Cracking A Slab ~

I agree, I have about 20 Jefferson Nickels in Segs Holders. But they have the Best Slab in the Business.
If you have ever cracked one out, you will start thinking about dynamite :headbang:

 

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ouch.. 20?? i didnt think anyone who bought SGS would ever make a 2nd SGS purchase ...

did the SGS coins you bought fit the grade they were assigned?

 

Not SGS (star grading service), which is very dodgy but the more reliable SEGS. And he is right, you just cannot break their slabs open.....without a chainsaw...

 

Many dangerous methods and this is one of the worst. Freind of mine did this and almost lost an eye from flying plastic. Of course most people have two eyes so why not try this method anyway.
I to use a vise. Only I put the slab in the vise, take out a sabre saw, cut off the sides, slab opens, no plastic flying around anywhere. The only thing is to remember to use a blade in the saw that is not fine toothed or for harsh cutting. If you use a blade slightly less fine than a metal cutter it works perfectly. Also, note if you cut to slowly the plastic will melt back together from heat.
Of course a torch also works well but for some reason the coins never look well afterwards.

 

I've never un-slabed a coin, but one thing this thread reconfirms is that you can't trust pop reports at all!!

 

I dont think I have ever bought a slabbed coin.

 

Um, if one would buy a slabbed coin and pay the extra money for it, then why would one then pop the slab?"
I myself do prefer raw coins, which I enclose, but I do have my slabs as well and slabs they will remain.

 

very very true.. the pop reports are pretty worthless!!!

 

Visegrips here. Don't let those (Repeal the 2nd Amendment Nuts) find out or you might have picketers getting hit by the shrapnel...

 

I feel that almost any coin valued over $500 should be authenticated so buying one such slabbed is worth the price.
Another thing is I'm not good at grading so if it is an expensive coin I'd like to know what an expert thinks.
One dealer I know showed me a Merc 1916D that I would have sworn was real. He got burned by it. He sent it in for grading and it came back as a fake.
Another thing is I've seen many coins in slabs that I would not pay extra for just because some idiot had it slabbed. Examples are common coins such a 1997 Jefferson Nickel, P mint, MS60. I've seen many of such coins and usually a dealer will tell me he bought them like that and will only charge me for the actual coin, not the stupid slabbed price.
I normally don't buy slabbed coins but for ones that are expensive, I do and then break them out for my sets.

 

There are those who look for a coin that is under graded in the slab it is in. They will break it out and submit it to a top tier grading company in the hopes it will grade higher. Going from a MS65 to MS66 could mean hundreds or many thousands of dollars in paper value depending on the coin. The coin could go in the other direction too which might result in an actual loss.

 

Good point to take note of and I understand Carl's as well for sometimes that is why I buy slabs but I keep them in the slab as part of my collection.

 

I wouldnt have bought my 16-d Merc if it was raw for that reason alone. Alot of dealers wont even buy them anymore unless they are authenticated and slabbed. My local coin dealer told me that if I cracked my dime out of its slab and tried to sell it to another dealer that I would have to pay to get it re-authenticated before they would buy it. The dealers are protecting themselves this way, nobody likes to get ripped off.