Coin slabs....how would you rate this one?

Hi,

I consider myself a new coin enthusiast (purchased my first coin, a Franklin half dollar for the purpose of starting a collection of modern US silver coins about a year ago). Since then, I have picked up a few common date Peace, Morgan, and Eisenhower dollars as well as some 40 and 90% Kennedy halves.

I want to give as gifts to a couple of young family members (in the hopes of sparking collector enthusiasm in them), some of these coins, but present each of them in a slab-like holder so that I can include a large enough label to be able to fully identify the coins. The coins are in round plastic capsules at the moment (perhaps Air-tites) but I have come across these holders shopping on line: http://www.bcwsupplies.com/products/coin-slabs/display-slab-with-foam-inserts-combo.htm

Does anyone have personal experience with the long term use of these slabs? How might you rate them in terms of safety and protection against toning and corrosion based on their description, if you have not purchased these?

I also like the fact that this company makes a variety of inserts for these slabs.

 

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However, the first ones are good if you want to be the first on your block to become a grader/slabber.

You too can offer ridiculous grades on eBay!

 

Thanks for the suggestion GDJMSP, but the Air-tite slabs are much more expensive. I am not aware of any qualitative difference between the slabs offered by BCW and Air-tite but there might be...I just don't have enough experience to be able to know.

@ Treashunt, I am not looking to offer local grading/slabbing services. Not that I am against someone who does, but I am still very new to all this. If you'd actually have read my post, you'd have understood the purpose I am inquiring about the BCW slabs with inserts. I was inspired to look into such slabs with inserts when I came across someone selling colorful pictured inserts for coin slabs and I found it would be a very appealing way to gift coins to young people. I wanted to create my own but wasn't sure of the quality of those I found to be quite affordable (BCW).

 

It'd be better if you present them in a basic album than just a slab. That will sparkle collector enthusiasm, filling the whole thing.

 

The BCW ones probably snap shut and do not open again. The Air-Tite ones most likely can be opened and closed at will.

 

I use those BCW holders for civil war tokens and medals and other raw coins. Inserts come in several colors if you like that. The holders fit into the plastic sheets used for baseball cards quite nicely, then into a three ring binder. I use my own software to print labels for each item to fit the rectangular space above the coin on the insert.

The holder just snaps together, and can be opened quite easily if need be.

Overall they are cheap alternative to other options.

Here is a quick pic

 

Bill , do they reopen ?

 

@ wcoins, I thought about an album but here's why I think the holders are better for some young collectors today: young people today don't often have the same sensibilities as young people from a generation or more ago. That's neither good nor bad....just a changing of the times. Young people today seem to really like carry-and-go things - small and portable is definitely in. An album full of coins (particularly large coins) can be quite unwieldy even to adults in some cases. That sort of thing would be frowned upon today by many young people. On the other hand, a coin in a plastic holder is really easy to put in a small knapsack or even a pocket. Instead of lugging around an entire album, the young collector can take a few holders with him to his friends house and show them off quickly and easily. A coin in a holder which has a picture insert is also a lot more appealing than most album pages which tend to be plain at very best.

Also, young people today even more so than when I grew up enjoy trading things with each other. How cool would it be for them to start trading inexpensive coins? A few coins in their accompanying holder can easily be brought to school or on a class trip and if a few young collectors get together, they can all easily get in on the action without risk of the coins getting soiled. Plastic slabs are easily cleaned (even gooey gunk can be easily cleaned off them) while still offering excellent protection to the coins inside. On the other hand, it could be a real problem with coin albums and coins being pulled out of them and handled by sticky, dirty hands.

I'm thinking of the enjoyment factor of young collectors and I think the coins in slabs can really make early coin collecting much more enjoyable for them...certainly more than an album.

 

Thanks PennyGuy, that's good use of these holders and I like the fact that they can additionally be held in the plastic sheets which can be put in a binder.

The foam inserts look like the hold the coins perfectly snug...do they?

The more I think of it, the more I like the idea of these slabs for young collectors.

Can a BCW slab be easily opened after a coin is closed into it? How long have you been using these slabs / holders?

Thanks.

 

@ PennyGuy, Oh, btw, the labels you use, are they purchased separately? What label number are they (like, if Avery, what Avery number to order)?

 

Air-tites are CHEAPER! Your slabs are $0.73 each.

Air-tites are $0.52 each:

http://www.valleycoin.com/product_info.php?cPath=300_498&products_id=16462

I bet if you call Valley Coin they'll give you an even lower price on a full box of 100. I buy them by the box, that's just how good they are as a first layer of protection.

 

I'm pretty sure a slab and a holder/capsule are two different things in this topic. Try following the links already presented...

Does it re-close after opening?

 

@ BadThad, I don't see any slabs in the link you provided. Maybe you have confused the BCW slabs with the foam inserts inside with capsules....they are definitely not the same.

 

missing:

aw, I was just joshing ya.


[I guess I have to add: J/K to my sig line.]

 

@ GD, thanks for the clarification. The reason I called them Air-tites is because they are sold by Air-tites and I (wrongly) assumed that Air-tites ONLY sells their own brand; hence Air-tite slabs. My rookie mistake.

As for getting what you pay for, I am not looking to hold million dollar coins and so whether one slab can withstand a 77mm round and the other only a 60mm round is not really critical....just so long as it does the job well and gets the young collectors to hold and appreciate coins without soiling them.

 

Thanks for pointing out the difference with the inserts.

Does anyone know the website for the manufacturer of the Coin World slabs?

Thanks in advance for your help.