To me it identifies those coins most difficult to sell, to personally let go of. Try it sometime. Have a third party hide the date/grade with masking tape. As you go through your stack decide which coins go in the Might Sell pile versus the ones in the Probably Keep pile. The second pile can also be called "Are you kidding me, sell?!" or "No way I'm selling!" pile.
If your experience is anything like mine, the coins in the Keep pile will be dominated by an oval green sticker. Those are your top picks, your pride and joy. You might have even waited years to buy each one.
Besides those coins most difficult to sell, I can think of at least two additional definitions. But what does CAC approval mean to you?
Comments
To me in order of importance it means:
1. A better shot at strict originality when buying from images. Original surfaces are what bring me the most joy from any coin I acquire, and it can be hard to tell when you can’t see the coin in hand. CAC approval means it went through their hands and didn’t make them say “yuck” which isn’t the end all be all, but it eliminates a huge percentage of disappointment on arrival. Show buying I can see that for myself, images it’s tougher depending on the seller.
And yet, during the 2017 - 2020 correction we will saw remarkable prices on CAC-endorsed coins too.
The question, then, did those endorsed coins fare better on a percentage basis than those coins not so blessed?
The PCGS 10-year chart of rare mint state gold:
So while it's true that collectors have always paid a premium for CAC, has that premium ever been higher than it is today?
What is the risk that you apply, an economic collapse of the numismatic market, or a collapse of gold price, or....?
It is logical to pay, not for prestige, but for proven ability? If a person agrees to the validation of expertise that sets the price, what is the floor and what is the ceiling?
Don't think that scenario can't keep happening over and over. You just never know what the future will bring.
It appears to me that the impression is a market driven belief that one TPG with or without a CAC pass is more profitable than another TPG with or without a CAC pass.
That does not translate into a definitive proof of lesser quality. It does transfer into an assumption that is investment/profit based driven, I think, but that is all. In some ways, this is not the best scenario for the hobby and collectors.
My question was directed more to the aggregate situation. CAC premiums are clearly expanding. Are these premiums temporary as many things in life or has there been a more permanent, structural change in the market?
A single case in point, but there are many others: Up for auction is a 65+/CAC common date '26 indian ten on GC today. Given the market I thought maybe, just maybe it could fetch $10,000. But look at the last 12 yrs of auction prices on PCGS for stickered 5's. Even the 5+/CAC consistently sold for about $5,000 with two outliers, one at $6 the other at $8 when gold was ripping higher. Otherwise it's been a $5,000 coin. And now, with gold doing very little, a comparable coin is worth twice that.... what's happening here? If I wasn't seeing this happen with such frequency I would assume it's related to the individual coin and not larger market forces.
But what do you think... Is this just another outlier or is there a broad based, more durable move into high quality numismatic assets?
The knowledge of the difference in quality required to get a top grade prior to 2013 just comes from experience in submitting and collecting these coins. For more statistical evidence one just needs to pick a series and a top grade (say silver Roosies in ms68fb), and look at the pop reports from 2006, 2012, and 2018. There is very little change in the first 6 year period and drastic changes in the second 6 year period. The same pattern happens across all 1934-date series. I'm not going to spend the time right now to put all that data in a thread that's supposed to be about CAC approval, but I am perhaps going to someday write a book or a website.
For more anecdotal evidence, the Roosie collectors and Washington quarter collectors are all fairly tight knit groups where many of the collectors know each other through registries and forums and in person meetings at major shows. We all basically know who owned the finest coins at what times and in what holders. It's almost a game a ping pong where the tpgs take turns playing good-cop bad-cop and the coins bounce back and forth. One of my biggest regrets in the hobby is not looking more seriously at coins graded by other grading companies during the 2006-2012 era.
For some extreme examples (sorry I don't want to post links) see a 38-s dime and 64-d quarter
GC Lot 552117 Feb 18 2018
Legend Lot 220 Jun 2019
Heritage Lot 8453 May 31 2008
SB Lot 2356 Mar 2021
There's 100s more (likely 1000s) that can be found in the auction archives alone. Again, perhaps I'll someday write a book or a website. Just let's hope auction companies don't shut down the archives (ie censorship).
Just to bring this back to CAC and the original topic, I fully believe that CAC currently has the best of intentions, but yes, deciding how much of a premium to pay is the tricky part and all we can do is "guesstimate". You don't know what the future will bring and how intentions may or may not change and how competitors may rise up or not rise up. Saying a blanket statement like "CAC coins are a better buy" or a "better investment" may or may not turn out true. It's still just a guesstimate.
Every added "requirement" for a coin to be subjected to is a new hurdle.
Hurdles impede ANY ....hobby.
That's why I have turned to darkside coins.
I've had "finest known" and "top pops" and that isn't what drew me into numismatics in the first place.