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 Replies: 8 / Views: 2,660 |
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Valued Member
United States
88 Posts |
Sometimes I hear horror stories of flooding, hurricane, or some other kind of water damage related incident happening to TPG slabs. Why haven't the companies made their slabs waterproof yet? From what I heard, they aren't airtight either. |
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Valued Member
 United States
88 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
836 Posts |
My guess of why is probably due to cost, and they want to just protect them from normal situations. The airtight thing is what really makes me wonder, but I kinda think a lot of people don't realize they are not airtight so people don't complain.
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Valued Member
United States
70 Posts |
My thought is, create your own water/air tight slab, start your own grading company and live happily ever after.
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New Member
United States
33 Posts |
If there is a possible flood or hurricane or something of that nature that has some type of warning. With some as expensive as my collection of coins. I would probably have in some type of sealed case and make sure they are safe when the flood water come. Just keep em safe and no worries.
But yes money can be spent elsewhere within grading companies
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4594 Posts |
The sealing itself would have to be done in an neutral atmosphere (Nitrogen or Argon or something inert like that) which would significantly increase expense. The sealing area would need to be larger to create an airtight seal, so the slab has to be larger. All of that increases costs. Are you willing to pay (guessing) $50 more per coin? Go ahead and ask your favorite TPG - if they get enough requests they might look into it. -----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
You can always put each slab into one of those little Ziploc bags if you are real concerned  |
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Moderator
 Australia
16867 Posts |
Quote:
...they want to just protect them from normal situations. Here is the main reason. It is surprisingly difficult to make something genuinely "airtight" or "waterproof", especially if the thing is to be designed to be assembled quickly and opened up again relatively easily. Slabs, as they are designed now, are somewhat "air-resistant" and "water-resistant", enough so that under normal circumstances, they can be considered an effective defence. They could make them "more resistant", but it would, as others have said, increase the cost, and not necessarily reduce the amount of times the resistance parameters are exceeded. In this litigous age, advertising their products as "water proof" or even "water resistant for ... hours or to a depth of..." would open themselves up to lawsuits if the products fail to meet the promised specifications. Much cheaper and less risky to not promise anything specific. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Valued Member
85 Posts |
I agree with those members who implicate the higher cost as the reason. My recommendation is if you are storing away the slabbed coin anyway and if you are looking for an inexpensive way to help protect the coin to seal the slabbed coin in a plastic baggie taped very, very well. I'm not claiming this will guarantee that the slab is now waterpoofed, but just that this is an inexpensive way that may help protect the coin under certain moisture / wet conditions. Of course use non-plasticizer baggies if you are storing coins that have a reaction to those chemicals.
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Replies: 8 / Views: 2,660 |
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Posted 10/12/2014 2:01 pm
