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Posted 08/26/2016 9:28 pm
This is a tough call and one that no one can answer for you.
I fill my Dansco albums with coins from AG to lower MS (63 and below) but also have a large number of slabs. My Morgan collection is almost all slabbed but I also have 30+ coins in the two Danscos as well, some of which are nicer than slabbed examples. My Washington registry set is all PCGS slabs, but I also have a Washington Dansco for duplicate dates, extra coins, etc.
The one thing I do not compromise on is my early copper -- unless it's a significantly valuable coin (<$500) in a PCGS or NGC holder, it gets stored in yellow paper coin envelopes with detailed notes on each. I do not usually buy slabbed copper, but have a few high grade, high dollar pieces that I have acquired that I would never crack out.
If you consider your coins to be an investment, something that your family is not likely to keep -- right now, it is financially unwise to crack them out, with the slab premium approaching 15-20% for PCGS/NGC and another 15 to 35% on top of that for CAC approval. You would basically be throwing away hundreds or thousands of future dollars to fill album holes.
That being said, some of the finest sets ever assembled did just dandy at auction without ever having been slabbed prior to the sale (Sunnywood, Duckor, McClure, Newman, and a few others come to mind offhand.)
Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of personal preference. Mine is to have both slabs and raw coins. Others may disagree, but that's what keeps the hobby interesting.
I fill my Dansco albums with coins from AG to lower MS (63 and below) but also have a large number of slabs. My Morgan collection is almost all slabbed but I also have 30+ coins in the two Danscos as well, some of which are nicer than slabbed examples. My Washington registry set is all PCGS slabs, but I also have a Washington Dansco for duplicate dates, extra coins, etc.
The one thing I do not compromise on is my early copper -- unless it's a significantly valuable coin (<$500) in a PCGS or NGC holder, it gets stored in yellow paper coin envelopes with detailed notes on each. I do not usually buy slabbed copper, but have a few high grade, high dollar pieces that I have acquired that I would never crack out.
If you consider your coins to be an investment, something that your family is not likely to keep -- right now, it is financially unwise to crack them out, with the slab premium approaching 15-20% for PCGS/NGC and another 15 to 35% on top of that for CAC approval. You would basically be throwing away hundreds or thousands of future dollars to fill album holes.
That being said, some of the finest sets ever assembled did just dandy at auction without ever having been slabbed prior to the sale (Sunnywood, Duckor, McClure, Newman, and a few others come to mind offhand.)
Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of personal preference. Mine is to have both slabs and raw coins. Others may disagree, but that's what keeps the hobby interesting.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890
"Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
"Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
