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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;The Penny Lady®, post: 695444, member: 16948&quot;]Mike, I personally do not have a problem breaking out coins or buying them raw for my own personal set.&nbsp; But I&#039;m in the &quot;either all slab&quot; OR &quot;all raw&quot; camp.&nbsp; When I first started putting my Indian and Lincoln sets together, they were all raw, which is how I preferred to have my collection.&nbsp; I&#039;ve never been a &quot;slab snob&quot; and I just kept them in 2x2 cardboards with grade and purchase information noted on each 2x2, and put them side by side in those 20-coin plastic notebook pages.&nbsp; Most of them were colorfully toned, and I really liked being able to look at them close up all together.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Then a few years ago, I found a really pretty toned Indian in a slab that I just fell in love with and knew would fit nicely with my toned coins, so I bought it even though it was in a slab.&nbsp; Then a few months later I happened upon another really pretty one in an NGC holder, and then shortly after that I found another one.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Well, that did it!&nbsp; I didn&#039;t like not having all my coins side by side.&nbsp; So now I am a &quot;slab snob&quot; not because I prefer them certified by a TPG, but because I just want my collection to be consistent, either raw or slabbed.&nbsp; So I began sending in some of my raw coins to be certified, and buying slabbed Indians and Lincolns, or if I found a pretty raw one, now I send it in to be slabbed.</p><p><br /></p><p>Like Mike, I keep them in those plastic 9-slab pages in a notebook, so I can still see them side by side.&nbsp; And even better, as Mike mentioned, I am having Todd photograph all my coins and I post them on my website so I can share them with everyone.&nbsp; I also have the photos on my laptop as well as my Blackberry so I can look at them any time I want.&nbsp; It also helps to have all the pictures on my Blackberry in case I come across one at a show that I may not have, then I can make sure it&#039;s a date I need; or if I find one I think might be better than one I have, I can compare it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Buying raw toned coins as I do can be tricky because, not surprising, the grading services do not agree on what is artificial and what is natural toning, and they are even more cautious these days.&nbsp; I am not afraid to buy raw toned coins, but when I find one, I have to use my judgment as to whether a grading service will certify it in order to keep my set consistent, or just keep it raw, or just sell it.&nbsp; Luckily, I have come across some gorgeously toned copper already in holders - as many of you here have seen![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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