CAC Grading Transition FAQ *16 Questions answered* — Welcome to the CAC Educational Forum

CAC Grading Transition FAQ *16 Questions answered*

edited November 2023 in General
We have compiled some questions from your posts and E-mails and will be posting them along with our answers. This thread will be updated regularly with new question and answers, so please stay tuned.



CAC Grading Transition Frequenctly Asked Questions



1. Q: Will you be using + grades on your new holders? And if so, will they be the equivalent of what a CAC stickered coin is now, representing the A and B coins?
A. Yes, we will be utilizing the ‘plus’ designation. Plus coins should be reserved for coins that you’re tempted to grade the next grade higher but can’t get there. “A” coins should plus, I’m not saying a B++ coin won’t.
Question by Sharpstrike


2. Q: Will CAC slab "Details" coins?
A: Yes, we will encapsulate details coins.
Question by CACfan


3. Q: What will the holders look like?
A: They will be slightly thicker than PCGS holders and will stack with PCGS holders.
Question by Nutmegcoin


4. Q: Will CAC cross over PCGS, NGC, ANACS, and ICG coins or will submitters have to remove them from their slabs first? What about Accugrade, NTC, NNC, SEGS, PCI, and other slabbed coins?
A: We currently only have plans to cross PCGS and NGC holdered coins. Our graders’ ability to examine rim damage from reholdering plays a major role here.
Question by CACfan


5. Q: Many coins don’t sticker due to friction, abrasions, rub, brushed, etc. Are such coins acceptable at any MS level or are these considered circulated. I ask because of the difference between technical and market grading. There are a lot of 62/3’s out there that should be 58’s yet 58’s can and do sell for 62/3 money when nice enough. Is it fair to say that a holdered CAC coin will be A/B status and C coins won’t exist in the new slab?
A: Great question. A beautiful original bust half that’s technically a “slider” should be graded 58+ at the new CAC service. We’ve all seen these in mint state holders and our graders believe this is not numismatically correct. Beautiful 58+’s sell for ms62 money anyway so there’s no harm to the consumer. Bust halves (1807-1836) seem to be a tough area for many to master in terms of grading. We will be building an extremely comprehensive Bust Half grading set with over 50 coins for all to see. They will be photographed on our website and will be available for viewing at every major coin show. They will also be available for Seth Chandler’s Whitter U and other nonprofits. We already have a nice head start thanks to Liz Coggan and Bill Wetzler If anyone on our message board has a coin they’d like to sell or loan to us for our grading sets it would be most appreciated. You would also receive full credit in our narrative about the coin. Every coin in our grading sets, for all series, will have a written description. “Details” coins are also welcome as we’d like to educate collectors on why a certain coin will not garner a straight-grade. We’re planning on spending well into 7 figures on our grading sets and this will be the cornerstone of our marketing. We won’t be the largest grading service, but I believe we will be the leading service in terms of education. This is a battle we’d love to lose as it can only benefit the hobby. Thanks for the great question!
Question by LarryC


6. Q: John I have an amazing gold sticker MS 65 Lincoln Cent. Would I be able to request cross to your new holder only as a MS 68?
A: Yes, you will have the ability to request any grade you’d like on a gold sticker crossover.
Question by Stevie

7. Q: Any chance CAC Grading will have better scratch resistant holders? As you have stated, graders have a more difficult time grading through holders vs. raw submissions so damaged holders must be even more difficult. In addition, speaking for collectors, it is so frustrating trying to look at a beautiful early proof coin through scratches. There have been a few coins I have had to pass on because the holder was too scratched to make an informed purchase.
A. We will be using the highest quality plastic to insure durability. I believe that both services do a great job here and I believe that most problems occur because of improper handling. Jamming 60 coins in a double row box and shipping/traveling cross country to coin shows is the culprit here. Simply placing a cardboard tab between holders would prevent many of the problems that plague plastic holders
Question by usararecoins

8. Q: Will CACG coins be eligible for a CAC sticker?
A. No, CAC encapsulated coins will not be eligible for CAC stickers.
Question by WilliamJ

9. Q: Does CAC plan to do on site grading and stickering at any of the major coin shows?
A. We have no plans to grade at shows / trade and grades. Virginia is a sales tax friendly state and we will look into having a convention nearby.
Question by SeatedNut

10. Q: Will previously CAC-stickered coins be holdered differently?
A: "Legacy" coins will not be holdered differently. Instead, their unique cert numbers will include an "-L" suffix.
Question by jsinc

11. Q: Who will be on your grading staff team?
A: We’ve hired two world class full time graders: Ron Drzewucki who was a finalizer at NGC for nearly a decade; and John Butler who graded at PCGS for over a decade.
Question by Maurice Rosen, editor of The Rosen Numismatic Advisory

12. Q: Where is the art of coin doctoring right now with there methods and technologies and how prepared are you and the industry to counter these demon Michelangeloes?
A: First, you have to define coin doctoring. Our new submission agreement will define it clearly so people know what it is. Years ago, PCGS sued several industry insiders for coin doctoring, but the suit never went anywhere because there was no true standard to distinguish between coin doctoring and coin restoration. We will have strict rules about submitted doctored coins and I would have no issue spending a disproportionate sum just to set a precedent pursuing an egregious coin doctor who submitted a $2,000 coin.
Question by Maurice Rosen, editor of The Rosen Numismatic Advisory

13. Q. Is the market overvaluing modern coins in very high grades such that a price reckoning is a distinct risk?
A: There has already been a reckoning of sorts. Many of their prices have dropped, some considerably. Submissions and populations have increased for those coins. I believe much of the overvaluation has been due to a misguided registry score. We’ll correct that with our registry score, at least for CAC coins.
Question by Maurice Rosen, editor of The Rosen Numismatic Advisory

14. Q: What will your new grading service mean for the continuation of current CAC operations?
A: Initially, I envisioned that once the CAC grading service started grading and encapsulating coins that the stickering service would be discontinued. But after speaking to many collectors and dealers about this they urged me to continue stickering because there were many collectors who were collecting only CAC coins. We don’t want to pull out the rug from under those people, but we plan to do it at a higher fee structure. So instead of receiving, say, 12,000 coins per month, we might be getting 500.
Question by Maurice Rosen, editor of The Rosen Numismatic Advisory

15. Q: Everyone agrees that we want coins to be properly graded, and yet everyone, including JA, seems to be recommending that gold stickered coins not be submitted because their value might take a hit. Is there some incentive that could be offered for people to submit these coins so that they can be properly graded? Otherwise, we will just continue with this particular group of very nice coins with improper grades on them.
A: An interesting dilemma. The original intent of the gold sticker was to alert the consumer that their coin should be resubmitted for a higher grade. It seems that it’s evolved in to something gimmicky , clearly not our intent. I have no regrets as many younger vest- pocket dealers and collectors are having fun with it and it’s keeping them interested. Seth Chandler can certainly attest to this. I had similar experiences as a youth (treasure hunting) and it led to bigger and better things. I don’t think it makes much sense for the new Cac to purposely place an undergraded coin in our holder and apply a legacy gold sticker on the reverse insert. Even if we did such a thing, I believe the collector would be spending money on a new holder that would be worth less in the marketplace.
Question by sharpstrike


16. Q: Does CAC intend to combine shipping for coins submitted at different grading tiers? I find it frustrating that if I submit an economy coin, a regular tier submission, a reholder and a crossover to PCGS, each coin will be returned separately for more than $20 in shipping per coin. This deters me from submitting more coins, as I cannot justify the return shipping charges for small submissions at different service levels.
A: I’ve discussed this dilemma with my operations manager several times and I’ll make sure he sees this post. We don’t have a problem with returning all of your submissions in one box the way they were received - it’s actually much easier for us as well from an operational standpoint. . The problem: let’s say the submitter combines inexpensive coins along with walk-thru 25k coins. The economy tier may be a 4 week wait and the walk-thru 4 days. Many would want their expensive coins ASAP, especially dealers. In this case , we would split it up in multiple boxes but only if requested.
Question by Hoocackalacky





If you would like to submit your own questions, please head over to https://www.caccoin.com/forums/discussion/517/cac-grading-company-announcement-faq-question-submission#latest or send me a direct message.

Thanks!

CAC Team
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