Is Slabbing Worth It?

Definitely not for bullion coins, even in pristine condition.

If you slab only for a genuine status,I would only use ANACS because they have the lowest fees. If slabbing for profit,use PCGS because of a higher resale value.
CaddoFarms,
Before you send off any,post photos here. We may be able to save you some time and money.
John1

I send all $200+ coins to NGC. It is so much easier to sell, especially if you consign to Great Collections for coins valued at less than $500, Heritage for more expensive, and Stacks for monsters.

If you don't plan on selling, it makes no difference.

If you wish to preserve a pristine bullion coin in it's current condition, (or ANY coin for that matter,) encase it in a hard plastic acrylic capsule.

I think having a coin slabbed is worth it. It will make it easier to sell and dispose of down da road. With that said, many of my coins are raw as I've been collecting for a while now. I have a few that a awesome coins and I'm not getting rid of them anytime soon so I see no reason to get them slabbed just for the sake of stabbing 'em.

If you like to collect and store slabbed coins, go for it. It provides a secure and safe holder if nothing else. It's also not a bad thing to have serial numbers recorded for insurance purposes. I wouldn't worry too much about the dealer's opinion. You know what they say about those.

I'd personally send the 1885 Lib nickel to ANACS if I were going to add it to my collection long term... unless it was really worn to oblivion.

You may feel the NEED to slab an 1885 nickel in MS and above grades. I wouldn't bother. Such a coin for me would be in a 2x2, in a non PVC archival quality album page.

If it is fully patinated, (and so it should be after 130 years), you can use bare fingers, as if it was a very valuable ancient bronze or silver coin that maybe over 2,000 years old.
The thick patina it should have acquired would fully protect it. Such a patina will even protect it from fingerprinting.
It may be desirable to slab such a coin if you wish to sell it, to help demonstrate authenticity.

In any event, slabbing severely interferes with the way I store and display my collection.
As a consequence I have learned to fairly accurately grade all of my coins for myself.

Slabbing has only been around for the couple of decades or so. All of the pristine coins that have been struck in the last two centuries have remained pristine for most of that time WITHOUT slabbing. Slabbing is not going to help them any better now, but respect in handling and storing them them will.

I always have all of my coins in 2x2's but that is for full attribution reasons. The encasement that slabbing provides will prevent you from writing an attribution that goes with the coin.

If you are never going to sell, then it's not really worth it. But life happens and you may be forced to sell in a hurry even if you planned on holding forever. Unless already slabbed, you may be looking at fire sale prices.