Check out the slab on this coin. Where is the effort? http://cgi.ebay.com/1894-S-MORGAN-SILVER-DOLLAR-NICE-AU_W0QQitemZ280213627020QQihZ018QQcategoryZ139812QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
What's with the "S" on the reverse? Looks kind of "funny", doesn't it? What do you mean by "Where is the effort?" swick
In this case I don't think that the seller is trying to claim that the coin has been professionally graded. Some people just use blank slabs to store their coins in. the label doesn't claim to be anything more than it is,... a label. Richard
A label with a tall tale printed on it too. Never seen a polished coin that worn claiming to be AU. Might scape by with a F. Guy~
NEVER? SGS does it all the time. Maybe the polishing and slabbing is where the effort went. Still, I wouldn't consider this self slabbing. He's up front about it.
Agreed! Although I would not necessarily knock the OP for making the comment, as there is probably as much confusion about grading services as there is about grading itself. Generally, the term "self-slabber" is used for individuals that make claims that a "slabbed" coin has been professionally authenticated and graded by a professional third party, when the case is that the "slabbed" coin was actually "manufactured" by the seller who originally introduced the "slabbed" coin into the market. I have said before, there really is no problem with this SO LONG AS THE "GRADER" ACKNOWLEDGES THE "SLAB" AS BEING FIRST PARTY! This would be really no different from walking into a dealer, perusing through his/her inventory of cardboard holders with various grades on them. When you ask him/her who graded the coin(s), and he says, "Oh, that coin was professionally graded by the Numismatic Nonsense Corporation!" If the dealer was the one to put that information on the cardboard, he is no different from a "self-slabber". However, if he says, "I graded it myself, of course, using XYZ Grading Standards.", then by no means would I ever place him in the same category as a "self-slabber". Whether it's in plastic or cardboard makes no difference. Where the difference is is in the fact if the seller is upfront and truthful, or giving whatever spill he can to push off a coin as something it's not, using the wealth of propaganda regarding TPGs out there to make a quick buck off an ignorant buyer. I see the snap-lock slab type holders as a wonderful way of storing and presenting your collection, but they are generally only produced in eight different sizes, so more classic coins like two- and three-cent pieces don't fit well. A few people here have already received some coins in such holders from me, with information such as size, weight, designer, mintage, etc, on the labels. When showing the coin off to someone, you can REALLY look knowledgeable spewing off a bunch of facts that they could care less about in the first place. Buy the coin! Not the plastic! Grades mean nothing if you do not agree with it, regardless of whose opinion it is!
