Cac Grading, Llc

What Cac Grading, Llc does

CAC Grading, LLC is a private US coin grading and certification company headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with a stickering office in Bedminster, New Jersey. Founded in 2022 by more than 150 leading numismatic collectors and dealers led by John Albanese (co-founder of PCGS and founder of NGC) and Ron Drzewucki, the company provides third-party grading and authentication services for rare and modern coins, encapsulating approved coins in proprietary sonically sealed CAC Holders and assigning Sheldon scale grades. It also operates a Stickering service that places a CAC quality sticker on coins previously graded by PCGS or NGC, applying stringent within-grade standards under which less than half of submitted coins qualify.

The company's product portfolio includes the CAC Grading Club ($25/year membership required for submission access), the CAC Registry for competitive collecting with leaderboards and scoring, the CAC Coin Marketplace for Authorized Dealers, the Pop/Price Report, Cert Lookup verification, and the Submitter Portal. CACG-graded coins are documented to command price premiums in public auction and retail markets. Distribution is direct-to-collector via the online Submitter Portal, supplemented by an Authorized Dealer network and CAC Submission Centers. Revenue is generated from tiered per-coin transaction fees (based on declared or CPG value), Club subscriptions, stickering service fees, and marketplace commissions, with a grading guarantee offering buyback at fair market value as remedy for over-grades.

CAC Grading is the successor entity to the original Certified Acceptance Corporation founded in 2007; the LLC is legally distinct from the prior organization. The company has 1-10 employees per firmographic data, no disclosed outside equity capital, and a US-only operating footprint. Strategic focus areas indicated by recent product launches and partnerships include vertical integration of holder accessories (Whitman-produced CAC Storage Boxes launched 2025), platform consolidation across Registry/Marketplace/Pop-Report, and expansion into the Modern Coins grading vertical.

Name

Cac Grading, Llc

Legal name

CAC Grading, LLC

Website

https://cacgrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CAC Grading, LLC is a Virginia Beach-based private coin grading and certification company, owned by 150+ numismatic collectors and dealers, providing third-party grading, stickering, and authentication services to the US coin collecting hobby.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coin Grading and Authentication

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Collectibles Grading & Authentication Services (CRAMAOAH)

Keywords

• Coin grading services
• Coin authentication
• Numismatic certification
• Coin stickering service
• Collectible coin verification

Headquarters

HQ city

Virginia Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Coin Grading Services (per submission): Submitters pay grading fees per coin submitted, with fees based on item value within tiered ranges. Fees are calculated using the greater of CPG Value (Greysheet retail value) or Submitter Declared Value. Submitters pay grading fees, postage, and insurance to/from CAC.
2. CAC Stickering Service: Submitters of slabbed coins (already graded by another service) can submit for CAC stickering only, paying applicable service fees for review and potential sticker application.
3. CAC Grading Club Membership: Paid annual membership required for eligibility to submit coins. The 2026 membership fee is $25 per year. Membership auto-renews annually and is non-refundable.
4. CAC Coin Marketplace: Authorized Dealers can list coins for sale in CAC's Coin Marketplace. Dealers must be authorized coin dealers in good standing. CAC acts as the platform operator, though individual transactions are between buyer and seller.
5. Grading Guarantee — Reimbursement via coin buyback: If CAC determines a coin was over-graded, the owner can elect to sell the coin to CAC for the current Fair Market Value at the original grade. This buyback mechanism serves as the remedy under the CAC Guarantee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CAC Grading, LLC provides professional third-party coin grading and authentication for numismatic collectors and dealers, encapsulating graded coins in proprietary sonically-sealed CAC Holders and applying CAC green or gold quality stickers to coins already graded by other services (NGC, PCGS). Access requires annual CAC Grading Club membership ($25/year), and supporting platforms include a Cert Lookup verification tool, a CAC Registry for competitive collecting, and a CAC Coin Marketplace where authorized dealers list coins for sale.

Product overview

CAC Grading, LLC operates as a professional coin grading and certification company offering a comprehensive suite of services for numismatic collectors and dealers. The core product portfolio consists of two main certification services—Coin Grading (authenticating and grading raw coins with encapsulation in CAC Holders) and Coin Stickering (applying CAC quality stickers to coins already graded by NGC, PCGS, or other services). Access to submission services requires membership in the CAC Grading Club. The company provides supporting platforms including the CAC Registry (competitive collecting management), CAC Coin Marketplace (authorized dealer sales), and Submitter Portal (submission tracking and invoicing). Additional offerings include Pop/Price Reports, Cert Lookup verification, and the CAC Storage Box (Whitman-produced holder storage). Together, these services establish CAC as a vertically integrated coin certification ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Coin Grading Services Professional third-party coin grading and certification where numismatic experts evaluate coins for authenticity and condition, assign Sheldon scale grades, and encapsulate approved coins in proprietary sonically-sealed CAC Holders with a guarantee of genuineness and accurate grading. Targeted at numismatic collectors and dealers.
• Coin Stickering Service for evaluating coins already graded by NGC, PCGS, or other services and applying a CAC green or gold sticker to those meeting CAC's stringent within-grade quality standards, signaling that the coin is a premium example for its assigned grade.
• CAC Grading Club Paid annual membership program required for eligibility to submit coins for CAC grading and stickering services; members also gain access to the Submitter Portal, submission forms, and updates. The 2026 membership fee is $25 per year and auto-renews annually.
• CAC Registry Online competitive collecting platform that enables collectors to track and showcase CAC-graded and stickered coins (and also PCGS- and NGC-graded coins) in registry Sets, earn scores based on coin quality and CAC status, and compete on leaderboards.
• CAC Coin Marketplace Online marketplace operated by CAC where Authorized Dealers list CAC-graded and stickered coins for sale. Dealers must be authorized coin dealers in good standing and meet CAC's qualification criteria to list items.
• Submitter Portal Online portal hosted at portal.cacgrading.com for registered submitters to submit coins for grading services, monitor open submissions, review past submissions, and view and pay invoices.
• CAC Storage Box Custom plastic storage boxes produced in the USA by Whitman Brands at their Alabama factory; designed to accommodate CACG, PCGS, and NGC holders. Offered free with Express and higher tier grading submissions returned from Virginia Beach.
• Pop/Price Report Population and price information service providing data on CAC-graded coins including population counts, Registry Values, and market pricing guidance.
• Cert Lookup Certification verification service allowing users to look up CAC certification numbers to verify coin status, grade, and check for any possible errors or updates.
• Modern Coins Grading Specialized grading service category for modern coins, with dedicated submission processes and dedicated pricing structures for modern coinage.

Quantifiable outcome

• Less than 50% of submitted coins receive the CAC sticker, demonstrating extreme quality selectivity.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WhitmanminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerCAC partnered with Whitman (Whitman Brands) to produce custom plastic storage boxes designed to accommodate CACG, PCGS, and NGC holders. The boxes are produced in Whitman's Alabama factory in the USA. CAC provides these boxes free to submitters with Express and higher tier grading submissions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA): PSA is the dominant third-party grading service for sports cards and was historically owned by Collectors Universe alongside PCGS. It shares CAC's encapsulation, certification lookup, and pop report model and competes for the same collector-investor capital, though in cards rather than coins.
• Certified Guaranty Company (CGC): CGC grades comics, magazines, and similar collectibles under the same encapsulation + population report framework used by CAC. It demonstrates how grading services monetize collector trust and online verification across adjacent collectibles verticals.
• Beckett Grading Services (BGS): Beckett grades cards and similar collectibles under a comparable submission-and-slab model with subgrades, mirroring CAC's tiered encapsulation and online verification approach in an adjacent category.

Others

• Heritage Auctions: Heritage is the largest U.S. auction house for rare coins and a major venue where CAC-stickered and CACG-graded coins transact at documented premiums. It is adjacent infrastructure for CAC's ecosystem rather than a direct grader competitor.
• GreatCollections: GreatCollections is a major online auction platform for certified coins, including PCGS, NGC, and CAC-certified pieces. It is an adjacent trading venue that benefits from CAC's certification premium and competes for buyer attention in the same secondary market.

Direct peers

• Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC): NGC is the other major third-party coin grading service and was founded by John Albanese before CAC. It competes head-to-head with CAC Grading for collector and dealer submissions across U.S. and world coins, and CAC's stickering service explicitly verifies NGC holders.
• Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS): PCGS is one of the two dominant third-party coin grading services; it was co-founded by CAC's founder John Albanese and directly competes with CAC Grading on submission volume, certification quality, and pricing for U.S. coin collectors and dealers.
• ANACS: ANACS is an older third-party coin grading service offering authentication and grading on a similar submission-based model, serving the same hobbyist and dealer base that CAC targets.

Regional players

• ICCS (International Coin Certification Service): ICCS is the leading third-party Canadian coin grading service and serves a similar collector/dealer base with submission-based grading and encapsulation. Relevant as a regional analog demonstrating CAC's playbook executed in another geography.

Emerging players

• SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Corporation): SGC is a growing third-party grading service focused on sports and trading cards, applying stricter within-grade standards similar to CAC's stickering rationale to compete with PSA. Comparable to CAC in being a quality-disciplined entrant into a PCGS/PSA-style duopoly.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cac-grading

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cac Grading, Llc