Morgans, Placing In Albums, Break Open Slabs Or Not

I break my slabs open so obviously I'm biased. I am routinely chastised for doing so by others for several reasons. I will try to be concise about my position. 1st off, please don't bother trying to tell me how they will be worth less or damaged by being outside of the slabs. (no, not directed at anyone in particular)Nothing is worse than being spoken to like as if you are an 8 year old regarding your own collection. As if I didn't know what I even own. I fully understand the significance of tiny marks or micro scratches to the values. How tight the scrutiny is on high grades.

If you are careful, it is rather difficult to actually drop a MS65 any grading points if handling it properly. However an MS 68+ does NOT really belong in a Dansco in my opinion unless you are rather experienced at handling these coins in the raw state. Not rocket science but care and technique is required. Very easy for a slight mishap to cost you a grade point and the large money attached to it if unprepared

I know how my post must sound, but I am outspoken about the BS surrounding grading companies. The value of a top company's slab DOES grease the wheels for the event of selling the coins. We can argue semantics about the validity or how it SHOULD work, but the fact is the very same coins in the very same condition will sell for higher when in a PCGS or other top TPG slab.

If you are going to sell, keep them in the slab. If they are investment grade such as MS68 or above I would advise to keep them slabbed as they are to be considered rather delicate for Dansco duty unless you possess the experience and want the stress of the actual handling. Never underestimate how stressful it can be to hold certain coins in the raw state.

It is something to carefully consider but most important is to be honest with yourself and your timeline.

If I do for some reason decide to sell someday. I will undoubtedly have to re-submit some of the coins just for sake of the counterfeit market scaring the prices of raw coins. I am not wealthy but my coin collection is not at risk for the chopping block if some unforeseen thing in life sidesteps me. I plan to keep my coins for another 40 years. I know the pros and cons of such choices and have decided to open the slabs and enjoy the coins. With all the above rantings, I DO own slabbed coins. I do keep some in the slab just for sake of security for the grade, but for an MS65 or such I wouldn't think twice about breaking the slab to enjoy the coin in a Dansco or other high quality book.

I just recently went on a cracking session and filled some books. I had tried for years for various books and just never liked them. Then I decided to take the plunge and go Dansco all the way. All uniform and clean. Easy to find and see EVERYTHING. I was so tired of the jumbled stacks and long boxes all packed into the safes. No matter how organized, I was NEVER happy with them.

Now I am. I really am. My vote is take some time to reflect and really make the choice that best fits your own position and comfort level. We all have different opinions on this subject, but that's mine.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

-RFB

I agree with the above two statements. I personally unslab any coins that are going into my sets, as I don't plan on selling in my lifetime. I keep an ongoing list (and have been updating my will) on which coins should be submitted prior to sale, so my daughter has some idea of what to do with them should something happen to me, but right now these are my coins and I'm going to enjoy them in all their splendor!

Put them in the album.... you'll be glad you did it. :)

I am one who prefers to leave the coins in the slab. There are ways of making putting them in an album. Lighthouse makes slabbed coin pages the fit into a 3-ring binder and holds 9 coins per page. There are also people who make nice album pages for slabs. I find it unnecessary to take a coin out of the slab then later pay $20 per coin to re-holder...If I did that with my type set (around 90+ coins) it would cost $1,800 in re-holdering fees...for that I would rather buy an AU $5 Classic Head Half Eagle (still need it for the type set)...Just my opinion...I also do not really care for the slabbed coins to be housed in row boxes (where mine are right now) am hoping to upgrade that system to nice pages where I can keep the coins slabbed.

If you are keeping the info with the coin, If you tried to sell it later just having that info does not mean the coin is still in said condition, handling, placing in an album, pulling it back out of album, ect could of dropped it's grade, so the paper slip would not hold any extra value for me if I was a buyer.

Different Strokes for Different Folks, do what makes you happy, esp. if you are not concerned about future value.

I wouldn't open them.

Neither do I!

Only because you give them away in your way cool contests.

For me personally, I agree with all others who strongly prefer to remove the coins and place into an album. However, to me it is a "risk vs. reward" issue. Say you purchase a $500 Au-55 coin. First off, how is the market for the coin raw? If it is not a heavily counterfeited type, there wouldn't be as much risk to sell for full value raw. Also, how much money would you lose if it downgraded? The difference between AU-55 and AU-50 for many coins is quite minimal....so not much risk. I'd crack it. (My certified Seated and Trade dollars in my type set were pushing the "risk/reward ratio".)

However, say you purchase an MS-65 coin for $4000. The difference between 64 and 65 could be several grand. Or if it's a type that is often faked, you will really need certification to get full value for it.

So for me, it really depends on the coin. When I purchase coins that I'm going to de-slab and place in an album, I try to purchase them at a grade that carries little risk.

Ofcourse coin collectors never sell their collections but their heirs do after the collector has died.

If a coin is slabbed and you paid over $500 for it. Leave it in the slab. You heirs will not lose money when they sell it after you are gone. The crime that most collectors commit is not telling their heirs what is valuable and what isn't so when the collectors die, it all gets sold to a dealer who low balls the heir because he/she doesn't know any better as they were "Dad's coins" and he never said much about them.

Heirs aren't interested in pulling key dates out of albums and resubmitting to PGCS or NGC. They take the whole album down to "lou" the friendly dealer. "Lou" offer a album price that he knows he can double if he breaks up the collection and sells it off coin by coin, so the heir takes the deal. It's cash in hand.