CAC cert = PCGS +grade correlation?

TheEndZone

Firstly a disclaimer... As a registry participant for some time now, I wasn't crazy about the idea of PCGS introducing the "+ grading" concept. While I comprehend the 'why' behind this, the lifelong cynic in me still viewed its implementation as a money grab.

This is not to say that I haven't acquired a few plus-graded coins here and there since then, as I have picked these up already graded as such where I found the coins contained therein were indeed PQ for the (numerical) grade and reasonably priced. What I have not done to this point is is re-submit any of my existing coins for re-certiifcation/reconsideration.

So my question to those who've delved into the "upgrade game" is this... I have a number of older, non-plus coins that have (since their original grading) also received CAC certification. Can anyone speak (from experience) as to the likelihood of receiving a + upgrade from PCGS where CAC has determined the coin to be PG for the grade? I know that the PCGS (re)graders are not privy to the pre-existing grade or others (CAC) opinions so as to remain unbiased... Just curious as to what others have experienced.

tradedollarnut

Not 100% sure what you're asking but I'm dead certain that if you submitted 100 CAC stickered Pcgs coins for regrade, you'd get more pluses than if you submitted 100 CAC rejected Pcgs coins for regrade

Perfection

The plus game is pure luck most of the time.
There is no rhyme or reason as to how they give pluses.
A regular person like you and me can send the same coin in
multiple times and get a plus sooner or later, or never.
You can take the same coin to a show and at times get the plus.
More often than not you can send in say four coins thinking that coin
X is 100% a plus. The coins come back and coin X did not plus but
coin Y which was marginal did.
CAC has Zero bearing. All CAC coins should plus but I believe that in
general, the grading services do not like CAC. CAC is not in the game
for the money. Grading services need to grade. While you might not
agree with CAC maybe 10% of the time there is NO doubt that
CAC coins are generally nicer that non CAC.
All CAC coins should get the + score in the registry but that will not happen.
98% of my coins are CAC. Why? Because there are enough CAC coins to buy even
for my budget. Why not buy what is perceived as the best. The only time to deviate
is for extreme rarities where there are no CAC examples.
The average person cannot grade nor do they need to. So we reply on CAC to
tell us the top coins for the grade. Yes they have their opinion of what a coin should
look like and even I might not always agree, but for the most part they are correct.
Why is it that NGC coins almost always sell for much less than PCGS? Because
people do not believe the grade on the holder.
So to answer your question continue to send in your nicest coins and expect maybe half to
plus, many after multiple tries.

panexpoguy

Tradedollarnut's answer is accurate in my opinion. A plus coin from a TPG is no guarantee that the coin will CAC and a CAC sticker is no guarantee that the coin will '+' at TPG while under reconsideration. In my mind, a plus is the TPG way of saying that they consider the coin an A coin. A green sticker is CAC's way of saying the coin is an A or B coin. When looking at coins to add to my sets, if I am looking at a MS65+ CAC coin and an MS65 CAC coin and both are the same coin, I most often buy the MS65 CAC and skip the plus coin. More often than not I cannot see any difference in quality in these scenarios which leads me to believe that if I submitted the MS65 a couple of times I would have a decent chance of ending up with a plus. From a Registry perspective, you also have to decide what to do with a Gold bean coin. Do you send it off to see if it will upgrade so you can improve your Registry standing or do you just keep it in the original holder? I can see both sides of the argument. I keep mine with the Gold Bean since the coin is the coin no matter what the grade/holder/bean situation is.

Goldminers

My experience is about 50% CAC actually get upgraded to + or rarely a full grade, at best. Usually older holders help some.