One of my favorite markets in the antiques and collectibles trade is also one of the most sophisticated. Numismatics has been one of the most popular collecting categories in the trade for almost a century now, and if recent high profile auctions are to be believed, it shows no signs of stopping any time soon. The world of coin collecting has changed a lot over the last few decades, beginning with the adoption of third-party coin grading that started to dominate the industry in the mid-1980s. This led to a full-blown speculative bubble and eventual near crash of the entire graded coin market in the late 1980s. Since that time, however, the coin marketplace has continued to grow and adapt to changing demographics and market conditions, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Today, the market for numismatic coins remains at an all-time high thanks in part to the value of several key rarities that continually fetch millions of dollars at auction on a routine basis. Still, there is another reason that the market for rare coins is fetching new highs at present time, and that answer lies in collector interest and confidence. Going back to the mid-1980s with the advent of established third-party coin grading, two companies reigned supreme: NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Company) and PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service). Sadly, even with the ethical standards put in place by these two excellently run companies, certain coins were still being over-graded or under-graded, when compared to the traditional coin grading standards put in place by the American Numismatic Association just a few decades earlier. To be fair to any third-party grading company operating in the entire antiques and collectibles trade, it is a known fact that grading is just as much an art form as it is a science. Grading companies are generally run by human beings, and no human being is perfect and impartial at all times. Unfortunately, in the world of rare coins, a simple extra point on the grading scale can equate with a gain of thousands of dollars in value or more for specific coins. By the 1990s, it was apparent that there were a lot of over-graded and in some cases under-graded coins sitting in NGC and PCGS holders hands and awash in auction houses and in dealer inventories. This unique problem caught the attention of one highly respected numismatist in the trade who also helped bring third-party coin grading to the masses in the first place. There is no disputing the fact that John Albanese is without a doubt one of the most brilliant minds in the field of coin collecting, and in 2007 he would make lightning strike a second time. After witnessing a deluge of sub quality coins sitting in third-party grading companys holders, Albanese had a vision like no other: he would create a grading company that simply grades the work of other grading companies. On paper the idea seemed silly, and at the time it was considered quite controversial. I had several mentors in the trade back when the idea was first announced, and none of them at the time knew quite how it would play out. However, after witnessing the concept in practice when the service became available in 2007, a lot of fellow numismatists welcomed the idea. The company was called CAC, which stood for Certified Acceptance Corporation, and the concept was simple. The company would allow pre-approved individuals to submit their already graded U.S. coins, and if they thought the coins were of a quality agreeable to the grade that either NGC or PCGS already placed on their plastic holders, CAC would sticker the coin with a tamper evident green CAC label. If the coin was of superior quality, in that one could make an argument that the coin was possibly under-graded, CAC would sticker the coin with a tamper evident gold CAC label. The CAC gold stickers are a rarity and a sight to behold if you ever come across one! That said, if CAC reviewed the coin in question and did not think it was solid for the grade assigned, the company would simply reject the coin with no assigned label, leaving no way of knowing it was submitted in the first place. By 2012, CAC was already making inroads into the rare coin marketplace, and today, in 2022, CAC stickered coins bring a significant premium on average when compared to similar unstickered coins being sold. We are now at a point where dealers, investors, auction houses, and even I will tell you that if you collect rare coins, CAC is the way to go, especially for long-term investment in this market. Unfortunately for CAC, at some point the company was going to have to expand, as they are just as widely accepted in the trade as the two prominent third-party graders, NGC and PCGS. That said, very few would have guessed what direction CAC was going to go next. Would they start to sticker world coins to boost their service? In an email that was sent to their members, the shocking answer arrived: CAC is opening their own third-party grading service to compete directly with NGC and PCGS on an ongoing basis. To be fair to CAC, this is a smart move for their bottom line. Combining their excellence in identifying properly graded coins and watching those coins sell for a premium in the market is great for business, but does the market for third-party graded coins really need another grading service? I have seen the ravages of too many grading companies operating in certain collecting fields in the trade. Just look at how many trading card grading companies exist at present time. There is PSA, BGS, and CGC, among others. Competition among these markets is good, but confusing the market with this many options is bad for the end collector and the investor (more to come on this in an upcoming article). That said, it is quite possible that John Albanese may have something here, and in another few years CAC-graded coins will become the standard, just like CAC stickered coins currently are. I am remaining cautious until I can assess the full impact of this decision and judge the final product when it arrives. I just dont want to be the guy that bets against John Albanese. If past success is any factor in the equation, that would be stupid. Here is hoping my caution soon turns to unrivaled optimism and I dont end up missing the current CAC of today five years from now. Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.