Collecting Slabbed Coins Gone Overboard

Because they wanted one in a higher grade. Same reason someone buys a VF for more money than a F.




It's spreading and gaining traction. A few years ago you'd be hard pressed to find graded inventory from dealers over there, now if you search their sites particularly London area dealers many of them have a substantial inventory of them. Germany and France same story. It's probably not doing much in the countryside or small towns, but the metro-areas and large dealers are in several of the westernized countries have been moving in that direction.

Slabs? I don't get it.

I have lots of high end MS coins.
In a core collection of 2,500 items, NONE of them are slabbed.

I have never bought a slabbed coin.

And I have bought lots of relatively high valued coins at public auction.

What is wrong with learning to grade accurately for yourself? Lots of learning opportunity here, in the CCF.


The main justification I see for getting a coin slabbed is so that it may be easier to sell on ebay, at the price you are looking for.

Still a problem: Slabs and the coins in them can both be faked. That is why I like to see a 'raw' coin in hand, before deciding to buy. Also good to prove the coin's provenance.

They've done a lot more than that that has greatly benefited and also changed the hobby in good ways. The most obvious is that they have made collection more accessible for new collectors. A new collector can easily search past sales ect and buy knowing they're getting something real and not being completely taken to the cleaners by someone talking up a raw coin. Obviously everyone learns more as they go but before the TPGs and the internet someone new would be at the mercy of their local dealer and hope they aren't being taken advantage of. Also it has largely eliminated the whole something is an MS 64 when you buy from them but its AU when you go to sell it back.

Without the TPGs the internet market wouldn't be as big as it is either. That's done a lot of good in terms of exposing potential new collectors and giving collectors another option to sell if they decide too.

I also find it hard to believe that the TPGs aren't also responsible for the explosion in type collecting popularity and the growing popularity in world coins. Just like the new collector, current collectors have more confidence branching out into new areas and exploring things of interest instead of specializing and set building.

I know chat boards are notorious for having strong anti TPG sentiments because that's not how it used to be done, but when you really think about how the average collector is branching out more than before and the growth of the internet market a lot of that would be on a much smaller scale without the TPGs. For all the flack they take the major ones have had a positive impact on the hobby and played a role in providing collectors with more information than ever before and making it harder for shady sellers to take people to the cleaners.




Why is it assumed that because someone likes/prefers slabs they don't know how to grade?

I appreciate the reasons for avoiding TPGs, and don't take issue with any of the points made to defend that position. Personally, I buy only slabbed coins, for a few reasons.

1. I have added comfort that what I own is genuine and problem-free. While I'm reasonably confident in my abilities, it's nice to have an expert agreeing with my determination (or conversely, flagging problems I may have otherwise missed).

2. I feel that hard slabs provide better protection for my coins than many other alternatives.

3. I may pay $50 for a coin that sells at $25 raw, but I'm reasonably certain that I can sell it for $50 rather than $25 I would get if it were raw. I don't see it as overpaying if I know I can fully recoup the money I spent when I sell. To me, an over-payment is spending money that I'll never get back if I want to sell a coin.

4. When I die, my coins aren't going to be inadvertently taken back to the bank at face value. My wife or kids are less likely to be ripped off if they try and sell them, and will get more money for those coins they do sell.

5. I'm competitive. I want to know how my collection stacks up against other collectors. If PCGS says mine is MS-65, and yours is MS-64, mine is "better" (and yes, I admit that I have seen 64s that are far superior than 65s).

No it's not a show off move or anything to do with hubris, you are just being judgemental for someone collecting and enjoying different things than you do. At the time that was probably a true statement the seller made, if they over-hyped it that is on them and sellers that over-hype coins do it with or without them graded. If that is the case which it sounds like it is your issue should be with the seller not the grading companies.

Your implication that it was a top registry set player buying it for bragging rights couldn't be further from the truth. A top registry player wouldn't settle for a 67 with a low population. They would hold out for higher grade and would be willing to pay up for it or hunt it themselves.

The Canadian NGC registry obviously isn't as competitive as some of the others at this point, but the top registry players aren't the clueless buyers they're often made out to be. In the more competitive registries they're often some of the most knowledgeable collectors. They also don't just buy for points despite popular opinions and many of the truly elite sets do sacrifice points in places for a coin they like more that has better eye appeal.




That's honestly not true. The mint can tell you every coin is a 66 or better all they want, plenty of their set coins grade below 66 and the entire mintage would not be a 66 or better. There's already coins from a small sample size that have graded below a 66 from those sets in the population reports. There are obviously other 67s out there that haven't been graded yet but so what? The buyer wanted a graded 67 and got what they wanted. If all they wanted was that and they bought a set mailed it in to be graded and got the grade by the time they got that single coin back they would have paid about what they did for buying one already graded.

Neither modern nor graded collectors are anywhere near as clueless as chat boards can make them seem. They collect differently and enjoy different things there is nothing wrong with that. Maybe the buyer placed a value on the fact it was already done and didn't want to go through the hassle and waiting a month to get one back, maybe they really just loved that particular coin and aren't worried about every penny they spend as they do it for enjoyment. Not every buyer is just worried about future return and believe it or not most of them buy them just because they want it.




That's just your opinion.




No they do not charge more depending on the grade. Neither of the top two do that and neither does ANACS. Every coin with grading is basically a plus or minus 1 at any given time given the subjectivity of grading. If I gave you a 1000 coins to grade then had you grade another 1000 and then sent you back the first 1000 your grades will have variations.

While the crack out game exists it is no where near as easy as some people make it sound. If someone doesn't believe that they are certainly free to try it themselves. The majority come back the same and most of the ones that move are where there is no real price difference plus or minus one. There is also the fact that just because something upgrades people assume it is automatically overgraded and never consider the possibility that it was undergraded the first time.

When large value jumps occur around a grade people who feel the way you do would be shocked how consistent they are at those lines. Each companies grades aren't created equal either. A 2nd tier 65 will sell at a discount in the market and resemble much more the price of a first tier 64 if not lower than a 65 on the vast majority of coins.




In your example the ICCS coin would almost certainly sell for more. If the 66 was a PCGS or NGC that would be a different story. The first tier companies are first tier for a reason. It is also not true that every ICCS coin upgrades with either of them or that even the vast majority do. Some grade the same, some downgrade, some upgrade, some get details grades. PCGS and NGC are also stricter on CAM/DCAM designations and many lose that designation when sent to them.




No one is saying you have to collect graded coins, it's your money and your collection to do what makes you happy so by all means collect how you want and what pleases you. That said it would be nice if the same respect would go both ways and there wasn't constantly someone on chat boards making graded collectors sound like clueless buffoons.

The person who first thought of slabbing coins was smart.

The person who thought of initiating the Registry program was a pure genius.

I wouldn't get coins slabbed unless I had something exceptional or some sort of major variety/error. To me it's just not worth the cost unless you are gonna flip them and make a tidy profit. It is a nice feature knowing your coin is authentic and to confirm a variety.