The Reholder Woes

So you open the mailbox and inside is your new coin. It feels like Christmas in July, you are so excited, you run back into the house, rip that sucker open, put it under the light and loupe, and are left wondering why you still can't see the surface of the coin. What the heck? The darn slab is so bad you think the previous owner must have been Meow. My latest NEWP in NONE of its glory.





Now seriously, how the heck does that happen? It had to be deliberate. But I know I am not the only one. Show me your slabbed coins that were so bad, you had to have them reholdered.

 

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Obviously done on purpose. Very nice looking Jefferson though. At least what you're able to see.

 

I purchased an early copper last year. The slab was so scratched up I couldn’t post photos here. I spent a half hour with Turtle Wax headlight lens polish and made that slab clearer than it was the day it was slabbed.

 

Yeah, I'm lazy, I don't feel like doing that.

 

I understand. I didn’t want to be without my new early copper for weeks!

 

Look at the bright side, Paul. You've got one of the nicest sets of Jeffs that I've ever seen.

Chris

 

HEY! Meow would use Kitten Mittens if appropriate. And would not ever scratch around with a TPG holder.

 

Be enlightened Paul........the Meow responded.

 

I've seen some bad ones too; sometimes it's dealer/collector carelessness. I've seen slabs tossed, slid across counters, dropped, etc...

Stickers are another thing that annoys me, especially the ones that are placed over the logo on older NGC holders (meaning if you take it off, a part of that logo also comes off).

And I've also seen people write on slabs. I've been fortunate so far that all the cases I've encountered were easily removed with rubbing alcohol.

 

Obviously messed with but at least it was only the holder and not the coin.

 

Honestly, I think I have the worst luck with this. It's almost every slabbed coin I buy. Im at the point that when I buy off Ebay, I expect the slabbed to be scratched.

 

I have a few with bad scratches.

 

You want to see BAD? Go to the "Dealer Day" at any of the big shows like FUN. Some of these wise guys toss the slabs around like they're hockey pucks. Who do they think they are?

Chris

 

I got a few scratched up ones too

 

I had to crack one out because the slab damage was so bad

 

It looks like it had a good shot at a plus. I would submit it as a regrade.

 

What about CAC stickers?

 

That's one of the reasons why slabs get trashed. Being all scuffed up is also a tell that a coin in an old holder has seen a lot of mileage with nobody thinking it's worth regrading. I remember a cent I was looking at that was being offered by a respected dealer in the field. The holder was so trashed, you couldn't see the surfaces of the coin, but that didn't stop them from asking a strong retail price for it. I get it if you don't want to reholder a copper coin that's in a 25+ year old holder, but the least you could do in that case is polish the holder, especially if you want any hope of justifying premium prices.

 

I’ve got some scratched slabs. They don’t bother me much, but maybe someday I’ll polish a couple.

 

I polish the scratched slabs, as I paid for a certified coin, and expect it to look decent.