Raw vs Slabbed Pricing

Is there are premium for graded coins over a raw coin that would meet the same grade?

EDITED

 

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I don't follow your logic here. If the coin was worth $10 to begin with, getting it graded will not make it worth more. The cost of grading does not go into the worth of the coin, at any time.

 

Not worth, but what I paid for it.

 

No, just because you pay $50 to get a coin slabbed that was worth $10 pre-slabbed does not make the coin worth $60. You can buy certain coins in slabs for $5. If you repair a car and add $1,000 in repairs to a $500 car it doesn't make the car worth $1,500 necessarily.

 

Ok. So there is no premium for getting coins graded then, right?

 

There is a premium. But not necessarily a 1/1 ratio. Sometimes it can be much higher! I would ONLY purchase a $100+ coin slabbed. That's just me. By getting a coin slabbed, you are increasing the market you can sell to. CAC for example costs $10 yet can add much more in value to the coin.

 

You can sell certified coins for more. I once had a Fine flying eagle cent that I thought was the 1858/7. It wasn't after it came back from PCGS - Just a plain old 1858 PCGS F12. It sold on the bay for $58. A raw fine would have gone for $33 on average. In the end, I still lost a few bucks on the coin, but the holder drove up the price.

 

It depends entirely on the coin.

 

The way you asked your question, my answer would be as follows:

No the coin would still be worth the $10 the price of slabbing the coin does not increase the value. It just increased your cost.

In reality if a coin is worth $100 its worth $100 weather its slabbed or raw. Granted there are quite a few people that have the mentality of "it's raw for a reason". With that said it does affect the price as people will pay more for a slab than raw for multiple reasons, weather it be not comfortable with their grading skills, easier resale, or just that they prefer slabbed coins among many other reasons.

There are many old time collections out there along with many that would rather have raw coins so they buy them raw or crack them out for their album or cabinet or just 2x2's.

Again that slab or cost of slabbing should not increase the value of the coin, if you want a lower value coin slabbed buy it slabbed otherwise you will be to deep into it.

 

Scenerio. By the grace of god I bank rolled a 1916 Walking Liberty half. In my eyes, and everyone else who sees it, it would grades at a ms60. Pcgs lists that a $375. Would it be unreasonaly to ask that much for it raw? People, including myself, would be skittish about purchasing a unslabbed coin for those prices. Wouldn't getting a coin graded be more secure for the value of the coin?

 

Thanks for the responses guys.

Sorry if the way I worded things was confusing at all. Sometimes there is some lag between my thoughts and what I type lol

 

Depends on the coin...

Some coins sell strong in holders. Others not so much.

 

I'm not the expert, but I'd say that plenty of people would be willing to pay a certain price (that of a slabbed coin) for a raw coin if they knew the coin was that grade (MS60) and it was authentic. Raw doesn't automatically equal a lower price. When you buy a slabbed coin you are still buying the coin, not the slab.

 

With such a generic question, expect to receive generic answers.

Generally speaking, a slab does not add to the value of a coin, but it does add to the liquidity, which in itself can bring higher prices. That said, do not assume that because a certain coin was graded at a certain level, it is worth the same amount as another example of the same grade, so slabbing, in most cases, sets no "standard" or "solid price guide". Certified or not, each and every coin still must be viewed as the individual it is.

 

I know that it doesn't apply to all coins. I'm not going to run out and slab a 2000 WAM cent because when the other 200,000 other coins are found, the value will decrease. I'm just trying to have a ballpark of what a coin is worth raw compared to slabbed.

 

I think I picked out the question. You're asking whether slabbed coins are worth a premium over raw coins. The answer is, it depends. If you're looking at slabs, yes. If you're looking at coins, no. In the clutch, you want to look at coins.

 

Slabbed coins sell for more money.

 

There is a premium...but it's not what the grading fee is. IMHO, you are paying for a market standard grading which provides some insurance to the coin. It means the buy is safer...and that safety does have value. As to how much this is actually worth can vary a lot...it depends on the coin and the buyer.

Some people will tell you that it has no value, but I strongly disagree.

 

I think you'd be wasting your time asking for $375 simply because PCGS list the same coin for that price. Most people looking to buy a coin like that have a cutoff mark meaning, they may only go up to $50 or $75 for a raw coin. In this case of your 1916 Walker you should get it graded if you want to get a good price for it. Post a pic so we can all see your coin. Maybe you can just ask the forum what it would grade as.

 

All slabbing does is adds another person's opinion to validate your opinion as to what your coin grades. This can either benefit you or hurt you.

For example, I have been collecting Morgans lately. When I pick a coin out of my dealer's case and he has it graded MS63, I can argue that it is a MS62. Since neither one of us are "experts", many times we would agree on a lower middle ground price or sometimes I can even convince him to come down to the MS62 price. But if he has a Morgan that is graded MS63 by PCGS or NGC, then I am the one that will come up on price.

When dealing with coins that your are planning on submitting, please keep in mind the costs to do this and make sure that you can recoup these costs or in the end, you are losing money.