Another Thread About Slabbing Ancient Coins.....

I agree with everything Al Kowsky has said. I slab those coins I value at over $300. My recent experience with a 1000 EUR purchase saved me some future heartache. The coin was sent to NGC for grading and encapsulation and came back as not genuine. I took a picture of the coin in the flip with the not genuine notation and a picture of the original coin listing in the auction and sent them both to the auction house. I was very quickly refunded my purchase price. Had I waited until the day I would sell the coin, I might have been very badly disappointed to find out the coin was a fake. I would also have a more difficult time trying to get a refund from the auction house after several years had passed. Although getting an ancient coin graded and encapsulated does not guarantee its authenticity, a fake can more often than not be detected. And that gives me some peace of mind.

 

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There are, of course, other experts besides Vagi and Murphy at NGC who can offer informed opinions on authenticity -- and detect fakes -- without having to pay them a slabbing fee. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Barry Murphy is a member here and on the Facebook antiquities group, and will sometimes offer an informal opinion on the authenticity of posted coins for free! There are several other very well-informed dealers here, as well as many collectors, with a great deal of expertise.

 

I don't slab my coins and when I do buy them slabbed I free them up. I prefer the paper envelopes as they don't crack the way flips do and risk scratching the coin when taking them out of the flip.

 

tartanhill, Thanks for the feedback ! NGC sent this quality Chinese "Fatman dollar" fake back to me in a body bag . I kept the coin as a lesson learned .




Sometimes the slabbing companies can get over cautious to the point of paranoia as they did with another Chinese $1.00 coin I sent them.



Ironically I sent the coin to Heritage Auctions without telling them that NGC rejected the coin. Before Heritage put the coin up for auction they sent the coin to NGC for slabbing . NGC did slab it for Heritage , so figure that one out....

 

As has already been mentioned, slabbed coins usually sell for a somewhat higher price than raw ones, so that is another reason why I slab my more valuable ones.

 

I understand. And I also understand that if I ever had to sell my collection -- which I hope I never have to do -- and did so through an auctioneer like Stack's or Heritage, the coins would almost certainly have to be slabbed first. (Just as Stack's slabbed all my reasonably valuable British coins and medals that I had sold them before auctioning them off.) Unless and until that happens, I personally believe that the aesthetic drawbacks of slabbing far outweigh any benefits. Especially since, out of about 250 ancient coins, I have at most only two or three worth > $1,000. Everybody here is speaking only for themselves, and the OP can weigh the pros and cons and make his or her own decision.

 

In analyzing the effect of slabbing on the prices of ancient coins, there are many obvious and subtle factors that need to be considered. Two of the more obvious factors are (1) intended buyer, and (2) price range of the coins being slabbed.

It's been my observation that if the intended buyer is a novice or relatively inexperienced, a slabbed coin will add value for that type of buyer by reassuring him/her about the style, condition, and implied (but not guaranteed) authenticity of the coin. But for experienced collectors, or collectors who have access to expert opinions, slabs add no discernible value and the increased price of a slabbed coin can be a detriment to the coin's desirability.

Also, at least at this time, it seems to me that few buyers of highly priced ancient coins (those over $10K) pay much attention to whether or not a coin is slabbed, and how that coin is graded by the slabber. I do, personally, have a concern that this might change in the future, if third-party grading companies attempt to sell highly priced ancients to novice and/or unknowledgeable collectors, or even more perniciously, attempt to artificially inflate prices in the top end of the market using the same grade-driven tactics that have inflated prices in modern coins. I sincerely hope this scenario never happens, but I acknowledge its possibility.

I think there are a number of other factors as well; e.g., the increased protection of a slabbed coin, easier identification and transportability, potential loss of provenance information, etc., but I'll leave the analysis of these factors for a future time.

 

I'm liking the QuickSlab concept so far, I haven't printed any labels yet for my coins but here are pics of some random coins I've slabbed so far.

I plan to crack open the NGC slabs soon and replace them with my new QuickSlab holders.


Here is an update!

 

Your coins look quite good in the Quickslabs.

I encourage you to print labels for them -- I've done this with all mine. One each for the obverse and reverse. I don't try to cram a lot of info in the labels:



Here's the coin it describes: