Slabbing Question/Poll; Value

(Example Situation) You have a really nice 1899 Morgan Dollar. The coin by itself, (raw) has a value of around $250 as evidenced by previous sales on Ebay/Teletrade/Heritage.



Does having a coin encapsulated by ANACS, ICG, NGC, or PCGS (listed alphabetically) increase the value or is the value of the coin artifically inflated because of the Grading Company's product? What are your thoughts?

Take Care
Ben

 

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For an expensive and rare coin, especially one that is frequently counterfeited, certification by a reputable service increases the value because it ensures a buyer that the coin is genuine.

For common issues, like modern proofs that all grade 69 and 70, slabbing and certification is a distraction and in my view, complete nonsense. However, there's no question that people will pay a large premium for coins graded MS70 or PF70 and for reasons I will never understand, will pay a premium for the fraudulent designation "First Strike".

 

I voted no. I think the value does not change, but it might make it easier to sell the coin. I know some people will buy graded coins without seeing them, but even the professional graders make mistakes.

 

It all depends... on who's going to buy it later. If the buyer is a goofy head that believes everything they read in a coin mag about what the coin is worth...slabbed...then yes the coin would be worth more.

BUT, if the buyer is smart about coins and knows that they're buying a coin and not the slab then that person would most likely not pay the increase for the slabbing and grading. That person would most likely look for a raw coin just as good if not better for less money.

Now there is always the possiblity that the coin "is" something special and truely deserves a premium for having been graded and slabbed. But not an outragous premium.

 

It depends .... If you believe a coin grades a certain way and get a TPG to confirm your grade, you can ask for maximum value. Otherwise it becomes what you believe a coin grade is versus what a potential customer believes the coin grade is.

 

Boy, was I mistaken, thought this subject would stir the opinions and thoughts of everyone who both utilizes TPGs and those who don't use TPGs. Maybe it's cause the poll is public and not private, hmmmm...

Take Care
Ben

 

I refer back to the old addage....buy the coin, not the holder. That applies literally when I buy coins.
Guy~

 

I think it's pretty clear that some of the market values slabbed coins over raw, all other things equal. That portion is sufficient to affect prices, and therefore the answer is obvious.

 

The "value" of the coin itself remains the same after slabbing. What changes is how comfortable a potential buyer feels about putting a significant amount of money on the table to buy that coin. The more comfortable the buyer feels about the coins condition/authenticity, the more willing the buyer will be to pay a little extra for that assurance...

 

I don't think it increases the value of the coin, but it helps to confirm the value of the coin -- and that adds value to the transaction. And of course the cool plastic holder is probably worth $1 too.

 

I said yes. People these days just love little plastic coffins for their coins. And whats more, the worse the coin, the more value added by the plastic! Lol.

 

Assuming that "value" means what it would sell for on eBay/Teletrade/Heritage, the value definitely increases. Neither Teletrade nor Heritage will sell raw coins. Therefore, their "value" is $0. On eBay, I and many others will only bid as much as I trust the sell, description, and pictures while most of the rest will not bid on eBay. If the description is "certified by XXX", I will bid more. Including in-person sales would, IMO, almost equalize the values, but I still doubt that a raw coin would sell for more than the certified coin very often.

Let me turn the question around.

Since only eBay sells raw coins and their pictures and/or sellers are questionable at best, how did you come up with $250 for a "raw" coin? It has to be based on certified coins.

 

If it's a common date in a common grade, no. If it's an uncommon date or a common date in an uncommon grade, yes. Try saying that 5 times fast.

 

I don't know if the value goes up persay, but makes it easier to establish an agreeable grade that can't always be determined in a pic. I think the internet revolution has changed the viability of slabbed coins. I would venture that many more coins are sold through means other than local coin shops and shows than 15 or 20 years ago.
I think in todays world a slabbed coin is easier to realize it's full potential than raw.
I might add that I only own 4 slabbed coins, all Morgans purchaced for the purpose of future resale.

 

a slab gives me no extra confidence when buying thus they are worthless...in fact the coin is worth less because now I have to take time to break the coin out.

I bought a coin in a slab once...(bought the coin not the slab of course) and the slab has scratches on it. I had decided to keep the coin in the slab but it was so scratched I couldnt take a photo of the coin so I ended up breaking it out as well...

Having a coin slabbed and graded by some guy working for a TPG means nothing...it can still be fake, misattributed, or just wrongly graded (something that remains subjective and always will be so)...and after seeing a coin misattributed by a TPG by about 500 years and attributed to the wrong time and culture (a roman coin attributed to ancient greece)...how would that ever make me confident that I could trust one of them...Its a false sense of security.

 

My error, you are partly correct. Teletrade doesn't sell ungraded/uncertified coins, however Heritage does.
http://coins.ha.com/common/search_r...certified&Ntk=My_ItemTitle&N=51+790+231&TnD=0

 

yes, certainly most places that sell coins sell both slabbed and raw...I have never used teletrade...but every place I have bought from (including heritage) sell raw coins...

 

What der said makes perfect sense to me. I agree 100%:thumb::thumb:

 

Like others have said, if you go to sell your coin, it may be easier to have it graded and slabbed. However, I probably will not ever get any of my coins graded, due to the fact that I like mine raw and I do not plan to sell my coins at any time.

 

A buyer who is not comfortable with his grading skills (or does not know how to grade coins) will feel more comfortable buying a coin that a TPG has assigned a grade to and slabbed.

An investor who knows nothing about coins but buys them as investments and treats them as a commodity will probably only buy slabbed coins.

A person buying a coin sight unseen (e.g., mail order) will feel a lot more comfortable buying a coin slabbed by a reputable TPG.

A person bidding on a coin in an internet auction (eBay, Teletrade, Heritage, etc.) will feel more comfortable that the coin is accurately described if it has been slabbed by a reputable TPG.

All this translates into the slabbed coins will probably bring a higher price than similar raw coins.

That said, we know that even the best TPGs are not infallible. They will occasionally overgrade a coin. That's why it is important to make sure the TPG offers a guarantee.

There are grades within grades. All MS-64s are not created equal. A very high-end 64 (64.9) is a much nicer coin than a low-end 64 (64.0). We know that many owners of high-end 64s will crack out and resubmit their coin, over and over, until finally one day it comes back MS-65. This lets us know that we always need to take the grade on a slab, no matter the TPG, with a grain of salt.