Been discussed many times before. Do it if ya want, but my opinion is it's a waste of time because all plastics are air permeable.
My modern BU coins I never touch except on the edges. I know how to handle these touchy things, they just aren't much fun.
I am talking about collectible coins. So seriously everyone assumes coin put aside by people like me years ago are mainly corroded, bent, harshly cleaned, etc? That is what I was saying, the coin market is so thinly traded, most coins are never seen by anyone else for decades. Given that, it SERIOUSLY sounds like TPG propaganda to me. Btw, my rolls of Morgans, 39d nickels, etc are not "collectible"? Hmmm, maybe I should just go down to the gas station and spend a couple of rolls of BU 38d buffalos as well.
I have some really nice raw Peace dollars and Franklins...80% problem coins...this might keep me up tonight! If I was back home I would be pouring over them with a magnifying glass!!! Oh, Chris, that big ancient coin you had was awesome too!
I find it impossible to believe that 80% of collectors' coins are problem coins, regardless of numismatic consensus. That may be true of older issues, but when it comes to moderns, only a tiny fraction of them are in slabs. As far as the moderns I collect, Kennedy Half Dollars, there are literally millions of raw coins on the market that are both beautiful and desirable. I suppose it would depend on how you define "problem".
First of all Chris how many people like you do you think there are ? Not very dang many is how many. Do you for one second think that the majority of coin collectors know even a fraction of what you know ? And you've been reading coin forums for how long ? And TPG propaganda ? From me ? Really ??? The vast majority of raw collectible coins are sitting in somebody's collection. Only a small percentage of the total are ever in the market at any given point in time. And of those that are in the market at any one time, the majority of those are primarily traded back and forth between dealers because they can't sell them to anybody else - because most of them are problem coins of one kind or another. Now go back and think about how many times you have seen people come to this forum, or another forum, and ask about a collection they just inherited. How many of those coins are problem coins ? If you answer anything other than most of them I'm gonna be very surprised. Time and time again you see the same thing over and over. And you see it over and over because most of the collections out there are just like that. Now think about most of the raw coins you can find on ebay, or any other auction venue. Most of those are problem coins too. And they are sold on ebay because that is about the only place you can find somebody who will buy them, somebody who doesn't know any better, somebody who does not know how to identify a problem coin when they see one. And believe it or not, most collectors cannot. Their collections are full of problem coins. How many stories have you heard or read about cleaning coins with everything under the sun ? How many times have you seen a person ask - how can I make my coins look better ? How many times have you, personally told somebody else - don't clean your coins ? Now add all of that up. And I'm only touching the surface. Stop and think. Do you really disagree ? Chris, the paraphrase that I use about 80% of all raw coins being problem coins, that comes from Q. David Bowers. Would you believe him if he told you that ?
You know me, I will argue with anyone. Maybe I am just unusual, IDK. I bought good coins, put them away, and they have sat there ever since. Many of them I bought were from old collections, stuff put away 30 years before I bought it 25 years ago. Now, if this statement means either unslabbed coins on the market today, or if it includes light cleaning on 18th and 19th century issues, and ignores coins like circulated morgans, SL halves, etc that do not have "significant" collector premiums, maybe I would buy it. Maybe I am just an optimist. I always thought there were tens of thousands of collections just like mine put away 25 years ago and still in storage. If not, I am kind of depressed.
John, hardly anybody considers moderns to be collectible coins. Only a tiny, tiny percentage of moderns are collected by anybody, raw or slabbed. Most of them are in circulation, and will probably never be collected. And most of those that are collected, in a few years will become problem coins because the people collecting them don't know how to store them properly. Or because they tried to clean them to make them look better. As to how I define a problem coin, scratched, dented, corroded, rim dings, harshly cleaned, environmental damage, whizzed, polished, wiped, thumbed, coated with oils or wax, lacquered, over-dipped, bent, altered, artificially toned, and I probably left out a dozen or so - all of those are problem coins.
Then be depressed, because the vast majority of decent coins that were put away by people like you, well those coins are all in slabs now. Or most of them. Why do you think dealers, and collectors, get so excited when a fresh collection comes on the market ? They get excited because there are no fresh collections of decent coins left out there, or very dang few. And the first thing that happens when one does come on the market - they get slabbed. Sorry Chris, but it is true.
Well hopefully my son will take up my hobby so maybe there will be a news release in 2092 when the last "fresh" collection hits the market. They will probably have to bring in forensic experts to verify they are authentic by that time. I am going back to my ancients, less depressing. They are digging up new ones of these all of the time.
