Details Coins That Are Slabbed

I'm curious what the general consensus is on buying details coins that have been slabbed. Any strong preferences either way?

 

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I've done it two times......Stone Mountain and Lafayette commems. Done for the simple reason that the price offered was too good to pass up. The Stone Mountain was harshly cleaned and very evident of being so but I like the design. The Lafayette was labeled 'cleaned' but when I got it in hand I didn't see much evidence of that being the case. As a rule I don't buy coins that are allegedly messed with and I normally shy away from such but these examples were too good to pass up. Buy what you like, cleaned or otherwise....

 

Slabbed details coins serve their purpose (like authentication) and can make sense to pick up in different scenarios. Sometimes it is a more affordable way of getting an expensive coin (key dates are one example). Other times the coin still has a nice look but a minor issue prevents it from straight grading. What I would caution against is paying up for a lackluster details coin when a straight graded example can be had for not much more.

 

On occasion I'll buy a details slab, maybe it's just a coin that's been cleaned and if it agrees with my budget, I'm all in.

 

Same here. Like my Dear Isabella.

 

Nice looking coin, I've been looking for a gold Isabella but I'll have to save up some money as them suckers are pricey, especially on the bay!

 

This is her again in whole. She's not pretty to begin with but I took her home with me.

 

I do not look for details graded coins but I probably own a couple of them. It depends on the coin, it’s cost and the way it looks. Details can be barely noticeable or so harsh it’s nasty.

 

What's your take on mine? I paid $90. She's worth more than that I would hope.

 

Most of my top shelf coins have details slabs. Makes them affordable for a working man. And besides… I was collecting long before label snobbery was a thing so I couldn’t care less what a label says. If I like the coin then I like the coin. I’m not in this for the profit.

This one is noted as having a tooled reverse…. Someone in years past tried to scrape grime from between the bars with a pocketknife. Yes, I’ll take that for half the value of a straight grade label.

 

I have a modern world coin that PCGS labelled as "tooled" as well - when it is pretty clear all that happened was someone tried a little too hard to clean gunk out of a recess with a sharp steel tool.
To me, tooled means purposefully strengthening the details, or even carving new ones in outright. Not clumsy cleaning that happens to scratch or gouge a little. I didn't care anyway and ended up breaking the coin out of the slab.

Incidentally - that's a really cool token!

 

Thank you. And yes I do tend to agree. Tooled in my mind is deceptive manipulation. A fellow in 1910 wanting to get gunk out of the bars and not considering that we would get so anal about our coins and just make it look a little better isn’t being deceptive. I asked NGC directly about it and they didn’t have a good response. It doesn’t matter to me either way. It was my bucket list coin since I got my first Redbook and I love the piece regardless of the label.

 

My main collection is German States and other European Thaler sized coins. It comes with the territory. You either live with details holders or buy raw coins without a label saying it has been cleaned or some other detraction.

Yes, there are a lot of straight graded coins out there in my focus area but the deep pocket buyers are more focused on those.

Cleaned


Mount removed

 

I strongly tend to stay away from details graded coins. The trouble with them is that the problem will always hold the value back. If a given coin has a big run up in price, you won't be a part of that fully with a details graded coin. I also find myself unhappy with problem coins in the long run. They tend to "bug me."

The one exception I have is this early British coin for the king Athelstan who ruled from 925 to 939. This is a portrait piece, which is hard to find. The problem is that it has been clipped. That means that a dishonest person clipped a little bit of silver from the edge probably 1,000 years ago. All of the wording is complete. I will not buy a clipped pieces were part of the devices have been taken. Even in this condition, this is $5,000 + coin.



This Alfred the Great (871 to 1899) penny as also been clipped. This is one is raw. Finding an Alfred the Great coin is hard in any case. Pieces without problems are very expensive, even when it's not a portrait variety.

 

I have three detail coins. Two have small nicks on the rims and one has an old scratch on the reverse. All of the coins are over 200 years old. I have a fourth coin that is clipped but for some reason is straight graded. I also have a details legal tender one dollar note. When I purchased them I was aware that they had detail grades and I didn't care because 1. the reason for the details was barely visible, and 2. the coins and dollar note would have cost me two to three times what I paid.

 

It’s looks to be AU so if it is you did really good at $90.

 

For me it depends on the details. I have many details coins in slabs. If it is a coin I like and the details don't bother me, I'm more than willing to buy, however it has to be at a discount. I wont pay full price for a details coin. Sometimes if helps me get some nice coins for a reasonable price.

 

Total respect for that Bar token, details mean nothing when it looks that good! I like it just the way it sits, wish I could afford one but for now I'll just admire from afar!