To slab or not to slab

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Bmagold, Oct 24, 2019.

  1. John Burgess

    John Burgess Well-Known Member

    Look grading fees make a line drawn on getting coins slabbed. Figure with shipping costs added in on the cheap side you'really at $50 and on the high side $100+ per coin.

    I'd say whether world coins or U.S. coins you'd have to gauge whether grading it would add value to it or make it sell for close to its true value or if it would be an additional cost that eats into your return on it when you sell it. Or makes it a loss. Not everything should be slabbed and graded.

    I'd say coins that need that 3rd party verification to make a buyer feel comfortable about grade or variety attribution or authenticity in order for it to sell and make you happy when you sell it wit what you get for it, yeah should probably get graded.

    If your coin is worth $750 value and $50 or $100 in grading costs will get you that $750 vs. $350 or $450 instead I'd say do it. If the difference is the grading fee, maybe it's not really worth it and just better to sell it for $650 or $700 instead and let someone else gamble on the grade they give them.

    Also depends on what you pay for it. Like your coin. If it would sell for $750 but you paid $750 to get it maybe just buying it graded in the first place would be better than tacking on that cost to your cost that you might not be able to recover.

    It's all conditional and depends on a lot of factors in determining whether or not to get a coin graded and slabbed. I have a decent amount of Lincoln cents worth in the $5-$10 range but I think it would be pretty dumb to get them graded and slabbed for $20-$50 because I'll never get $25 or $60 for it If I sell them.

    Anyways just my thoughts on it. I think with your coin its a grantee to a buyer it's grading ms63 and worth it near that value. If you bought it for much less it would be worth it to get it graded. As far as buyers go, it might take a while to sell it for close to its full value bUT all coins are like that. Buyers generally want a too good to be true deal, it's how it is. And sellers want to get the most for it they can, even more than its valued if possible, also how it is.
     
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  3. Bmagold

    Bmagold Active Member

    I really appreciate your input on this I don't think every thing should be slabed either but I am a big believer in you don't make your money when you sell you make it when you buy I am not a great salesman but I am an extremely good buyer and it is nice to get into a coin right and have it come back with a second party aknowleging it or having a reputable catalog or priceguide refllect the value I don't think the catalog just made up the price it is usually based on past auction prices realized
     
  4. Bmagold

    Bmagold Active Member

    irealized
    I sent the coin in because I looked it up thought it would make a certain grade saw the price of that grade and thought I would send it in and managed to make a good call on the coin
     
  5. paddyman98

    paddyman98 I'm a professional expert in specializing! Supporter

    @Bmagold
    No need to quote yourself everytime you post. Just say what you have to say. It's getting a bit annoying.
     
  6. Bmagold

    Bmagold Active Member

    I'm sorry I am not sure what I am doing wrong so please excuse my ignorance but help me not to annoy. Once I learn it I won't forget it
     
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  7. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    My personal criteria for slabbing a coin. Personally I rather like a raw coin. I connect better with the history that way. However there are several reasons I choose to slab.
    • I seldom sell. However I am old and know my days are numbered. My wife is not a coin person. If I deem a coin of mine is valued more than $300.00 I will have it slabbed so that she finds it easier to sell when I leave this party.
    • Very historic pieces. I recently slabbed a 1794 large cent. I was beautiful but also very obviously environmentally damaged. I felt it right to slab the coin for its own protection so that future generations can enjoy it.
    • Family heirloom. I have a very mundane Franklin half given to me by my mother in 1966 to buy my lunch with at school. It started my coin journey and is a family heirloom to me. It is maybe worth six bucks, but priceless to me and is slabbed.
    You will note that the marketability of a coin has no merit to me personally when it comes to having a coin slabbed. That is a market only to be pursued by the Pro's that sell coins for their living. The average collector will lose money if he slabs trying to create value in a coin.
     
  8. Bmagold

    Bmagold Active Member

    I think you and I have pretty much some of the same reasons and I feel in the process I have chosen well and have created value in a coin many times
     
  9. paddyman98

    paddyman98 I'm a professional expert in specializing! Supporter

    For those who want to slab up to 6 coins!
    Capture+_2019-10-24-09-10-56.png
     
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  10. Oldhoopster

    Oldhoopster Member of the ANA since 1982

    You may also want to confirm that the price guide you’re using is accurate by checking sold results on ebay. Another good source of real asking price information is to search MA-Shops. Currently there are a few circulated examples of the 1960D Mark from 2.50-15 Euros and 1 ChUnc at 100 Euros (raw). Since this is a site with European dealers, it should also give you an idea on how many European coins are slabbed (answer, not many).


    There is also a German Coin Price Guide by Schon that’s similar to the Redbook. It’s written in German but may have better data considering all of the shortcomings of the recent Krause Catalogs (NGC uses Krause info on their world coin value site)


    Don’t forget, slabbing coins is primarily a US phenomenon. If the market for your coin is overseas, don’t expect much love for TPGs. Hope this helps.
     
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  11. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    You will not recover your grading costs. If you sell to a dealer you will loose 20-40% because dealers have to make a profit on the coin to stay in business. Good luck selling this coin for that high a price. With a high mintage of 5,453,000 coins I do not see your coin selling for $750.00 . You might sell your coin threw an auction house for better results in selling, but then they take their cut of which might be high too. If you do not have a buyer at $750 you should lower the price. After collecting world coins for about 20 years to me this looks like a very common coin. In saying that it does not look that interesting to me. Not putting your coins grade down, but I think you would wait a very long time to sell this coin at the $750.00 price. If I personally bought a coin valued at $750 it would have to have amazing eye appeal and rarity. My highest priced coin I spent $750.00 is a grade rarity and has amazing eye appeal that I paid in 2 payments. Will I recover my price I paid for it ? Maybe. Like thee others have said you need to ask yourself is it worth it ? If getting it done for authentication then yes I would do it. But if the value of the coin is less than $200.00 no I would not get it graded. Germany has many more eye appealing/rare coins in the 17th, 18th century for this amount of money. Just my opinion. Wait for more opinions...
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2019
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  12. Maxfli

    Maxfli Well-Known Member

    If I were you I'd close the book on book value. I don't know how Krause or the NGC World Coin Price Guide arrive at their numbers, but I've seen very few of their prices that closely correlate to real world values.

    Instead, do some homework (Ebay sold listings, other sources) to determine if you're likely to sell the coin at a profit after the cost of grading is factored in. If yes, then slab it and enjoy whatever profit you earn, even if you don't sell it at "book value".
     
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  13. Maxfli

    Maxfli Well-Known Member

    This right here, Randy. How many times on this forum have we seen threads from the sons and daughters of deceased collectors: "Help! My dad died and left all these coins and I don't have a clue what to do with them."

    That's one reason I've unloaded some of my raw world coins and replaced them with fewer, but nicer, slabbed examples. Ripe old age runs in my family so I'm not too worried now, but someday my son or daughters will be tasked with figuring out what to do with dad's coins. I figure leaving a smaller collection with a high percentage of graded coins will make it easier for them to liquidate at fair market value (assuming nobody wants to keep the collection).
     
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  14. Jaelus

    Jaelus The Hungarian Antiquarian Supporter

    I primarily deal with world coins.

    For world coins, you'll want to slab with NGC. ANACS is probably second. PCGS is a far third.

    Some dealers (especially who deal in both US and world) slab their world with PCGS because they inflate their world grades, and they want to charge more. I'm not having it. Probably others feel the same way.
     
  15. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    Yes grade it, but if you choose to use ANACS the buying base will generally want a discount for more expensive coins like this (yes 3 figures in world coins that aren't gold is more expensive).

    I have yet to see a country where ANACS is preferred over PCGS or NGC. Whether PCGS or NGC is preferred is somewhat country dependent but many of the countries PCGS is preferred.

    You are entitled to your opinion, but that is just not what is happening at all nor do the market reflect such bias
     
  16. Jaelus

    Jaelus The Hungarian Antiquarian Supporter

    ANACS isn't preferred over NGC. I would trust a grade on a world coin sight unseen in an ANACS slab over PCGS though. What are these countries where PCGS is preferred? Are there world collectors out there who prefer PCGS? I really want to know.

    There are very very few serious world dealers who are submitting to PCGS over NGC. Why do you think that is?
     
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  17. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    In Germany, NGC has the highest premium, then PCGS. ANACS really doesn't seem to be desirable. Most slabbed world coins I've seen are gold.
     
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  18. Bmagold

    Bmagold Active Member

    Again I am not looking to retire on the sale of this coin the key for me is how right I am in it the slab, price and the grade are aesthetics if I got 50-60% or there abouts would be a
    Ok I am really not sure of protocol for the placement of this but I really want to thank everyone who expressed their thoughts , feedback and opinions on this thread. Very good information thanks for putting up with me and my ignorance of blogging etiquette hey once I learn it properly I won't forget it. I think I got what I needed from it. Y'all rock
     
  19. Kevin Mader

    Kevin Mader Fellow Coin Enthusiast Supporter

    I think Randy covered it well above. There are a myriad of reasons to slab or not to slab a coin. I'll add my 2-cents here. For a common coin: unless it is a moderate to high MS grade (65 or above for me), it's not worth having slabbed unless there are a very few TPG graded coins. Most folks buying a common coin want a near perfect specimen. For desirable/rare coins, grade may be less important and slabbing makes better sense. While it's a case-by-case decision, some coins are just not slab justified.
     
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  20. Bmagold

    Bmagold Active Member

    I also want to say I could use a contact someone I can converse with that might answer a few questions I have on a particular coin from the U.K. I am asking because it is important to me to get the answer I have been trying to find. I would be ever so greatfull for the hook up. Thanks
     
  21. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    Post a photo of it here. Make sure it is in focus on both sides of the coin.
     
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