Do You Value CAC Coins Higher?

The market values CAC coins higher than non-CAC coins. What we think doesn't matter.

@BH1964



I will use sarcasm - but no ill feelings whatsoever - to make the point in a stronger way...

Correct! My opinion does not matter for anything! Why think when someone else can tell me what to think? This sounds like a good D.C.-approved mindset for the masses.

Innocent (or lazy) slab junkies who worship at the Altar of Plastic Encapsulation (now blessed by the Mighty Sticker) actually aid the shysters who take advantage of people. Personal opinions can make others stop to think - which is exactly what a con man is afraid of. Thinking individuals kill the shyster's looting.

Why does Bobby report fake coins being sold on ebay? To help stop con men. By having a place to voice our opinions, we may enable the same thing - someone might not be conned.

Just like slabs are no longer the "ultimate" without a CAC, the CAC will someday not be the ultimate either. An informed person will understand this and be better prepared. It reminds me of the Beanie Baby craze (hey... maybe I should try slabbing Beanie Babies!). A lot of people spent a lot of money and got a lot of... plastic pellets inside cloth bags. But at least a few marketing people are now millionaires b/c they could make people think their product was valuable... this is good... right? At least P.T. Barnum openly said he made money b/c of fools (and still they came!).

All markets trends start with an individual opinion.

And I will once again end with major clarifications:
1. I do not believe everyone in the 'convince coin collectors they need to pay me for my service' business are evil to the core.
Now enough time has passed, that some of these people likely think they have done a great service. I see these people as some of the innocently-peer-pressured who likely did not know how much better the hobby atmosphere was before slabbing. Slabbing has produced a tunnel vision focus onto key coins while simultaneously reducing all other dates/MMs to melt value. Very sad, and a lot of fun aspects of the hobby are no more.


2. If a person understands the snake oil aspect, but decides they don't care about it b/c they "just like" slabs (with or without placing more value on different labels/stickers), then good for them! An informed person is not a sucker, and that person is just having fun with what they enjoy. I hope they are having a great time with their hobby - FUN is what a hobby is all about.

ad hominem?

It all comes back to the adage: Buy the coin, not the holder (or any stickers on the holder). We've all seen over and under-graded coins in TPG holders, and almost laughable CAC-stickered holders.

Learn to grade, make your mistakes, come to trust your eye and move on.

Thanks for all the opinions. I certainly see both sides of the argument. IMO grading/slabs are a nice tool to have in the day and age where a lot of transactions are done online. I get it that many times the grade on the slab may not be accurately so you should certainly buy the coin not the slab though. It does provide a decent amount of assurance that the coin hasn't been cleaned though, which is all too common with ebay coins. I get it that sometimes even cleaned coins can slip by a grader though. I think if the value of a coin is high enough, it's worth it to have slabbed (and possibly CAC) to increase your resale value. I personally have never sent a coin in for grading though. Anacs isn't considered a top grader and the process seems too complicated for PCGS. I think if you join the ANA you can submit coins to NGC but even that is pricey (and knowing my luck, my coin would probably come back "Details"! )

SA, when you are ready, you should consider submitting some raw coins to a TPG as it will help your education in coin collecting and make you a better buyer and grader, then, sell some of the coins and you will have a full understand of the process.