Does Anybody Else Hate Slabs?

Not a fan, but understand how it commodifies a coin and provides assurance. It's possible that when slabbing first began, we could have all chosen to look on the practice, as a community, as a temporary holder to provide that assurance it has been looked over by a recognized expert, that it is genuine, and it is what it says it is. THEN, you happily, greedily, crack it out for display, storage, handling/appreciating in your own idiosyncratic way. The slab would just represent the fee that was paid to have it appraised and the temporary packaging as it was being transferred over to you. We could have adopted a culture of slabbing as a temporary measure, but by and large, we didn't. (I have bought a coin or two that were slabbed and then I cracked 'em open to put in Dansco albums.)

A lot of the coins that are going in my 7070 are slabbed. But heck with a bandsaw they come right of those slab jails. Like someone else said I wont be selling my coins while I am alive. But the kids might so I keep them all documented on a spread sheet. Plus the one's I free from slabs I keep the labels in the albums.

Do I hate slabs?



I love 'em for a couple of good reasons;

Authenticity - There too many fakes out there, and some pretty good ones too.

Liquidity - Just in case I need to sell/trade/upgrade.

Protection -

It's simple Arael. Almost since people started collecting coins, collectors have had cabinets made to house them. Early collectors were often nobles or wealthy merchants and they wanted a nice bit of furniture to show off their collection!

Nowadays you can get quite small ones too. Mine holds 120 coins and would sit unobtrusively behind some books on a shelf if I wanted. Most are (still) made from seasoned mahogany, as this is believed to be effectively inert and so doesn't adversely affect the coins.

The cabinet has a number of shallow drawers (trays) with recesses cut into them. You can get trays with whatever size recesses you like, ideally close to the size of your coins to minimise them moving about when you open and close the drawer.

The coin then sits on a felt roundel within the recess. Traditionally people use a paper or thin card rounds called 'tickets' upon which they write information such as type, price, source relating to the coin on these and they sit under the felt. Acid free tickets can be bought.



Obviously cabinets came into use before precious metal rounds/ commemoratives were collected. In those days most collections were of ancient coins that were handled by their collectors, not stored in a way to keep them pristine. People who collect coins that might be damaged by air or handling can get more modern solutions which are similar but consist of plastic stackable trays into which you can fit 2"x2"s or capsules if they prefer.

Not all Europeans use coin cabinets. They aren't particularly cheap, so people also use 2x2s, albums, even keep em in slabs, just as in the US. But cabinets are kinda traditional. The photo I posted on the first page of this thread is of some of my coins in their tray.

That help?

Cool idea. Let us know how you get on!

And a suggestion. My trays just have recesses. They are larger than the coins so I can just pick the coins out.

But I have seen some where in the centre of the recess is a smaller hole drilled right through. That way you could make the recesses neatly fit your air tites but if you wanted to access them you just push up from below to pop out the capsule.

Neater than needing a ribbon underneath or long finger nails to prise the airtite out again!

If you visit the British Museum or major British coin dealers like Spink or Baldwins you will find coins housed in very similar cabinets, as they have been for many years.

I think so long as you take simple precautions (use well seasoned wood, make sure any glue is properly dry so coins are not exposed to fumes, not handling BU copper except by the edges, don't drop your coin (something I did once in a dealers. Oops!) or sneeze over it, your coins will be perfectly fine!

Collectors here in the UK have used such cabinets for generations. There's really no indication that any damage is caused to the coins.

It used to be said silver tones a little differently, but I suspect that was at least in part due to gentlemen showing off their collection to their friends while enjoying a cigar and brandy after dinner! Nowadays cabinets or coin trays are commonly used without any reported problems.

Nice cabinet...the drawers can be configured to house slabs as well...just not as many per drawer.

I like slabs for mint state coins. A coin in a flip or 2x2 is still susceptible to damage. I feel more comfortable handling my high grade coins when I know dropping it won't necessarily damage it.

The plastic covering on both sides is a little bit of a nuisance for looking at the coins, but I have gotten used to it and it isn't that bad.

I wish slabs were slightly more compact than they are. A slabbed collection can take up a ton of space. 30 slabbed coins take up about the same amount of space as 200 coins in 2x2s.

I think TPGs provide a valuable service in verifying authenticity and providing an impartial opinion on grade. I think people use them a little more widely than required. But, hey, that's their prerogative.