Ive noticed that you can actually pick up slabbed coins cheaper and in better grades. I just bought a 1 year type 2/3 thaler NGC AU50 for cheaper than : A) NGC values XF at on their world coin price guide B) Than i Found a VF example which seems to be the only other for sale. I cant understand therefore the need or want of slabbing when there doesnt seem to be a financial benefit on any resale. Anyone want to tell me their reasons for slabbing other than piece of mind ? it just seems that you get a nice holder out of it and someone tells you what most other people in the know could. :S
The example you gave is a fluke. It's usually the other way around, with slabbed coins going for more than the same coins raw in better condition.
OK, but sometimes it depends on the coin. Say you have a guy who thinks he knows coins. He sees a raw example in X grade offered, and he knows what a slabbed example in X grade sells for. But because he thinks he knows coins, he thinks that raw example is actually better than X grade. He might even think it's X plus 2 grades. So he pays more for the raw example. Now some might want to say - yeah but that doesn't happen very often. Well from I've seen it happens a whole lot more often than we think it should. And it happens with slabbed coins too. Matter of fact it happens with slabbed coins a lot ! The highest paid guys there are that work for the big auction houses or big dealers, that's exactly what they get paid to do ! To go out and find slabbed coins, and especially raw coins, that they think will grade higher than the grade they are offered at. Now the guys who get paid to do this are pretty dang good, they really do know coins. But there's a heck of lot folks out there who "think" they know coins, and they try to do it all the time too. Think there isn't ? Ask yourself how many times you've ever read a post where the poster says the TPGs under-graded his coin.
Yes I know it happens. I'm one of those that looks for coins offered at a grade that I feel is underestimated. But going back to the OP, a slabbed XF selling for less than a raw VF? Unless we are talking about different local markets (in this case, the coin being sold in the US vs sold in Germany) that is not common compared to the reverse of this situation. I see slabbed VF selling for more than raw XF much more often.
Mark, a couple of things here. First of all, don't pay any attention to the prices/values you see in any of the price guides - just ignore them. Now that goes for any coin, but it goes especially for world coins. Several reasons for that but chief among them is that with world coins price guides are based on very limited data. Secondly when comparing a raw world coin to a slabbed example you have to consider the TPGs accuracy at grading them, as well as consider who is providing the grade for the raw example, whether that be yourself or the seller - how accurate is that grade ? Now me, I'm always going to trust my own grade more than I do anybody else's, with very few exceptions. You may be the same, or not. I don't know. But what I do know is you are the one who has to make that decision. Therefore the grade that you are considering for the raw coin, may or may not be accurate for comparison purposes. Now if you want to know or find out accurate prices/vales for world coins there are two places I would recommend you to use - http://www.coinarchives.com/ http://www.acsearch.info/index.html?mcs=1 You will find much more reliable data at both.
I'm not denying that. I'd readily agree that is what is seen more often. I wouldn't readily agree that it is justified, but yeah you certainly do see it more often. But the man asked a question as to how it could be so I provided an an answer.
Much more often here in the US than elsewhere. Though even overseas the over-reliance on slabs is starting to take hold little by little. Quite sad really.
That's exactly the 2 markets ! It's of my opinion now with the Internet and worldwide shipping that the world is a local market these days and with a VF in Germany selling for more than an AU in the states that offer worldwide shipping beggars belief. Sometimes I think these sellers are just trying it on. But it still doesn't explain the reason behind an AU coin selling for $60 less than NGC's very own price guide for XF. I know it really is just a guide but often they are bang on or very close !
It's really not a global market. Foreign collectors don't usually shop on US eBay if they are not fluent in English. It's still a matter of the local eBay, like the French and German ones, or local auctions. I see the difference everyday when researching worldwide eBay completed auctions. That being said, the ones that are fluent in English often score really good deals on the US eBay and they are also some of my toughest competition in bidding.
It wasn't eBay for the German market, it's a German selling thingy but they have multiple language and payment options. I always raid foreign eBay sites even if I can't speak the language. I get a lot from American ebay and before the ban on posting coins in India I did extremely well !
