What We Miss With Slabs

Slabs are ok for a few coins or a small collection. More so with expensive purchases. I keep getting the urge for a chain cent but would never consider buying raw.

I tried collecting with slabs but ended up with way too much plastic. I decided I wanted a coin collection, not a slab collection. I house everything in Dansco albums now, which is more compact and I enjoy the coins more. My only problem with Dansco is that they can't keep up with all the double reverse extra special super proof enhanced mega mint specials lol. I wear gloves for handling everything except gold or circulated coins.

Reminds me of another other hobby I have, model planes. There comes a point where you are flying around something which costs thousands and took years to build. Some people never get past it and just never fly the model then for fear of crashing.

Yeah, it's tough and especially for the older guys. They tend to have way better building skills but slower reflexes for flying. I built a giant scale P51 with about $3-4,000 in it. Took off for a test flight with a new engine and it started to splutter lol. Got it back down ok, but it does come to the point where you are afraid to fly.

I think that maybe happens with all hobbies, you reach a point where you realize it's getting serious. For some that adds to the hobby, for others it takes away from their experience. Much in the same way that some want to feel and touch the coins, others don't want to take the risk.

I wouldn't fly it either if it took me years and thousands of dollars. I don't want to have to spend years replacing it. What I would do though if while one like that would be a throphy I would have a cheap one that I can play around with and if it crashes oh well I'll just get a new one.

Same with coins. The conditional rarities, valuable ones, special ones, key dates etc all slabed. If I want to play around with some or feel them I'll get some low value, lower grade common dates, or details coins and I can play with those all I want with no worries if I drop it or anything of that nature.

Perhaps I am biased, because I have a major interest in ancient coins.
Nevertheless,
One of the many reasons why people are attracted to ancient coins is a question that is often asked:
"What famous person may have handled this coin, that is sitting in the palm of my hand right now?

I have a bronze prutah of Valerius Gratius, the Roman Procurator for Palestine during Jesus' lifetime. This very coin may have been handled by Jesus Himself, when He made a living as a carpenter.
(It is very humble looking coin, but numismatically it is not particularly valuable. As such, it will probably never be in a slab.)

Slabs offer authentication and more importantly protection against our grubby hands while we're admiring things like texture and weight. That's what low-grade/details pocket pieces are for.

"Slabs offer authentication and more importantly protection against our grubby hands while we're admiring things like texture and weight."

Actually, it's my understanding that PCGS and NGC graders do not use gloves. Therefore after grading, your coin has been handled with grubby hands lol. Whereas, they are usually not handled by mint employees as they drop in the bag. So presuming you remove the coin with gloves and place in a flip, your coin has likely never been handled.

Makes absolutely no difference if you handle an ancient coin with gloved hands or not.
The patina protects the coin.
I don't like them slabbed, either, even when in AS STRUCK condition. (ancient coins don't come in MS grades)

Having said that, I would only handle an unslabbed non patinated American silver or bronze coin in MS 65 or better, WITH gloves. Same would apply with all modern machine made coins that happen to be valuable.
Slabs ARE justified in these sorts of cases, but there are other methods of protection.

We are losing the ability to find under-graded raw coins. At some point pretty much all the good coins will be in holders.