One thing that bugs me about slabs/ not enough information. This is esp. true with PGGS. I decided to take the "Bull by the Horns" and make my own data labels.
You should get full data/ there is lots of room on slab/ plus at least get the data right. Goldguldens where used in 1497 Hamburg
It takes a huge amount of time to research each coin that the 3 TPG's receive. Every one who sends their coins wants them back immediately if not sooner. They could charge for the service and that takes time and money. Do people really want to pay for this service? Is the info on the label correct? The library to store all of the info would be huge, would make a box store look like your mothers potting shed. That's right, most good resources are not available on line. Let's just keep things the way they are and do our own research, on the kitchen table with a glass of ice cold un-sweetened tea.
Spit balling slab ideas… What about a slab with a sliding plastic window pane so you can keep the coin in the slab but also touch it when you want
Being able to touch the coin or take it out defeats the entire purpose of the grading company. You can buy slabs that you can open to make your own but no company would be able to sell their services if you can mess with the coin after it was graded
@panzerman, great info details. I usually add a sticker to my slabs with the handwritten purchase info (date cost, seller, and my serial number to reference back to the details of the coin). But your approach puts the details right on the slab where they should be. And the neat typing (as to my handwriting) does not detract from the appearance of the slab.
Untrue. The Smithsonian has NGC slabs that are not permanently sealed. NGC also issues photo-certificates, but the catch is that they will only do this for coins they don't have the technology to safely encapsulate. I would pay to have my slabs upgraded to NGC photo-certificates or to unsealed holders. NGC does not offer either option commercially. Perhaps this is because their direct customers are dealers, and dealers want to be able to trust labels.
Actually think about what you just said there. A national museum that basically never sells anything has a bunch of unsealed slabs... Was also a one off situation but sure its untrue Let me know how the business model works out for grading a couple of coins for a national museum once Downgraded to such a thing not upgraded
I think the majority of ancient coin collectors would strongly disagree with almost every word you just said. (Including "and" and "the," to use the famous quotation from Mary McCarthy about another famous writer.) The purpose of slabbing the Smithsonian's collection is not to preserve (never mind increase) market value or provide assurance that a coin slabbed X years ago is the same coin presently inside that slab. It's to preserve condition while still allowing scholars and curators access to the actual coin for examinations, study, and research. If you really think a coin can be properly examined for scholarly purposes while still inside a slab, you're way off base. And, yes, I suppose there's a risk that a dishonest scholar left alone with a valuable coin could switch it for a less valuable example of the type, and then go off and sell the Smithsonian's copy. But that can happen with all sorts of valuable objects in museum collections, as with the occasional cases of rare book & art dealers caught slicing valuable prints out of books, or stealing small drawings or paintings kept in storage. Should we permanently encase all those kinds of objects in permanent plastic slabs as well, just because of the risk? In any event, I think a lot of people here would be much more likely, not less so, to use the services of companies such as NGC if they offered a David Sear-type certificate as an option, perhaps along with an openable holder.
@baseball21 I appreciate the value of the protection provided by a slab on a proof or RB coin. The grading company provides multiple services, bundled together. 1. Protection of the coin 2. Opinion about the coin's grade, strike, and surface 3. Monetary guarantee (does not apply to NGC ancients) 4. Verifiable photo of the coin with bar code I really like 2C, the opinion about the surface, because I often can't tell that from online photos. I also really like 4. I dislike 1. Many collectors do, which is why they unslab them. The only point I am making is that there is demand for the photo-certs, which the grading services can't meet because it would undercut their slabbing service. @panzerman 's idea of adding to the slab with a sticker is great. I keep my slabs in clear slab-protectors. I keep old tickets and my own info-sheets in the slab-protector bag along with the slab.
While working at the first TPGS, the INS Authentication Bureau in DC, we were approached to combine our photo certificate of a coin's authenticity and the buff colored 2.5 x 3.5 (approximately) size card with our grade opinion to a large rectangular slab containing the coin, photo, and grade. I vehemently protested that idea (later adopted after the fourth TPGS (PCGS) came into being) BECAUSE I thought collectors would like to hold their coins! Big mistake on my part. I still hate slabs; however, they have been a great asset for the hobby/business. Now, anyone can call themselves a coin dealer. Slabs protect coins from further abuse and fill a need for our "challenged" collectors.
The entire point of grading is to ensure that the coin has not been messed with or swaped from when it was graded. The protection is a secondary great benefit. You may not like it, but the vast majority of collectors do which is why the TPGs have been so successful and continue to grow. The NGC ancients is a weird thing on their own since there's no guarantee of anything. If you're talking strictly ancients then yes they could probably just do photo certs since its basically the same thing in that case. For the rest of coins though that would be a big downgrade doing it that way The TPGs absolutely could do photo-certs and not hurt their business, the demand simply isn't there
John, I like your idea of adding a miniature printed addition to the slab ! Not only does it add important info about the coin, but it makes that info immediately accessible instead of of storing the info on your computer or a file cabinet .
Thanks Al! I still keep my coin entries/ upto date on the computer. My SAFLIPS have data inserts. I use #6 font to be able to get all the details in a 2X2 label. Same will now happen for my 300+ slabs. Plus its fun looking up the historical aspects to all these coins.
