Still Not Convinced Grading Has Made The Hobby A Circus?

If you still don't believe grading/slabbing is quickly making a joke out of the hobby, look at this link to the home page of Modern Coin Mart. The last 4 rows indicate various labels and designations to be used on the not-yet released 2-coin San Francisco Eagle Set. More is not always better. Can you say "Hmmm....I think the same path was taken by sports memorabilia"? As the saying goes, "Those who don't know their history....



http://www.moderncoinmart.com/cart1/home.php

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

It is a joke.

 

I agree that this has gotten way out of hand. I just want one raw set. I do not collect labels. I collect coins. Do not be surprised if you see additional labels depicting the SF Mint, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc. There must be demand though or it would not be happening. TC

 

There is an advantage to the bullion buyer. If one pays attention, it's often possible to pickup MS 69 grades of modern issues at spot price and sometimes even lower. I never understood why anyone would bother to even grade a bullion coin but its done all the time. Many times I've bought a slabbed coin for less money than than what the regular bullion dealers charge for the slabbed version. Of course this doesn't happen all the time, but it's not a rare event either.

 

With rodeoclown's grading service, you get one type of grade with your ASE bullion coins.. "Shiny and Pretty". :thumb:

 

If you grade them MS71 you'll get a lot more business.

 

I agree that stuff like that does not bode well for our hobby.

 

It doesn't bode well for the hobby and in my mind is completely ridiculous. Topcat hit the nail on the head, if it wasn't a market, they wouldn't produce them. Face it, "they" turn a beautiful commemorative coin into a novelty. AND they're doing it with one of the most collected series....

When NGC and PCGS do this kind of thing, they essentially turn themselves into Littleton and aid the "coin tv" scammers into over charging unsuspecting buyers. We as informed COIN collectors know better, but it easily puts a bad taste in the mouths of babes........

I've always thought collecting labels and signatures were stupid. Yes, stupid, and I don't use that term lightly. Essentially what someone says with labels is "Well your coin might have graded the same as mine, but MINE was minted before yours, so mine is better." REALLY PEOPLE?..........REALLY?

What's next, numbering the slabs in the order the coin was minted? What about advertising on the slabs? HEY!, MY coin is the VERIZON edition and there were only 25 made AND it was the 2nd produced......YES!

 

I get deja vu feeling about this, similar thing happened to Basketball/Baseball trading cards in 90s as teen at that time i used to collect them. however by mid 90s people started buying them for speculative reason rather than as collectible the number of packages, prints and special issues sky rocketed. Most kids including myself became dis interested and moved on. Anyway with coins i stick to primarily world coin issues' which thank godness is not that dominated by Slabs.

 

And true with US classics, from the standpoint of slabs with all the gimmicks. You aren't buying the slab, just the grading service the slab provides. That's another reason I collect them instead of most moderns.

 

Great point. Gimmicks killed comics with gatefold covers, 7 different covers, foil embossed, etc. Same thing happened to cards. The only thing that saves coins is that the metal that they are made of has value. I just hope that's not the only value we have left after the gimmick vultures have destroyed numismatics.