I began coin collecting sometime around 1974 pursuing the Boy Scout merit badge which lead to a life long endeavor. As the older out there can attest, and to my best recollection, the only third party grader was the relatively new ANACS. Which until the explosion of grading firms in the early eighties, not much thought was given to owning a graded coin much less buying one. Besides, for a nine year old with no income the added expense was out of the question. Why pay three or four times more for a coin you could get from the local dealers or coin show for a couple of dollars? Or so those were the thoughts since grading was new and unknown. So, like many others of the time, my collection took off filling Whitman, Dansco and those bank saver booklets. Many others would remain in the cardboard 2x2's placed into ring-binder pages. It wasn't until sometime in the early nineties, and several years out of high school, that I bought my first graded coin. A 1964 Accent Hair, NGC PF63 which I believe cost around twenty-dollars at the time. Since then I've bought countless others. Without actually looking as I type it's around a hundred- give or take. However, I continued collecting coins in their natural form. Which to this day I still do, more so than not. Over the years third party grading has proven both useful and valuable. Useful in that they are acceptable across the entire market place within specific standards of uniformity. Not to forget that they are genuine. Valuable in that prices are much more consistent with an established grading system in place. Doctoring of coins to pass them off as being of higher quality is all but eliminated, referring to those less than reputable firms which will not be mentioned. Knowing and understanding this, I find myself clinging to those same thoughts of my early years. Why pair double, if not more, for the same coin (in my mind) I can buy raw? Referring back to their being genuine, I have armed myself with many, many books over the years. Several are series specific by well renowned authors on the subject. I also use PCGS and NGC as reference when in doubt. Despite this, I'm aware that the chance exists of getting taken by a counterfeit. In truth, I can not say with complete certainty that I have not. But, as the post title states, so too are the grader's slabs. Yes one can check the numbers. Yet these are faked as well. As time and technology advance, so too, do the counterfeiters quality. Perhaps it's age. Or maybe the fact that I'm clinging to my youth in the way it all started. No matter. I still love coins in their intended state, raw. I do, however, insist on buying only graded key and semi-key coins. Comments and thoughts are always welcome.
I am pretty new and the key dates for my Lincoln Wheats were all purchased as PCGS graded coins from reputable coin dealers. I believe that expensive coins stand a greater chance of being faked and I wanted to minimize that for high point of my collection. Now for the coins that stand a less likely chance of being faked, I will research them first and likely buy them raw and put them in a 2x2. I just prefer the pinnacle of my collection to have that extra assurance and protection.
IMO, you will get the most out of this hobby by learning to authenticate, learning to grade, and buying those coins you desire whether they’re encased in plastic or not.
I mostly appreciate the grading services intent for preservation/presentation. I have no preference for graded coins (but I have several). However, I think I've been doing this long enough to see that coins in plastic holders generally sell better. But I'm not gonna be the guy to pay a premium to put them there!
Quite agree. Nothing more satisfying for me than to pluck a well worn commem out of a dealers junk box. For that matter, any other thing that strikes my fancy. It is indeed a throwback to my days, as a youth, when I'd pick through the circulated coins from the paper-route collections.
Great thread. I’d rather get a graded coin but the expense, and the point made above in the OP about faking the graded slabs, learning that I can’t trust ebay ratings, leads me to this, Before I’m buying anything else.
I have learned with eBay, that it is best if they have the TrueView photos along with high quality images of the coin in the slab. The reason I say this is I recently purchased a 1909-S VDB PCGS AU55, and the photos were not the greatest but I thought it'd be okay with their rating. Got it today and I was wrong. L in LIBERTY was essentially missing (probably a grease strike) and their were black specks on the obverse. It went back in the mail for a refund. I did order a 1909-S VDB PCGS MS62BN today that had TrueView photos and high quality images to verify they matched.
For coins that cost hundreds of dollars and up, I consider it foolish not to buy slabbed coins unless you are very certain of your ability to authenticate. Spring slabbed coins from their plastic prisons after purchase if it pleases you. Chances of encountering a fake raw coin are enormously higher than encountering a fake slab. With a little diligence in choosing a seller, the chance of encountering a fake slab is nearly nil. And, the chance of a fake can be reduced to zero if the grading service has online pictures against which the coin itself can be compared. The cost of grading a coin in this price realm is trivial compared to the cost of the coin. So, why not get the opinion of folks who have seen hundreds of genuine coins of the type and some fakes too. For less expensive coins, the cost of grading starts to be a significant portion of the coin cost. The risk of loss due to fakery is still there but the cost of "insurance" may be too high. It's like insuring your bike versus your car. The "intended state" of business-strike circulation coinage is to be in a pocket, purse or cash drawer ... not in a collection whether raw or slabbed. So, we're doing something unnatural by collecting them in the first place ... maybe that's why I love it so! Cal
If you are shopping for a U.S. coin which has a value of beyond say $500, finding a no problem piece raw can be a challenge. A lot of raw U.S. coins are raw for a reason. They have problems, sometimes well hidden, or at worst, they are counterfeits. There are a few dealers on the show circuit, who sell raw U.S. coins, who have quite a selection. I don’t know if they have website because I seldom look at their inventory or buy from them. Their grading can be a bit lose. When I have looked at their material, personal examination is really required. If you are buying less expensive items, raw can make sense, BUT be forewarned that the Chinese have made counterfeits of many common date coins in “circulated” grades. There seems to be almost no limit to the fake coins that they have made. They can retail for as little as $20 to $30, and they have even made some cheaper coins. They have made many “circulated” fake Morgan Dollars for most all of the dates plus some dates that ever existed, like 1903-CC. Lots of this stuff as cropped up at flea markets. Buying raw cheap coins is not a safe as it used to be. It’s sad, but that’s where the hobby is today. As for foreign and ancient coins, raw still predominates. The same is true for U.S. tokens, although more and more of the expensive pieces are certified. This is especially true if they are Choice to Gem Mint State.
TrueViews per se are not necessary, but they are pretty standardized between different coins. When buying online, all I look at are the seller's location and feedback, and whether they have high quality photos up. It's nice to see a PNG or ANA number in the listing (since members of those organizations pledge to follow a code of ethics that precludes fraudulently selling fakes), but not necessary. Of course you should learn to authenticate your purchases! However, if you buy from someone reputable, you send the coin in for certification, and it comes back fake, the seller will refund and likely take back the coin. I have no problem buying from many dealers because I know they will stand behind their product.
