Buy the coin, not the slab

Wow, thats astonishing where they get the opening bids at.

 

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I too just found this site recently. It's a lot more fun than Forvm and being lectured on the rules all the time.

I started this post not to get into another slab vs raw argument but to teach newbies why they need to be critical in their slab purchases by posting an example of what can go wrong.

 

Would it do any good to sticky slab vs no slab so this topic doesnt have to be brought up so much? The other forums have stickies and yet we dont.

It may cut out some of the repetitiveness.

 

I'd rather have new threads than a mess of stickies taking up real estate on the first page.

 

#@%&#* TIFF, I wanted that georgeous Constantine "CONSTANOPOLIS" (sic) but was hoping to get it for the opening $275. Now you went and started a bidding war. Where else can you get a slab marked "Wire Brushed" for only $200? I may as well mention that super great chipped flan and really drive up the price.


Ken is spot on regarding the changes brought by photos. Letter grade are so last millennium. There was a time that only a few better coins were photographed for most sales. Collectors of something cheap like Septimius Severus would get lists saying "Sept. Sev. Victory VF" and be expected to buy the thing. I once Participated in a conversation where we were laughing that it was easier to find photos of Pescennius Niger, Didius Julianus and Pertinax coins than all of the Severans combined. Now $5 coins are photographed. I have been paid $5 to photograph a coin that I would not buy for much more. Times change.

Nobody would read the stickies any more than they read my web pages. Forums like this where you can get free answers are a lot easier than having to Google the results or read sticky posts that might include extra words. I get tired of repetition here, too, just like you get tired of seeing my same old coins. It is the price we pay for being more accessible people.

 

So true. My first published catalog back in the mid 1980's had no photographs. It was a lot of work and money to publish, even more so to insert photos. Add to that the price to print, mail over the world, well, photo's were hard. Now it is easy. Grades not so important as one can decide for themselves.

All lists have their downfall or detriments. For this site I see much of it as a 'post what you have and brag'. Not a bad thing, but I am sure many may get tired. BUT, as far as I can tell its number one of two best places to discuss ancients.

 

I saw that site about a month or so ago. I thought "gosh what the heck" (not exactly those words) is going on here. My brain vomited.

I collect ancients so I can touch history. If I want to see history, I go to a museum.

As I said in the earlier post, slabbing ancients is a pernicious trend.

pernicious: causing great harm or damage often in a way that is not easily seen or noticed

 

That's precisely why I've never been terribly active on Forum, despite being asked by Alex to post there when the site was first established. I chaff under the posting restrictions and disappearing threads, even though as a Procurator Monetae I have certain "privileges" not accorded to the riff-raff.

 

Was just a suggestion, lord...

 

Comment liked exclusively for the language.

 

These GreatCollectiond people have sent me adverts telling me to "invest in slabbed ancient coins". No idea how they knew to target me...maybe Google has something to do with it based on my search results.

 

I, too, recognize the repetitiveness of these types of threads but there are enough new members and fresh insights to make them worthwhile for me to reengage every few months.

Absolutely agree.

 

OK, I get the point. This is an interesting topic and I suppose it bears repeating every so often, just like Doug's coins never get tiring.

 

It's still annoying seeing the slab threads so often. I know of a few collectors who stopped posting all together due to some peoples attitudes towards slabs.

Zohar didnt care for Dougs comments on his posts since they are always slabbed, hence why Z doesnt post his ancients on here anymore.

Thats why I suggested a sticky. Simple 1 sticky with some of the comment questions & links to old threads or even sites like Dougs for new & even seasoned ancient collectors.

1 thread isnt clutter like Forvm does with so many stickies.

 

Well that's sad.

 

Mat. With all due respect, because I just dropped in here 5 weeks ago. I don't understand the annoying factor. A thread is one line on a webpage filled with a list of 23 threads at any one time. If several threads about slabbing pop up every month, is that a lot? If nobody likes the topic, it drops off the bottom in a day.

People post coins that are harshly cleaned and everyone says...harshly cleaned. People post coins that are tooled and people say....tooled
People post coins that are needlessly slabbed and people say.......SHHHH, we will hurt feelings?

Really?

 

=> 100%

... wow, I like the new guy (42BC => total winner)

 

+1

 

I like this place because you can have a conversation without the Gestapo spanking you for posting more than one coin per thread, or veering slightly off-topic when the conversation naturally moves onto something related but not the exact same topic of the thread title.

Also, it's good that this forum isn't run by an ancient coin shop - so you don't risk inadvertently offending your host when you talk about coins in someone else's shop.

I like the mix of people here too - collectors with all specialties, experienced people, newbies and dealers.

 

I say this with deep respect to all of the veterans here, but if it wasn't for some of these threads about slabed coins, how to organize your collection, how to catalog your collection, and other topics that have probably been beaten to death if you are a veteran, I would be so lost right now that I don't think I would have gotten as much joy out of my collection as I do at this moment. These topics are of crucial importance to a rookie like me. They helped me tremendously at a time where I was getting into this hobby and had no idea where to even begin, what to look at, or what to do. Personally, I salute you all for bringing those worthwhile topics up again every once in a while so that other new people can benefit from them as much as I did.