Options
Anyone else get the new RCNH monthly newsletter?
doh
Posts: 6,457 ✭✭✭
I know he's a member here and a respected dealer. With that being said, the latest newsletter contains Mr. Mills thoughts about CAC and contains this sentence: "I say it's a good product and something the industry has needed for a long time." He also refers to CAC as a "ray of hope." I must respectfully disagree on both counts.
Positive BST transactions with: too many names to list! 36 at last count.
0
Comments
Baltimore Show Report
03/20/2008
Baltimore show report
By Warren Mills
Baltimore was a good show with broad based support for circulated through all grades of mint state and proof. The pricing guide, Grey sheet, does not remotely reflect what many circulated type coins trade for. Original honestly graded circulated and investment quality coins are quickly disappearing. You can go from table to table and see full cases of over-dipped or altered coins. My opinion is to stay the course with original issues. Coins with character, originality and freshness, will yield big rewards. Watch for type coins and 19th century issues to finally get their due this year. Bids are starting to increase; it's about time! For years, knowledgeable collectors have been quietly buying and putting away these coins, now they are almost all off the market, which will force up bids. Sure there are the occasional cameo dipped white Seated and Barber coins, in proof, the ones the dealers tout as bright white to the buyers that don't know what a true original gem is, oops. The truth is most of these dealers don't know what an original gem is either. A fancy web site and coins on memo are all they deal with. Hey, there are so few dealers left that know or care anymore, sometimes it becomes a why bother scenario. But then, a ray of hope.
Here's the ray of hope. CAC
Many people asked me my thoughts on CAC. Most were well established dealers so here is my response. I am grateful to see that someone with clout and respectability is finally touting what we have said since 1986. Their business plan and strategy finally confirms that there is a two-tier market. At last some sort of vindication.
The first CAC coins I saw was at F.U.N., a 1934-D and 1935-S Walker in MS-66. I love '34-D Walkers in MS-66, they are only a small percentage over MS-65's and a great value. Even though both coins were dipped, the 1934-D still had meat on it but there was a spot removed at the date. I was happy to pass. Since then I have seen good and bad, mostly good. I am putting together a large group of $20 Saints in MS-64 and MS-65 for a client's trust account. In MS-65, I buy one in every 50 non-CAC coins, and about one in five that have a CAC sticker. Needless to say, I like to look at CAC coins, it saves time. I've always paid more for better quality because I feel the coin should speak for itself, not the plastic. Now someone with a big checkbook and a retail outlet can bring the point home. If the grading services run out of classic coins to grade, the buyers that never got an education as to the fundamentals of grading are not going to be happy.
At the F.U.N. show, I was asked to bid on a Type collection with five other dealers. I won it and was delighted. I spoke with some of the other bidders and we all disliked the same over-dipped coins. I sold the rejects and kept the fresh coins for our retail clients. A week later, many of those same rejected coins had a CAC sticker. I was a bit disappointed but I will say that in general, CAC coins are pretty darn nice and do represent an overall better product. I would never expect to like every coin and I would not expect CAC to like every one of mine but I do know that all the major dealers respect the quality of the coins we sell. Quick example, a client of ours who has multiple registry sets owns over 300 certified coins. He sent them all in to CAC. Two weeks later he called out of the blue and said, "I wanted to let you guys know that you were the only dealer that I purchased coins from that everyone of the coins CAC'd. We were pleased.
Are all CAC coins P.Q.? Not to me, and I think that any dealer that blindly accepts CAC coins as all P.Q. is not knowledgeable enough to know the difference but in general, I say it's a good product and something the industry has needed for a long time. When talking with clients I now don't have to explain why there is an unseen and sight-seen bid for the same coin. Now I can say there is legitimate market support for a good product. Soon, the buyer who bottom feeds better get educated or they will be stuck with fewer and fewer buyers willing to purchase their generic coins or low end pieces for the grade.
Keep in mind, in order for CAC to work there must be a retail outlet willing to sell the coins. This gives wholesale dealers that are willing to support CAC coins the security of having future salability. Again, this supports our long standing position of buying the coin and not the holder. Remember, top quality always pays.
So basically it saves him time by picking one in five CAC vs having to go through fifty non-CAC to find something he likes.
Edited to add:
<< <i>So basically it saves him time by picking one in five CAC vs having to go through fifty non-CAC to find something he likes. >>
That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! If he's only going through the 5 CAC coins because he assumes the other 45 won't be up to his standards he's going to A) miss out on some great coins and
it disappoints him. a rather fair opinion in my mind.
i am more harsh though because i do not trust others. the almightly
dollar rules the world and how people act for the most part.
I sold Warren half of a group of 40 non-CAC PCGS MS65 Saints at FUN. Guess that means I'm 2-1/2X better than CAC! And those weren't my best pieces. Those others I'm holding back for KKRAC certification: Kravis Kohlberg Roberts And Crackout-artists.
I've seen fairly few CAC gold coins....possibly because the generic traders so far don't care. Heritage keeps a small inventory of them and it appears to me that the premium asked for them makes them slow movers.
roadrunner