Why I Prefer Slabs

Touchy subject eh Stephen? Don't sweat it - I am just tired from helping some friends move all day. I think the emotional content of this thread stems from a kind of future shock. Maybe some of us long time collectors (notice I avoided using "old") are sitting here with years of carefully acquired raw coins. We learned by getting burned a few times and by looking at all the grading books and other material we could find. When I started collecting back in the sixties, no one had dreamed of slabbing coins. To us old timers it seems like the hobby in the past ten years has turned over all the responsibility for knowledge to a bunch of so called experts that few of us know anything about. On top of that we have ceded to them the inalieable right to place a value on our coins. If we don't follow the trend and get everything slabbed (at a high cost), our collections are now worth less in the market and even suspect as to authenticity. Finally, I think old time collectors have more of an aversion to sealing coins in plastic when we feel they were meant to be carefully handled and examined. If I had any of my early capped bust half dollars slabbed I wouldn't even be able to see the lettered edge. I am not trying to speak for all long time collectors - just my feelings and perspective. On the other side of the coin (ha) if I were just starting out and spending a significant sum of money to acquire coins, I think slabs would have some appeal for me. Just don't discount the importance of your learning curve. Peace.

Colin

wanna hear something funny? I didn't know what
a slab was until I read this thread - lol!
or TPG etc. oh, I have a long way to go and so much
to learn

chinchilla,

ding ding ding. Prior to discovering this forum, I bought some lots on ebay, different coins with supposed grades, raw and slabbed, and had no idea there were standard TPG's out there, and then basement slabbers. I learned the hard way, although it didn't cost me too much.

This thread has turned into a very nice read now. Lots of thoughts from long time collectors and new collectors, which is what it was intended for I believe. I think it moved astray a few times, and I am the blame for some of that, but it is very enlightening to me to read the responses.

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If we don't follow the trend and get everything slabbed (at a high cost), our collections are now worth less in the market and even suspect as to authenticity.

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I couldn't agree more, and I think that's where some animosity comes into play. I will say though, most of the long time collectors never plan on selling(according to most of them), so it's a moot point to them in a way. If they hand their set down, it will be the next generation's problem...

Interesting points carl. Thanks for sharing. I knew counterfeiters were growing, just wasn't aware of how fast.

Now may be the time to do that Longnine. While I don't know what the prices are, if there are collectors, the prices will rise.

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But if it got too popular would counterfeiters in Shangri start counterfeiting the stuff from Beijing

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Now you forced me to edit my topic...That was good.

((( 2. Keeping: Slabs are convenient )))

For me, slabs are a lot of thing, but convenient is NOT one of them! I own literally a couple thousand coins, and if they were all slabbed, I'd have to dedicate practically a whole office just to house them. I'd need a monster truck just to haul them around! No, convenient is when I can house ALL my Washington quarter collection, including all proofs from 1936 on, in a single book-sized album. There's simply no way slabs can compare in terms of "convenience".

I collect coins both slabbed and not. My preference is strongly for uncertified coins, but at the level I collect, which is mostly coins in the $10 - $100 range, the price of the plastic is just MUCH too high. In my opinion, few things in numismatics are more absurd than a coin worth $10 in a holder that costs $25.

It looks like no one from outside the USA has written anything in this thread so far. Looks like is topic is not of big importance elsewhere?

I live in the old world and have a relatively large collection of coins from all over the world with a specialized part of higher grade french coins. There's also one graded coin but I don't think there will be another one.

I understand that TPG graded US-coins get higher prices and offer some security concerning grade and genuineness, but always wondered why someone who manages to make a real looking fake shouldn't be able to go further and put it into a false slab with a false label?

I believe that's how many collectors from Europe feel. At least all who I have spoken with about this ;)