Important Tip For Collectors

Errr. I know we don't like to finger point at any auction houses. However, if they are listing a slabbed coin, I think it's the bare minimum of due diligence to type in the cert number. If the slab has a CAC or other 3rd party verification, that needs to be checked, too. Otherwise, since the auction house relies completely on the graded slab, how do you know they aren't enabling the selling of fake slabs? There is no reason to expect that every bidder will doubt and therefore research every slabbed coin offered by reputable auctioneers. Their in-house pro should do the diligence once so that everyone can bid with confidence.

Great story, thanks. I would have thought that the CAC sticker would have some sort of tamper resistance security with it. Like what some stores to with the price tag (it is cut in small pieces on a roll and when applied to a merch, will not come off in one piece..

Thank you for sharing, a great reminder for us all.
I do believe that Heritage, Great Collections, etc. should verify slabbed coins and CAC stickers.

Agreed. It should be like the warranty seals we used when I did stereo repair back in the day. When you pulled it off, a cutout of the label stayed behind to say VOID.

The stickers are not numbered, so there's no way for anyone to know which coin, or whose coin, it was taken from.

I was just reminded today that many years ago, the first "generation" of CAC stickers were a lot easier to remove than the stickers created a few years later. Those initial stickers would still show some damage (apparently like the one on my coin with the tampered sticker). But the ones placed in use after that apparently are MUCH more difficult to remove, and will clearly show significant damage!

Steve

Once JA had the coin in hand, he immediately recognized it was a legitimate sticker that had been removed from another coin. As noted in my comment just above your reply, this must have been one of their "older" stickers.

That's not to say there can't be counterfeits. I've heard they are pretty difficult to produce in high quality. But China can do almost anything. Regardless, that's the lesson I'm sharing - check the certs of any CAC stickered holders with their "Coin Look-Up" tool.

Steve

Thanks for the heads-up, Steve. While I always verify the cert # on any holdered coin I purchase, I don't always verify a CAC sticker. I'll definitely make sure I do it every time from now on.

I guess with the premium a CAC sticker can sometimes bring, it shouldn't surprise me some unscrupulous folks are doing something like this...