Do You Collect Coins Or Plastic Slabs?

I get your dislike of slabs considering. Do you really think that slabs are only about the difference between 69's and 70's

Truthfully, I don't know what you collect, but if say, you collected Morgans,would you ever attempt to buy a 1893s that was not slabbed ?

Chime in everyone else ........ would anyone ?

i agree with denco, I dont like slabbed coins and dont collect keydates, mints, errors, or proof's which are the most expinsive.

BUT! if I was to buy a coin worth over 1k in numismatic value I'mgoing to want someone who looks at that type of coin for 40 hours a week and knows how to spot a real from a fake.

i prefer silver/gold coins slightly above spot however I cant do all the test's at a show or convention so a 15$ slab would make me feel more comfortable on gold coins

Well, for me it is because the reputable dealer does not have a raw one to sell.

Well, aside from the fact that it's always nice to get a second opinion from a professional regardless of how educated you are, and regardless of the fact that not everybody is as educated as they should (or want to) be, as I said before a lot has to do with making it easier to resell down the line if necessary. I have no plans to sell any of my coins, but I can certainly foresee the possibility if my economic situation deteriorates someday. And, once I'm gone, I'd hate to see my wife and/or son get ripped off if they decided to sell my coins.

Again, this is why I only get slabs for my more valuable and rare coins. I'm with you 100% on coins that go in my albums. I also really hate the way the slab industry has been promoting all sorts of gimmicks lately like "first strike" coins or graded bullion. But that's not the same as saying I hate all slabs or feel they are all completely useless.

I understand the dislike of slabs for certain, reasonable reasons...

That being said, my personal collection is mostly slabbed. That does not mean I 'collect plastic'. When I first stated collected, I got burned on what I though were some of my nicer pieces, with cleaning and altered colors, ect, ect.

It does not mean I do not know how to grade or anything of the sort, I also like having my collection with an extra layer of protection from environment.

In addition, when I am selling a coin, especially a key date, or an issue where there are numerous counterfeits abound, I KNOW I can get better money than selling the coin raw. Unless you are a well-known, well established expert in a particular series, a TPG graded coin will net more than a raw example, with few exceptions.




Logically, that does not make any sense to me. I have a pair of sheet metal sheers and a flat head screwdriver, it takes around 10 seconds to crack a slab, I have had 2x2s staples with industrial strength staples take me far longer to get open!

Buy the coin, not the holder. First strike, early release, special labels (signatures, photos, etc.): all just sales gimmicks. Watch those coin shows on TV. "You're looking at rare labels here. We got together with ANACS and they've only made XXXX of these, so they will increase in value" Rubbish. If the coin is being sold with a special label, but at non-special-label-pricing I'd buy it. If I wanted it.

I prefer raw coins, yes, but when it's a key date and I'm not 100% sure (i.e., 1932-S/1932-D quarters, for example), with the numbers of fakes out there, I'd like the peace of mind. Breaking them out of the slab afterwords, possible, but probably unlikely since although I might not ever plan on selling a coin, if I absolutely had to, slabs provide instant authentication. (Counterfeit slabs are problems with that last sentence yes)

The same goes with higher-grade more-expensive coins...slabs are nice in that (provided the graders didn't get something massively wrong, of which you need to do a little grading of the slabbed coin yourself), the value is, more or less, consistent. You're not going to see 50 different people giving you MS-60 to MS-65 prices for a properly graded MS-67 Morgan should you ever sell. AND...it makes insuring a collection easier,.

There are many Classic issues which I strongly recommend not buying outside a slab. One needs literally years of experience handling them to make confident decisions regarding authenticity and originality when a few thousand dollars' worth of value rests on your opinion. There aren't half a dozen CCF members whose opinions on colonial copper, for instance, carry unquestionable weight of experience.