COOL COIN SHOWCASE #10, September 24, 2026
Updated: 2 days ago
Gold-CAC Large Diameter Capped Bust Dime
Hi Folks,
Welcome to Fall. Here is a very cool coin. But before I present this lovely dime, I would like to repeat the link to the Desert Moon Archive that contains a representative selection of coins we have sold here:
When perusing this page, one can click on each image and enlarge it. It is a nice group to view and it also provides examples of the kinds of coins we like to offer here. You can access the Archives by highlighting 'More' in the Main Menu then clicking on 'Archives' below it.
But let's get back to the focus of this CCS. We present here an 1821 Large Diameter, (Type 1) Capped Bust, Small Date Dime with the very rare assessment from CAC that this coin is undergraded and hence, they awarded the Gold CAC Sticker. I have heard on various podcasts from the head of CAC/CACG, John Albanese, stating that they will not bestow a Gold CAC sticker for a coin unless it is 'at least' (his words), 1.5 grade points higher than the grade provided on the slab. Hence, for this 1821 CBD with a PCGS grade of MS63, this would mean that they believe this coin to be an MS64+ or higher, or at least a A coin for the grade of MS64. We have seen multiple Gold CAC stickered coins where the grade on the slab was 2 points or more lower than the grade one assesses using for example, PCGS Photograde. And of course, the granting of a Gold CAC sticker is not common, as most coins are likely overgraded instead of undergraded in the context of CAC expectations. Typically, we see the Gold CAC sticker awarded to older generation slabs - like this on below in a pre-prong PCGS holder. Some, but not all.
How many Gold CAC stickered Large Diameter Capped Bust Dimes are there? Let's take a look the CAC population report. From this we see that for the Large-Diameter CBD's from 1809-1828, there are a total of 10 of out 726 awarded either the Green or Gold sticker by CAC. That represents 1.377% of the total worthy of a CAC sticker to receive the Gold one. Curiously, not all dates and varieties have had Gold CAC stickers awarded. Out of the 19 dates and varieties of Large-Diameter CBDs, only 5 of these have had examples awarded the Gold CAC sticker. So does that suggest there are particular dates or varieties, that because of their minting characteristics, have a tendency to be undergraded by the TPG's? That may be possible because for early Bust coins, we have seen quite a few coins that we believe to be strongly undergraded because of strike characteristics. We believe there is value for finding these. Nevertheless there may be other reasons for why certain dates and varieties may have Gold CAC sticker populations while others do not. For example, just luck of the draw, more examples for a given variety overall, maybe the TPG graders were having a bad day and/or were too conservative, etc. Who knows.
For the 1821 Small Date variety, there are actually 3 out of 52 total CACed that have received the Gold CAC sticker. Two of those are MS63, the other is AU55. If both of the MS63s are at least 64+ in grade by current CAC expectations, then they represent two of a few of the finest of their variety out there. CAC has awarded Green stickers to 5 1821 Small Date CBDs in MS64, none finer. 3 Die Marriages, JR8, JR9, and JR10 comprise the Small Date variety. The JR 10 is an R4, the other are R2. So it is likely that the two former DM's represent most of the Top Pop, or 7, CACed MS63 Gold, and 5 MS64 Green stickered examples. In either case, for the JR8 Die Marriage, this means that this coin is probably amongst the top 3 or so in terms of quality, extant.
So here we present to you a very uncommon CAC Gold stickered 1821 Small Date Capped Bust Dime in MS 63. You can click on the image below and it will take you to the listing on the Desert Moon webpage.
Thanks for reading and your interest!
Best, DM
Comments