PR-70 Grade Dumb. As Long As It Doesn't Have A Huge Scratch It's Fine

I hate general rants against the TPG market. Get with it and learn to navigate it or get out of the way. The hobby will never go back to "the good ole days". Pandora's box was opened in 1986 and you can't put the cat back in the bag

Slab is good for preventing people buying expensive fakes or doctored coins.
It gives people confidence to hold their investment in coins and thus expands the appeal to a lot of collectors and non-collectors.

Yeah, until you get victimized by a fake slab. I don't trust anything anymore, that's why I buy only raw circulated coins.

I prefer raw circulated conditional rarity coins like a good f12 03o morgan for example. Love playing with and flipping around a coin that's worth more in F than in low MS

Slabs lead to less ripoffs and allow collectors to buy a variety of types as well as expensive dates without being worried about the coin being worth much less than they buy it for. Almost everything above $200 that does not have problems is slabbed these days, so if you collect high-end coins, you are buying slabs. The search for the perfect bullion coin is a ridiculous one IMO. I was at a show where a dealer was buying an MS-70 Ike for a client for $3000. The buying dealer and selling dealer were laughing at the client (who was not at the show) and shaking their heads saying maybe we can convince him to buy a Bust Dollar instead so he'll really have something worth something.

Could not agree more!

Ah, Mike Mezack.

See, Alvaro, you don't understand. These are the Proof 70 issues, directly from the mint. These are certified, certified as flawless, PR70; flawless by (PCGS/NGC/ANACS). These coins are not available, let me repeat that, not available to the general public. These are the Proof 70 coins. Now, you will see a lot of other networks offering the Proof coins in a 68 or 69 grade, but these aren't those. These are the Proof 70 coins. This is a rare opportunity to obtain the Proof 70 coins so sought after by collectors. And, for a limited time, we will include a red oak box, suitable for storing these rare gems.

Now, how can you resist that?

I think stabbed coins do serve an important purpose and I do occasionally buy stabbed coins (and occasionally crack them out). In terms of authenticity and a professional opinion of grade, they can be very useful. But, it is important to remember (in the style of Mike Mezack) that buying coins in slabs does not relieve the collector - let me repeat, does not relieve the collector - from knowing how to authenticate and grade coins on some level.

And I do think too much weight is given to the exact grade assigned by the TPG's. Is it a 69 or a 70? Who knows? Who cares, really? If you are just collecting slabs based on the writing on the slab, I guess that is fine, but I think most collectors focus on the coin in the slab, or a raw coin, and say "that's a beautiful coin".

If you are a coin collector, I think slabs play a role in the collecting market. But if you are just collecting slabs to avoid the need to become knowledgable about the coins in them, I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment someday.