What do these letters mean? I don’t speak Greek!
The CAC, or Certified Acceptance Corporation, is a third-party grading service founded in 2007. The goal of the CAC is to provide collectors with another level of confidence in the quality and authenticity of their graded coins.
To accomplish this, the CAC specializes in certifying coins graded by one of the premiere coin-grading organizations like PCGS or NGC. Certified coins earn a CAC sticker on the holder that indicates the coin has met their standards of rarity and quality. These stickers are recognized throughout the numismatic world as a token of the coin’s quality and authenticity.
What do CAC Sticker Colors Mean?
Coins deemed higher end for their grade are given a green sticker, which can add premiums of up to 92% to the coin’s value.
Ungraded coins that would otherwise earn a green sticker in the next highest grade are given gold stickers, which often average a 90% greater value than PCGS or NGC-graded coins already given the next highest grade.
What Coins does CAC Grade?
The Certified Acceptance Corporation is selective in what coins they grade. There is an approved list of American coins by year.
| Coin Accepted | Years |
| All Half Cents | 1793-1857 |
| All Large Cents | 1793-1857 |
| Small Cents | |
| Flying Eagle | 1856-1856 |
| Indian Head | 1859-1909 (Proof) |
| Lincoln | 1909-1958 (Mint State) |
| Will Accept these Doubled Dies | 1955, 1969-S, 1970-S, 1971-S, 1972, 1983, 1984, and 1995 |
| Does not recognize 1936 Type 3 or 1972 Type 2 Doubled Die Cents | |
| All Two Cents | 1864-1873 |
| Three Cents | |
| Silver | 1851-1873 |
| Nickel | 1865-1889 |
| Half Dimes | 1794-1873 |
| Five Cents (Nickel) | |
| Shield | 1866-1883 |
| Liberty Head | 1883-1913 |
| Buffalo | 1913-1938 |
| Jefferson | 1938-1942 (Proof) 1939 Double Monticello & Five Cents 1943/2-P |
| Ten Cents (Dimes) | 1796-1945 |
| Twenty Cents | 1875-1878 |
| Quarter Dollars | 1794-1935 |
| Washington | 1932-1964 (Mint State) 1932-1942 (Proof) |
| Half Dollars | 1794-1935 |
| Franklin Halves | 1984-1963 All Mint State and Proof Coins Accepted |
| All Silver Dollars | 1794-1935 |
| Eisenhower Dollars | 1971-1978 (Mint State) |
| One Dollar (Gold) | 1849-1889 |
| $2.50 Gold | 1796-1929 |
| $3 Gold | 1854-1889 |
| $10 Gold | 1795-1933 |
| $20 Gold | 1850-1933 |
| Classic Silver Commemoratives | 1893-1954 |
| Classic Gold Commemoratives | 1903-1926 |
| All Territorial Gold | Except California Fractional Gold |
| All Patterns | |
| All Hawaiian | |
| All Confederate |
How Much Does CAC Verification Cost?
CAC submission pricing is broken into tiers based on the coin’s insured value. There is a cost of $16 per coin for coins insured up to $10,000 in tier one, $35 per coin for coins insured between $10,000-$25,000 in tier two, and tier three, which costs $75 per coin for coins insured over $25,000.
