So I'm in a dilema, I have quite the collection of Buffs... Some raw and most are in slabs, however I am not happy with slabs, for one the collection consists of ANACS, PCGS, & NGC coins so the inconsistancy (yea I'm a perfectionist) bothers me when I fondle them (daily )... However it is a set that I'm constantly upgrading and then I sell off the lower grade coin to fund the future purchases of my collection. My worry is resale, and heirs to my collection...I know a raw coin unfortunatly sells for quite a bit less, and obviously I'm not thrilled about losing money. Then there is the issue of a future family member who may inherit my coins (if I don't live forever!) I want them to be able to get full value or at least as much as they can for them if they decide not to keep them. I know its an issue only I can decide but just curious what others do and what your thoughts are... I know there is strong cases for both sides, TPG or Raw, and I have read through lots of previous posts, but I'm still hesitant to start cracking. -Daniel
That would be a tough call. for me personally, I would leave them in, but I know the angst of having inconsistency in something like a coin collection. I guess that's my OCD kicking in. However, you have the right idea of trading and upgrading.
Thats a toughie, Daniel. Personally, I dislike slabbed coins...at least insofar as I wouldn't send anything in to be slabbed unless it was a very valuable coin, and then it's only for the added protection, not for the opinionated grade given. However, if I had purchased slabbed coins to complete a collection, I doubt I'd crack them out, at least all at once. Unless it's a real bother, they're safer and not hurting anything where they're at. value is relative, as I'm sure I'm a lot like other collectors in that I won't pay a premium for a slabbed coin if I can find the same thing unslabbed. My grading is the final grade in my collection, and I sure don't see the point in paying more for a second party's opinion. Just my 2 lincolns on the subject. Guy~
If the coin has been slabbed by a respected TPG (ie PCGS,NGC, or ANACS) then I would recommend against cracking it out. Like it or not, a coin that has been slabbed by one of the big three companies is most likely going to fetch a better price on the open market than a similiar coin in raw, uncertified condition. So, if you remove the coin then you are decreasing the resale value of that coin. However, if the coin has been graded by one of the less reputable companies (ie SGS, HCGS,NNC,NTC,etc.) then I say go ahead and crack it out if so desired.
I have experienced the same dilema. After much soul searching and discussion with trusted friends and dealers I started having my silver dollars graded and attributed by NGC and PCGS. Most of them by PCGS. It has been a three year project. All of my silver dollars were uncirculated. I chose this route for several reasons. (1) I wanted to know if the grades were the same as I graded. (A bit selfish, but I was curious. I was accurate about 90 % of the time which surprised me. I only had two that body bagged. (2) I wanted a convienient and safe way to store the coins. (3) I wanted if my heirs decided to keep the coins that they could be handled safely and stored safely. (4) If the coins were to be sold, NGC and PCGS are considered by many to be the two most respected in the business (5) It was an easy way to establish a baseline value to the coins so hopefully when the coins were to be sold by my heirs they would have a decent chance to 'not be taken to the cleaners'. By having these coins attributed for VAM designations, it opened up an entirely new and interesting perpective to collecting dollars for me. I will give you some examples. Here are some of the coins that came back that I had for a long time : NGC MS 63 1878 7/8 Tailfeather VAM 42 (7/7 TF) Morgan dollar. NGC MS 63 1878 7 Tailfeather b1 reverse VAM 83 Morgan dollar NGC MS 63 DMPL 1878 7 Tailfeather VAM 84. Morgan dollar PCGS MS 63 1878 7/8 Tailfeather VAM 41 (7/7TF) Morgan dollar PCGS MS 64 1878 7/8 Tailfeather VAM 38 (7/4 TF) Morgan dolllar PCGS MS 62 1881-O/O VAM 5 Morgan dollar PCGS MS 64 1878 7 Tailfeather VAM 82 b1 reverse Morgan Dollar When you have collected a long time and no children who even appreciate this wonderful hobby or would like to get in to it or grandchildren, you start thinking about what you would like to see happen to your coins. While I recognize this isn't for everyone, this was a good viable alternative for me. As someone posted to me and good advise....don't send off your coins willy nilly. Send them off if they have sufficient value.
So your dilemma is consistency versus resale, and heirs to my collection. That is an easy discission for me, but then I guess I don't have OCD. If you are continually upgrading, why not upgrade to XXX (name your poison) TPG.
crack at one time i bought only slabs and went crazy trying to contain the containers. i bought a dansco type album and adapted it to my needs. now i can enjoy seeing how the US coins evolved.its an interesting historical perspective.
Body-bagged is just a term that means that a coin has been sent back to you by a TPG because it was cleaned/altered/damaged/fake. A body bagged coin will not make it into a slab. As for the buffalos, i would keep them in the slabs.
I think it's an easy decision. If the intent is to leave the coins to a non-collector who is likely to sell them, make sure the coins are slabbed. It will keep someone from cleaning them, and give them at least a shot at obtaining a fair price upon sale. Also, you may want to stop buying coins that will require upgrades and just buy what you want the first time.
Thanks for all the well thought out replies folks... You see my set, while not yet complete is always evolving. While I trust my grading on circulated coins, and circulated seems to sell at a fair price regardless of slabbing,. However in the world of BU/MS coins such as my NGC MS-64 1925-S ... MS 60 books at about $500 and MS-64 at $5,000 (Coinvalues Mag... yes, I know the prices are inflated but its the only referance I have in front of me at the moment.) SO... this coin is definately a non-crack out option for me, if I did decide to do a raw set of MS coins, eventually I'll get another in a little lower grade. My other thought is to just leave them as is and once I'm happy with the set send them all to ANACS for a reslab to get the set in matching "tuxedos" (for the simple reason of asthetics, I like the appearance of the new ANACS Slab compared to other TPG's, not that ANACS is a better grader by any means, I'm just shallow)... The more I think about it the more I like this idea. I guess I'll think about it for a while, but I think I'm going to crack out the circulated buffs and keep a dansco collection going in this direction for raw coins and persue the uncirculated set with the end goal of matching slabs in the end... Maybe this is the best of both worlds... Any other thoughts or suggestions are welcome! -Daniel
My set (While still incomplete) is mostly MS64-66 the thing is, I often upgrade within the grade, especially in common dates, always looking for buffs with sharper strikes, or better eye appeal, and if I see one, price is right and can afford it... I buy it and resell the old one. ( A perfectionist is never content, and unfortunatly MS70 is untouchable (unless you happen to like SGS:headbang: !) Anyway, just a bit of further explanation... -Daniel
Daniel: I agree that ANACS does have an attractive slab, however, your heir will lose money on the sale as opposed to an NGC or PCGS slab. But, then again, you'll be gone, so who cares.
I hate slabs. I have purchased many coins that are slabbed and break them out for my collections. I use the Whitman Classic Albums and have 97 of them. Most are complete. Most dealers at coin shows know I will not pay extra for a slabbed coin and occationally will actually break them out for me right there. As to resale value, I'm way to old to worry about selling coins. As to an inheritance. Well I tried to instruct my son on the value of coins. Same with his wife. At my age not many relatives to worry about. So why should I worry about what happens to my collection in the future. I have several old cars, many other collections and what happens to them all, happens to them. Not to very long ago I had a friend that collected guns. He had many, many, many that were worth thousands of dollars each. Also, many, many parts, ammunition, etc. He passed away. His relatives came in, took everything, sold it to someome for a few thousand dollars for the lot. They probably blew hundreds of thousands of dollars. So why worry about your coin collection with relatives????????
Don't get me wrong, I too would rather have my son get the coin collection. I just mean for many, many people items like their coin collections are not appreciated enough and may well end up in a bank coin counter. If you have relatives that value coins, great and I mean great. If your kids are the few that do appreciate what you leave them, that is so great. I'm just referring to the many that I see at flea markets onloading everything thier parents left them for practically peanuts.
Yo. Buffalos. The verdict is clear : DO NOT CRACK 'EM. The truth is they are MUCH MORE LIQUID IF SLABBED. My heirs know the value of the collection - an Excel spreadsheet with everything on there and what I paid for 'em. That way they know the rough value; there's no way they'll get ripped off 10c on the dollar. They won't blow 90% of the value. Further, they know the proper way to liquidate, if that's what they choose to do. I have left them instructions and forms for Teletrade and Heritage. They will just send 'em in, and the auction house does the rest. This works ONLY if they are slabbed by top TPGs.
Daniel, Slab the final result of your efforts and believe me I can relate to your situation. I have collected for years. Have thousands of coins and maybe 20 are slabbed. As much as I love my unc set of 2 Cent business strikes in a nice Capital holder I intend to slab them as well as MANY other coins. Reason being, if something happens to me I want my wife to get top dollar for them. Very tough decision but if I go first I want her to be as comfortable as possible.
