How do you feel about slabbing?

Personally I have never had anything graded at all!! Of course I will gladly buy a slabbed coin and I don't have anything against grading except for the price and the fact that if you have a really nice coin for sale then some ppl think there's something wrong if you haven't had it graded yet! Sure I plan on having some coins graded but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. What about you, do you normally have your coins graded? Are you going to have some coins graded, or are you never gonna have anything graded because you don't like the idea of it? Anyone?

 

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I'll never do it. I don't like my coins sealed away in plastic. I was reluctant to even get the 2x2s because I like to be able to touch the coins and see it close up. But then again I don't have anything really valuable.

 

Self slabbing works for me. Cheaper and I can take the coin out whenever I wish but there is times I do wish they were officially slabbed just for the authentication purpose and resale for if something should happen to me.

But I dont have the money and several coins of mine are problem based so it isnt worth it.

 

If a person has silver bullion (ex: silver eagle) coins, then it is not worth getting them graded. Just my opinion.

 

There are some cases where I prefer to have a coin slabbed and some where I don't. I have many Morgans slabbed and raw, but I don't often buy raw Morgans unless I can see them in-hand. Some are really not worth the expense of submitting under normal circumstances, but I will occasionally submit one of lower value when I receive my "free grading certificate" upon renewal of my TPG membership. It may be because the coin is a particular VAM or it may have toning which might be questionable and I am curious to learn if it is NT or not. If it is determined that it is AT, at least I won't have had to pay the grading fees.

I may also submit other coins to have a particular variety authenticated or if it is a high-grade (MS68) business strike. For example, I have four 1964 Proof Kennedys that are the Accented Hair variety that I will be submitting because it will make them easier to sell or use for trades (while keeping at least one for myself). I do the same with high-grade Sacagawea, Ike & Kennedy business strikes because there are always Registry participants who are looking for them.

I don't care for self-slabbing because they are still raw coins no matter how you look at it, and I don't like to sell or trade raw coins unless the prospective "customer" has had the opportunity to view the coin in-hand. And, since most of my contacts are via the internet, this would mean that coins would have to be shipped pending approval. I'd rather not do this because I'm not a dealer. I don't have the luxury of being able to "write off" shipping expenses if a deal doesn't go through.

It's much easier selling or trading a coin that is authenticated and graded by one of the major grading services. Besides, self-slabbing doesn't enhance the value of a coin. It's an expense that I really can't justify. I feel just as comfortable protecting a raw coin in a Saflip placed in a zippered portfolio with a dessicant.

Chris

 

I'd rather hold a coin in hand any day.

But slabbing has added some valuable positives to the hobby. Knowing a coin has been authenticated and graded by a TPG brings great peace of mind to many buyers. My rule of thumb, is that if a coin that I want for my collection costs over $1000.00, I'll only buy it slabbed/authenicated/graded by PCGS, NGC or ANACS.

You'll hear a lot of people bust on ANACS in this forum, in my mind they aren't that bad, you can ususally get their slabbed coins at a discount from those coins in a PCGS/NGC slab. ANACS' problem seems to be with consistency in grading. But you can mitigate this by following the old adage that you should always "buy the coin, not the slab."

 

Perfectly good waste of plastic....

My major problem with TPG'ers is that every one of them have their own grading standards, all of them refusing to use ANA standards. With this you get grade "adjustments" over time to put it kindly. TPG grades are thought of by new collectors as "permanent" in reality they are very much temporary. Any slab today over 15 years old will not be taken at face value, the coin will be evaluated as if its not in a slab since grading could have changed. Speaking of face value, the other problem with slabbing is that it most likely represents the highest POSSIBLE grade for the coin. Think about it, if the submitter is sure it can be higher than it got, he will crack it out and resubmit, it is is overgraded it will never be touched. This leads to all slabs to be as high grade as possible or overgraded. Then there is the whole "condition rarity" crap which I just don't understand. A very common mercury dime, "but its an MS 68, a very high grade so therefor a true rarity, and therefor worth XXXX". I don't get it, but thats ok since it will never be my money buying overpriced common coins.

The best part of TPGing would be authentication. This could have been handled differently though.

 

When dealing with toners or key dates its safest way to go, its also the only way you will realize a profit! I also like then when I pass away the dealer cant under grade my coins in hopes to cash in big time. As for touching my coins........well I guess I never had the urge yet.

 

I rarely have any coins slabbed because I buy them already slabbed.
The coins I'm buying cost too much for me not to get a professional opinion.
Of the three elements I'm interested in (authenticity, surfaces & grade) I use the TPGs to cover the first two.
I'll make my own judgment about the grade.

I've only purchased four coins raw in the last several years, all from a very reputable EAC dealer.
In each case the conditions of the sales were that:
- the coins would slab
- the coins would reach a certain minimum grade.
One didn't slab and I got an immediate refund.
I will continue to buy my early copper from this dealer.

 

If you like toned coins, aren't you concerned by the fact if all coins got slabbed there no longer would be any toned coins?

 

Not me - Coins will tone in TPG holders.

As for me - I buy them either way. And yes I have a few I will get slabbed eventually.

 

While I respect your right to your opinion about the grading services, I'm always curious to know the source of certain information. Would you please cite documentation which confirms that none of the grading services use the ANA grading standards?

Thanks!

Chris

 

Fair point. This point has been discussed here on the forum quite a bit. Doug has brought it up numerous times. I quickly looked at NGC and PCGS and no reference is made on their sites as to them using ANA guidelines. There was even a post a week ago where someone showed a great graph demonstrating various services grades of the same coins, how they varied usually in the same direction. If they all were using the same standards then the deviation should have been significantly less. I think Doug will weigh in on this argument with more detail. I thougth they all used a version of "market grading" which really sets Doug off.

If you have a reference from any large TPG that they base their grade on ANA standards, or choose to use NGC or PCGS standards, I would love to see it.

 

No, I don't have evidence that suggests that the grading services use the ANA grading standards. It's just that I have a "thing" about someone who makes a statement like that and can't support it with documentation. I commend you for acknowledging that. There are others who would just as soon continue to debate an issue based on suppostion until the sun rises in the west.

Chris

 

I have no problem buying slabbed coins, although there is something to being able to fill out a Dansco holder.

However, I have only gotten one of my own collection coins slabbed. It was a 1921-S half dollar that I'd bought as a VG in probably the mid-1980s, and which stood out as clearly nicer than everything else near it in my album.

It came back Fine-15. I was happy.

I have consigned raw coins to auction here and they were slabbed as a part of them going up for auction. It's a completely hands-off process to the consignor.

 

From Ebay I buy slabbed coins unless it's a reputable seller, though when a slab comes home it get's freed from it prison. Unless it is a proof,highly counterfited key date or high grade 66+. As for buying high $ coins raw, I have no problem as long have them in hand for inspection.

 

Slabs are OK if they are a key or semi-key coin. I would not bother buying a coin that is a current series (JFK Half Dollar or Presidential Dollar) that is in a slab.

 

I'll go along with the Prez dollars, but some of the Kennedys, such as the 98-S SMS, have decent value in higher grades.

Chris

 

Agreed, because of registry all coin have decent prices in the highest grade