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Several Dumb Questions About Submitting To CAC For Grading.

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Brandmeister's Avatar
United States
6451 Posts
 Posted 05/06/2026  11:49 pm Show Profile   Check Brandmeister's eBay Listings Bookmark this topic Add Brandmeister to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
I got a CAC offer for a $25 membership, so I decided to join. I have never submitted a coin to them, so I started working through their digital forms. I want to understand their variety attribution process, so I picked a single coin: an uncirculated 1954-S Jefferson nickel DDR FS-801. I built the submission, but I decided not to proceed with a live test run because of several unclear points.

1. There is no selector for service tier on the coin. It is automatically assigned to Economy. I assume this was based on my estimated value of $100. This seemed odd to me, as different service tiers offer different turnaround times and add-ons. Specifically, the Standard tier seemed much faster and included the $5 coin imaging fee.

2. The order had a $35 shipping and handling fee. I assume this is what CAC will charge me to return the slabbed coin with insurance. However, other sections of their documents seem to suggest that CAC can charge additional insurance fees after grading?

The $35 seemed high, so I began adding more variety coins to the submission form. With 7 coins valued at about $1500 total, the $35 return fee had not changed. This made me question whether the $35 actually includes handling, insurance, and return shipping. Which leads me to:

3. What does the $35 s&h include and not include? Will there be more fees as an order moves through the process?

4. If the $35 is a flat fee of some kind, how many coins can you actually put on an order before that amount increases? It seems like a huge waste to eat that fee for a single coin (and maybe that's the point!).

And then an unrelated question on outgoing shipping:

5. When you send valuable raw coins for grading, how do you substantiate to USPS that the coins have the insured value? You don't yet have a slab to establish the value. And even if they accept the value and let you buy insurance, isn't there a danger that a lost package can have its insurance payout disputed after the fact? Is USPS even the right way to send valuable raw coins, or is there a different preferred shipper?

A final question:

6. The CAC website says that half of the $20 variety attribution fee is forgiven if the requested variety is correct. Is that actually true? If so, how is that money returned to the customer?
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Marv65's Avatar
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 Posted 05/07/2026  04:02 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Marv65 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
https://www.cacgrading.com/contact

CAC Grading
1716 Corporate Landing Parkway
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
757-800-1750

EDIT: Toll Free - 888-537-3798
Edited by Marv65
05/07/2026 04:07 am
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psuman08's Avatar
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 Posted 05/07/2026  3:12 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add psuman08 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
@Brandmeister, I am trying to do the same.

Regarding the return postage, I believe it is because of the package they send back to you - they come in a CAC storage box. Again, that is my belief-I read it somewhere but cannot find it now. So, until you hit the next insurance level threshold the "package" costs the same.

As far as #5, that is where I am stuck. I can justify the value based on what I put in the submission document. If I insure my package for the full value it was going to be > $70 to mail. UPS and FedEx seemed the same or more. I think I am going to break my submission up into 2 packages and send on different days to maybe reduce risk. I'm sending in economy $1 and some better GSAs that will be standard pricing.
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psuman08's Avatar
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 Posted 05/14/2026  10:10 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add psuman08 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
So, I have done what I suggested above. I sent 2 GSA dollars in a small priority box first. Since they arrived without issue, I sent the second package yesterday (priority in my own box. I rolled the dice on the first package by not adding insurance. For the second package I did add some insurance, but not for the full value of the shipment. Fingers crossed, it will be there tomorrow.
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jbuck's Avatar
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srs77's Avatar
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 Posted 05/30/2026  5:07 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add srs77 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Let us know how it goes!
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BStrauss3's Avatar
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 Posted 06/01/2026  08:11 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add BStrauss3 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Slab doesn't establish value. It might be a better indicator of grade than your guess, but ...

A 1916D Mercury raw has value, right?
-----Burton
50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973)
Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA
Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club
Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983)

Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/
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