To slab or not to slab.

as of 1/01/2010

Pcgs is not guarantee Red on all Copper coin.it was on page#42 Coin World 1/18

How will it affect your coins??

 

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Now that's a good idea! I just have to figure out something cheap to do it with.

 

I mix and match. I slab the key coins only, but keep the rest in the Dansco. Then I put a place holder coin into the hole for the key coin...something nice, but common. When I do this I'll have undated side facing up. This lets me keep the expensive stuff in the safety deposit box too while I try to fill out the Dansco I'm currently working on.

I also will write a small code number into the Dansco on these coins and other expensive ones. I keep a separate ledger book that I use to write down the details on the coin based on the code number. Example: 023, MS66 or MS677 1939D Nickel, Purchased 2003 for $60. Value today, about $200.

I do this because if (God forbid), something ever happens to me, I don't want my wife or kids selling them as an MS60 or MS65 because they can't tell the difference, or without noticing that it is a overdate, etc.

Steve

 

I've safely removed many coins from slabs, including PCGS and NGC. As long as you exercise common sense and safety, you shouldn't have a problem.

PCI is by far the easiest, followed by old white ANACS. NGC isn't too hard, but ICG, PCGS and SEGS are pretty tough. I have yet to crack one of the new ANACS holders.

 

The new Anacs holder open easy than there old type

 

Nice standar, solved my question about some 1924 $20 St.Gaudens i have in the tubes, i need to see about the top 4... hope fees are reasonable these days!

 

Just wonder if anyone has posted or couriered coins to a TPG from outside the U.S?

Was the service reliable or, if you had any concerns about loss/theft, was this a non-issue because of tracking etc?

Also if the value of the coins was say $3000 I am thinking there should be no customs issue as the coins are not being bought/sold? Is this correct?

 

Hi Thanks.

Am surprised at the list of exclusions used by couriers which deny compensation for loss, theft etc. Inparticular gold, jewellery, cash are always excluded. Are these organisations so untrustworthy they are uninsurable? May as well use the ordinary postal service?

PCGS do have a European office. But the information on their site indicates, submission must be via a dealer - not direct. Might seem fine, but that's only in theory. I phoned a UK dealer and unless I was slabbing a whole collection and they could sell off some they weren't interested.

 

Well, after 6 years of CT, it is good to know that some things never change.... Good to see that Speedy and GD are still here!

Of course, it took me a few minutes to realize that the thread was 6 years old, but something occurred to me after I read GD's statement and that is I believe that it is a good progression for any coin collector to send in several coins to be graded by the TPG's to test their ability of how much they really know about grading.

I have been collecting for many years, but I have alway felt really queasy about attaching a grade to any coin. It is very easy when you are alone at home or with some friends at coin club and you pick up a coin and say "oh, thats a 65 easily!" or "that is full bell lines", but are you really sure? Would the experts agree with you? Over that past few years, I started to send a few coins off here and there, but before I do, I always jot down the grade I think they are. I am like a kid at Christmas time waiting for the coins to come back. I just can't wait to see if the experts agree with me or not. How good am I at grading? Well, I have to say that I have really surprised myself. I still get nervous to send in coins, but I have gotten so much better at being able to look at a coin and determine a grade. Every now and again I get shocked, like the two Franklins that I sent off with a DDR. I guessed that they would come back MS62-63..maybe a 64 and they both came back MS64 FBL. Didn't see that one.


Obviously you can make arguements about why you should or shouldn't send coins in, but I truely believe that as a true coin collector it is always good to test how good you really are. Especially for us that don't live near any big metropoliton area and we don't have the valuable resources that some of the big cities have. Nothing gets me more frustrated than to see these old timers that have a sour puss on their face and say that slabbing is all crap and that they do their own grading and they have a AU grade attached to a coin that is clearly VG. Maybe those are the collectors that need to send their coins in so they can test themselves on how good they really are!!!

 

I can't see the point of having any coin slabbed if the coin cost plus the cost to slab will total more than 75% of the coins slabbed value. Besides - I hate seeing coins in slabs. Then again, I only collect pennies and I don't own any MS64RD 1909 svdb's either.

In other words I might do it if I am sure the the coin I purchased for $50 will value over $100 in a slab.

 

When it's worth $150+.

 

I am probably older than most people on this site...but when I started collecting 40+ years ago there were no slabs....You graded your own coins (my name on this site is "Rawbuyer")....I only have two coins in my collection which were grade by PCGS...and they were given to me as gifts....one is an 1815 gold piece and the other is a 1798 dollar..I only buy raw coins (at this time anyway)...and most probably won't change.

 

Sadly, particularly Dealers cheat!

And dealers say they don't like slabbing, is there any wonder? The obvious reason why is, it reduces the extent to which they can get away with being greedy. They assume their profit margins will be reduced from 50% to 20%, which may be true.

But in the end cheating customers will stain the whole coin collecting activity and people will just walk away.

There is a British slabbing company, called Coin Grading Service UK (or C.G.S.) I use them. They are tough! Many established British dealers refuse to handle their coins, as it is not in their interests to promote this grader. In the end it will be their loss as amateur British coin collectors are learning that dealers are not on their side, but their own.

Worth taking a look at what they have to say:

http://www.cgs-uk.biz/cgs-uk/aboutGs

 

TPG's obviously set some sort of standard.

A dealer can say that something is AU if he wants, (that may only make VF with a TPG.) The dealer can say his opinion.........was his opinion! Well if he says a coin is AU but "discounts" the price to the VF level, that's one thing. It's quite another to charge the AU price for a VF coin though.

I wonder how wide this experience of coin dealers actually stretches amongst collectors? Am I the only one that's been "unlucky." I suspect not.

My suspicions about a dealer led me to use a TPG, as I had my doubts.

 

I believe NGC has an office in Singapore or Shanghai.

There are other reasons why some people want a coin certified in which value or rarity has no bearing......

> It has sentimental value.

> It is a coin which wouldn't ordinarily be submitted but is one accompanied by a free grading certificate.

Chris

 

Took the plunge

Well I have been sitting on the fence for years on this issue and finally took the plunge and sent five 1878cc morgans to anacs. They came back EF 40 to MS 62. One top 100 vam. Taught me I need to brush up on both my grading and vam skills. I put them in for 15 day turnaround but they fedexed them back in under 7 days. Total cost 150. I was pleased with the service.

Steve

 

I can attest to that ! Especially when you call the grader and they cannot locate your order but promise to return your call. Then don't. lol I mean, if it's an irreplaceable item, it's really, really stressful !

 

Although the majority of my junk is raw, it makes sense to have the key dates or very nice coins slabbed. I lost a lot because of improper storage and truly regret not coming back to this hobby sooner. I am sending in the stuff that warrants doing it price wise. All the stuff is going to be passed along some day, so I want it to be recognized by non-collectors as having some value.