I also like my coins raw for all the reasons you listed. However, I do not avoid purchasing coins in slabs, I just crack them out once I buy them Keep in mind, coins in slabs tend to be nicer for the grade than coins sold raw once you reach a certain dollar value because most of the nice coins get slabbed. Nothing wrong with buying them and cracking them out.
I know the feeling about slabs occupying too much space . . . I'm victimized by the fact that a lot of my coins are slabbed, and cost me dearly in the form of multiple safe deposit boxes. Wish I could get a quantity discount, but the bank feels no incentive, as the large ones are all rented. As for how I store them in slab boxes, everything goes in order of denomination first, and by date within each denomination, much like you'd find tem in a price guide.
I agree. I do put mine in 2x2s because it helps me organize them, but I'd never buy them slabbed. The only reason I'd consider a slabbed coin is if it was a coin that I'm worried about authenticity. Fortunately it's your hobby and it's up to you how you want to pursue it. Do it the way you like it and don't worry about how other people think it should be.
In the unfortunate event of theft a raw coin is virtually untraceable and unrecoverable without a photographic record of it. A TPG graded coin is recoverable only if the owner has a record the grading service and certification number. I use Excel to record the type, date/mint mark, grade, grading service where applicable, price paid, and any special notes about the coin. I photograph every coin in my collection. In case something happens to me I also have the name and contact information of the dealers they should take the coins to if they want to sell them. I store all of my raw coins in Capital Plastics holders and my Liberty Seated type set in NGC boxes. This type set is the only portion of my collection I do not remove from slabs.
Some coin shows here, north of the border, have dealers with showcases that are filled with coins (many are half empty), but slabs are scarce, especially NGC and PCGS. Maybe it's just the few coin shows that I've been to. When I come across a slabbed coin, I keep it slabbed. It just feels like such a waste to crack it. Meanwhile, here on CT, you guys change slabs, switch from TPG to TPG, re-slab, re-grade, upgrade for the new holograms, crack slabs, etc. much like socks and underwear.
I learned, well what others will call the hard way, about collecting. Most people here I am sure bought many coins, and felt like they over spent. The reason why I collect lincoln cents, and large cents, is because everyone knows what it is. I enjoy telling people about what I collect and teaching others. Being able to handle coins is a great way to feel the history, but at the same time, when buying rare/key dates, I would of course perfer to buy slabbed only because it takes a lot of the doubt out of overpaying, buying a fake. I think if someone wants slabbed coins, its a great way to know that what you are getting is true and authentic.
Slab(ed) coins take up too much room? Coins in original goober packaging take up too much room........... Sent from my KFJWI using Tapatalk HD
The majority of the coins in my collection are nice mint state coins, but their value does not justify slabbing. Since I keep my stuff in 2x2s in ring binders, having a coin in a slab means either getting a second coin to fill the spot (the reason I bought the coin in the first place), or leaving the spot empty. So I buy slabbed coins and crack them out, but I buy them only if I would have paid the same amount for a raw coin. BTW, how are those who keep their coins at the bank able to play with them. For me, being able to look at them any time is part of the hobby. I often just pick up a binder and leaf through it and remember how and when i found the individual coins.
In a bank, it's no longer part of the hobby. It's more of an investment and business related. None of my hobbies include going to the bank to sit over the valuables in the safety deposit box. I also enjoy flipping through the inexpensive coins in my binders. It's funny how many acquisitions you forget about. I miss the old childhood days, when I thought one giant binder was a lot and that the older the date, the more valuable the coin.
Yep. Still remember when I was kid and filled the last hole 1941 plus Whitman binder. It was a 1955-S. At that time, the 55-s was the Key Date for the set, and I had to save up money until I could afford it.
The thought of cracking open a slab really never occurred to me. It feels wrong for some reason. It does make a lot of sense though. I understand the reassurance a slabbed coin gives. Once it's mine, I can do what I want with it. I've been dealing with coins under $100. It seems like you don't get much more for the money with slabbed coins in that range. When I want to spend more on a coin, I think I'd look real hard at the slabbed ones now.
Well, I have about 18 boxes of flips of coins in the sdb. Those are of "better" coins. So when I am interested in a particular series I pull those boxes out to play with. I still have "junk" laying around, and my books, so I have things to keep me engaged in the hobby.
I got some in slabs. I got some I hold with my fingers. The ones in slabs are nice. The ones I hold are not as nice. I like them all.
I tend to agree with several of the comments so far, as slabs do bring a peace of mind to a collector when it comes to authenticity, and protection whether it be theft or for the coin itself. Coins that are of the greatest value in my collection are mostly in slabs. While I do have my fair share of slabbed coins, "raw" coins bring another level of enjoyment for me.
We are not alone!!! And the more advanced I become the stronger the history and arts aspects become. What kind of cookies? and the coin doesn't get cracked out.
