-unseen, for fair prices. And has a de facto grading guarantee for their rare blatant mistakes.

I disagree with the comment that CAC hates dirty coins. To the contrary, I find that CAC likes dirty 19th century gold coins.

CACfan

But not THAT dirty!

CACfan

Winesteven said:

I’m not convinced your premise is correct regarding a CAC sticker in theory means it’s in the top 50% of the grade. That statement implies that “C” coins represent a full 50% (the bottom 50%). I believe the sticker means it’s “solid” for the grade. So in theory, “B” coins might represent the middle area, like maybe from 25% or 30% or so, up to 80% or 85% or so, with “A” coins then representing the top 15% or 20% or so.

Top 50% relatively speaking. An MS65 can be in the top 10% for the grade yet only be MS65.2 if the other 90% are MS65.0 or MS65.1. My criterion is a tad lower than CAC's official one because I am trying to eliminate extreme micro-grading and the disagreements that accompany it.

skier07

Impossible to answer your question unless you have seen the overwhelming majority of CAC coins. Coins that you think didn’t deserve a sticker are always going to leave a greater impression.

CACfan

But in lieu thereof, random samplings can be surprisingly accurate. What do you think a poll is? But yes, the 2016 presidential election polls are bad examples.

john

My opinion is every sticker is an opinion and every coin deserves a fair hearing for a sticker. It is in the Constitution (I think).

So, the coins that got a sticker deserved a hearing, got a hearing and the opinion was the coin deserves a sticker.

Just my opinion, though.

MeantToBeSpent

I really don't like the green CAC coins that I see get upgraded by a full numeric point and then get green CAC again. I think CAC could do better but of course perhaps that's an unrealistic expectation. I've seen a handful of CAC Washington Quarters that seemed to have too many marks for ms67 and a few FBL Franklins that the bell lines had too much of a gap for me to call them FBL, but overall I'd say probably only <5% that I think are actually bad like that.

Barberian

Where I may question CAC grading on occasion is in their grading of darkly toned coins. Dark toning is often associated with originality, but it can hide surface corrosion and other issues as well.

oldabe

Barberian said:

Where I may question CAC grading on occasion is in their grading of darkly toned coins. Dark toning is often associated with originality, but it can hide surface corrosion and other issues as well.

I believe JA has said that he is changing his mind about darkly toned coins, in recognition of market realities.

Legend

I agree: I say 0% for gold beans and 10% for green, and many of those few may have turned in their slabs since CAC beaned them.

As John said, grading is an opinion.

ms71

I think the percentage of "unworthy" stickered coins is probably somewhat overstated. The less-than-worthy ones sit in dealers' cases longer and return to the market more frequently. Thus, the population of CAC coins available for sale at any given time has a higher percentage of the unworthy coins than the population that is in the hands of well satisfied collectors. My guess would be around 5% or so overall.

Pyrite

New rule: (well, when it's available )
Coin in case idle for 6 months=send raw to CACG.

CACfan

ms71 said:

I think the percentage of "unworthy" stickered coins is probably somewhat overstated. The less-than-worthy ones sit in dealers' cases longer and return to the market more frequently. Thus, the population of CAC coins available for sale at any given time has a higher percentage of the unworthy coins than the population that is in the hands of well satisfied collectors. My guess would be around 5% or so overall.

My estimates were mostly based on coins that I had actually submitted to CAC.