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 Replies: 23 / Views: 2,995 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
614 Posts |
I'm not sure I am posting in the right place, I'm sure someone will move it if it is the wrong spot. You know what we miss with the coin grading, and slabs? The tactile sense of the coin in our finger tips. The weight, the thought of where the coin has been, maybe in a civil war soldier's hand, or maybe a shoe shine 180 or so years ago. I think sometimes we get caught up in the grading, and forget the historical value. I recently bought a 1879 Morgan dollar for $26 bucks, and the only question was is it AU or MS. Holding that coin between my finger tips, made me think. Are we just trying to make a buck, or appreciating history. Just a thought. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7042 Posts |
Whenever I give out an IHC (1890-1907) to a kid at my work,(granted with their parents ok)I'll flip it and have them call heads or tails...no matter what it is they always guess right. I then tell them "Just think a cowboy could have used this to buy food for his horse..the kids are so thrilled..and the parents will ALWAYS ask "how much is it worth" lol...than Dad takes it and says he'll keep it safe..I figure a nice remembrance for their vacation to So.Cal.and maybe the beginning of another collector.... |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
If you handle a Double Eagle, or an ancient Athenian tetradrachm, the tactile impression is that you have a real piece of
money in your hands
Don't get that with slabs.
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
 , with a slabbed coin your just viewing a museum piece and can't sense who held the coin last Thomas Jefferson or an early farmer .  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
For circulated items, I'd agree. But I like the protection and safety offered by slabs for valuable unclrculated coins and paper money.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10038 Posts |
While slabs look nice, I agree they remove you from the "experience" of the coin itself. The protection issue, as Coinfrog says, is also something important. However, I get that same protection from an Airtite. I have seen on this forum where slabs are not air tight and may allow a coin to degrade. Maybe our member baseball can comment on this b/c I know PCGS has a newer type slab where they may have addressed this issue? Quote:I recently bought a 1879 Morgan dollar for $26 bucks, and the only question was is it AU or MS. Not hard to find out really - without paying someone to tell you what they think (that can change anyway ion the coin is broken out and re-submitted despite no change to the coin). Either post a pic of it in the CCF grading section or else have fun researching how to grade it and do it yourself. Remember grading is subjective (very). And truth be told, if you like it and want to keep it in your collection - then enjoy it for what it is. We also get so hung up on wanting other people to tell us their opinion of our coins. |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
I have seen on this forum where slabs are not air tight and may allow a coin to degrade. Maybe our member baseball can comment on this b/c I know PCGS has a newer type slab where they may have addressed this issue? No holders are actually completely airtight including capsules. That said some of the slabs are far superior than others. The current PCGS one is water resistant which is as close to air tight as we have. I wouldn't recommend doing it but when they first released it they had the ad showing you could drop it in a fish tank and when you pulled it out no water had gotten in. That is vastly superior to the other 3 ebay TPGs in-terms of environmental protection. Their optical clarity is also superior. ANACS is probably the worst for environmental protection though it's still a big step up from things like folders. Some of the off brand companies and out of business ones had slabs famous for causing toning, but overall the current ones are the best form of protection we have. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10038 Posts |
Quote:
The current PCGS one is water resistant which is as close to air tight as we have. I wouldn't recommend doing it but when they first released it they had the ad showing you could drop it in a fish tank and when you pulled it out no water had gotten in.
Good to know! |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
614 Posts |
I don't know how to quote on this particular platform but
"We also get so hung up on wanting other people to tell us their opinion of our coins."
Guilty as charged.
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
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.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
614 Posts |
OMG, I can relate to that, there is a RC field down the street, and I watched a guy crash his Flying Fortress into the ground.
A 60 plus year old guy crying his eyes out.
I would too.
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
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.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
614 Posts |
Life experience, I fly cheap camera drones now, if it slams the ground, it's a good YouTube video lol, I had one from 2103 feet according to the recorder slam at full speed into the dog park, GREAT video, and for $47.03 put it back together.
No animals were hurt in the video lol
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
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. 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. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
614 Posts |
You are correct though, if a coin drops and picks up a ding, then you tossing money.
I dunno, there is a fine line between investing, and what this thread started about.
I believe like anything else, there is a middle ground, which is currently out of favor at this time lol.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
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.)
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Replies: 23 / Views: 2,995 |
Posted 05/04/2019 12:16 am
