The best argument in favor of slabs is the fact that they preserve our numismatic heritage for future generations. The fact that they create a market is a real side issue. agree?
Yes - and No. Does it help preserve them - yes, but they can still be stored incorrectly. I do not think the slab market is a side issue - I think of it is as a way to assist coin collectors. I also think there is something special about raw coins more than the slabs. Just an opinion.
One could possibly present hundreds upon hundreds of reasons for having Numismatic Treasures Encapsulated . Whereas , there are few if any justifications for not doing so . Recently , I purchased a wonderful piece of Numismatic Art , a Vignette titled " The Mill " . I have been giving some thought to having the piece properly and professionally " mounted " .
There are thousands and thousands (maybe millions) of important numismatic pieces that have been saved from serious damage because of slabbing. Think of all of the coins that have been saved from a "good cleaning" because they are encased in plastic.
There are just as many reasons to not get coins slabbed. For example you vignette - if to protect it you had to put a boarder around it that obscured part of the it - would you still do it? This is what happens when you slab a lot of coins - you lose the edge view. Unless of course you go with the edge view holders from MMNS(not sure if I got that right). I understand what you are saying, but slabbing does not prevent serious damage - the slabs can melt in a fire, cracked in the mail, etc. They might prevent some damage from drops and such, but they can still be damaged. A slab does not prevent someone from cracking them out and preserving them - or even cleaning them to try for that higher grade. Yes - most collectors are like me. They get a slabbed coin and do their best to take care of it. But I have also cracked coins out of the slab so they can be in an album. I have no problem with slabbed or raw - but personally nothing beats a nice set of raw coins in an album. Just my humble opinion.
It seems to me that the biggest danger to coins is poor handling. It takes a lot more effort for a neophyte to damage a slabbed coin.
In that case all you need are slab shells, not slabbing. And the sentence would be true if you replaced the word slab with the name of any other type of coin holder. Some may preserve better than others but they all tend to preserve the coins. (With the possible exception of PVC flips.)
Do we know any of this for certain? How will slab plastic hold up over 100 years? This is unknown, and many coins have been put into the "best" protection over the years only to later find out the "protection" damaged the coins. The reason to slab is first to guarantee authenticity, second to get a market acceptable grade.
