Cracking slabs

I know the title will make some people here cringe, bear with me! I'm not talking about anything too valuable.

I've been considering making my first eBay coin purchase. Since I haven't had enough time with graded coins in hand, the only coins I would feel comfortable purchasing off eBay would be PCGS/NGC graded examples. I really would prefer the coins in my album than in the slab, so my question is:

would moving the coin from the slab to the album do long lasting harm to the value of the coin?

I'm talking MS63-65 common date wheat cents, nothing super valuable. After going into the album, it's unlikely they'll b removed or handled again for many years, so is cracking them out really that bad?

 

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I'm strongly against it and would advise you not to start cracking... here's a thread I wrote regarding that subject that you may find useful:

http://www.cointalk.com/t70588/

Before cracking a single slab please think about the long term...

What is your ultimate goal? Surely you're not just going to build a set of common dates, right? Eventually, you'll want to save up and add some of the semi-key dates and eventually the key dates to your collection. Sure, cracking a $20-$50 coin is easy, but will you feel the same way about cracking out a $250-$500 semi-key date??? How about the 1909-S VDB that's worth a couple thousand dollars????

Do you think the first coin you buy of a given date will be the one that stays in your collection forever??? I doubt it. Most collectors buy the best they can afford today. So today you might want to buy an MS64RD example of a date, crack it and put it in your album. But in a few years you want to get an MS65RD or even an MS66RD. At that time you'll have a real hard time selling your previous MS64RD as that grade w/o getting it reslabbed (which costs money and there is a risk it may not get the same grade).

Are you ok with the albums toning the coins?? If you're buying MS63-65 cents I'm assuming some of them will be Red examples. If you put those in an album, most albums will tone red copper over time and will speed the transition towards red-brown and brown color (which devalues the coins, sometimes significantly).

Most people don't like to think about it, but what if something happens to you? What do you think will be easier for your family to sell and what do you think will get your family members more money upon sale: an album with raw and ungraded examples or a box with professionally certified examples???

Finally, if you're set at wanting to do an album, that's cool... I too have a Lincoln Dansco with a ton of bright red wheat cents (now turning red-brown). But I can promise you the set you build will cost you multiples extra by buying slabbed examples of common dates and then cracking them out. For example, I can buy a full roll of 50 1958 Lincolns that'll grade 63-65 Red or Red/Brown for less than the price it would cost you to buy a single slabbed MS65 example. Many of the common dates can be purchased for a couple of dollars each in gem red condition. You just can't buy slabs that cheap. I understand that you want to buy slabs for the security in knowing you have original coins and knowing they meet a certain grade, but you'd be far better off financially (and will likely end up with better coins) to find a dealer (either local or online) who you can deal with and trust will be giving you nice coins at relatively fair prices. I'm sure some of us on the forum could provide some recommenations to you depending on exactly what you're looking for. You might even find some good seller on eBay too, but that may take a little trial and error.

Good luck.

 

I buy slabbed coins in order to fill my Dansco Jefferson album. However, they are never NGC or PCGS slabs.

 

An alternative to cracking them out of the slabs was mentioned by another collector. (I can't remember if it was this forum or not.) He would create a paper disc the size of the coin with the Date/mm, TPGS & Grade on it and insert it into the album.

Chris

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. As far as cracking keys and semi-keys, no I wouldn't... I plan on putting a similiarly graded coin in the slot reverse forward as a place-holder.

I'm really not concerned w purchasing a coin and needing it upgraded later. I'm okay with having a MS duplicate . But as far as toning is concerned, I realize a slab is the BEST option, but how bad will red copper tone in a dansco and how fast?

Somehow people were able to keep coins from the teens in mint red without toning. Illini's post makes it sound like outisde of a slab my coins are doomed to turn brown and be worthless. I realize that's hyperbole, but I'm having a hard time understanding what to expect toning wise from my dansco album?

Again thanks everyone for your replie, please keep them coming!

 

More doom and gloom and for my coppers

thank you for the insight, Doug!

 

Sorry double post... So If my copppers are doomed from the get-go would I be better buying BN or RB examples if I insist on keeping them in my Dansco... Which I do

will the dansco slip case do anything to protect them?

 

Buy brown in my opinion. Honestly I think some of the browns are better looking. I do not like rd coins and my favorite rb's are those that are mostly brown with the fiery red poking through. My personal opinion is that a dansco album is okay if you take care of it. No excess moisture, humidty - etc. Doug and others know way more about this than me.

 

If your gonna break them out (which I dont think you should) and put them in an album the Intercept Shield album should help keeping them red a bit better then a Dansco.

 

just freakin sad bro a waste of time and money, for your safety destroy the old holders that you have taken apart.. and take the stickers and barcode papers and distroy them and burn them.. recycle the cases..

 

Buy the color of copper you like most. Sure in the very very long run, all RD copper is likely to turn towards brown. But that may be 100 years or that may be 1000 years.

But I'm pretty confident that my slabbed RD copper cents will stay full RD for the rest of my lifetime as long as I take care of them and store them well. I mean they've survived the last 100+ years and are still full blazing RD (and most of those years the coins were unslabbed) so I doubt they will turn in the next 50 years or so. But you can bet that they are more likely to stay RD in a slab than in one of the albums.

Bottom line though is to buy what you like! If you like RB or BN coppers best than you're lucky as there is much less risk involved with those and they are generally much more affordable.

 

Why, I didn't pay to have the coins certified. Better question is why is someone sending in $5-$10 coins to be graded.

 

They won't last red if your taking them out of the TPG'ers holder and putting them in a Dansco IMO.

In the holders I think will last that for the most part unless kept in bad weather situations.

 

I like a new pair of nippers. They come right out and doesn't pose a risk to the coin when doing the extraction from the coins tomb.

I personally don't like folders for my raw coins but I know people who do and they tell me they buy certified for the persional satisfaction to know the coin is real. Then they crack out coins to see them better. I would stick up for a guy that wants to do that. People mistreat and use up all sorts of valuable things in life, cars, furniture, jewelry, etc. It does lower the coins sell price, but that isn't universally appreciated. Its no skin off my back. We don't all have to be museum curators.

 

once a coin is certified it has a declared numismatic value, removing make it degrade.. it maybe a 5 dollar coin but atleast i know its worth the 5 dollars.. cause i can trust the company that certified it, ifits what you want but your set looses so much in value..

 

If I want to keep a cent red, I place it in an Air-Tite holder and display the holder in an album with half dollar holes (yes, the cent Air-Tites fit in them).

 

They are your coins....do as you want with them. With that being said, I am 'getting back to my roots', and filling a Washington quarter album ('32-'98....anyone know why they have a spot for the proof '79-S T1 & T2 but not the '81-S T1 & T2???). I try to get the nicest raw examples I can find, though only if it's at a show/B&M shop, where they can be viewed 'in-hand'. Other than that, yep, I crack 'em out, but never from an NGC or PCGS holder. Besides, the 'old' 'newer' ANACS holders, with the blue insert (the type kaosleeroy108's image shows), hell, you don't even need any tools, vices, anything...just twist the slab a slight bit in your hands, and it's done.

 

I translate that to mean that you can't grade raw coins on your own and won't pay price guide prices because you don't have any faith in your own grading ability. An MS65 Jefferson Nickel is still an MS65 Jefferson Nickel once it is removed from it's slab. There are plenty of collectors who will pay money for a raw coin the same way you pay for a certified coin. Furthermore, if you think that the ANACS holder provided any value to those coins, you are sadly mistaken. Whomever sent those coins in to be graded had no idea what they were doing. The cost associated with certifying a $5-$10 coin will guarantee that the submitter loses money. I am not the submitter and will not lose any money on those coins. And even if I did, I paid $40 for the entire lot.

Most members of this forum would consider me one of the biggest proponents of certified coins. However, that support is not blind and only applies to PCGS & NGC. Personally, after engaging in Bahabully's grading contest, I don't ever want to own another ANACS graded coin. I would rather the coin be raw. Hence, the ANACS holders are in a pile and the coins are in a Intercept Shield album.

 

I translate that to mean that you can't grade raw coins on your own and won't pay price guide prices because you don't have any faith in your own grading ability
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... i never said that i cant grade.. i have most of the coins in my set albums and 2x2 boxes.. and i have been pretty much accurate .. altho i beg to differ that pcgs gave my 09svdb 64bn instead of 64 rd majority is red.
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There are plenty of collectors who will pay money for a raw coin the same way you pay for a certified coin. Furthermore, if you think that the ANACS holder provided any value to those coins, you are sadly mistaken

i never said there was anything wrong with anacs i think there good and have good gradrs in there compny.. but if your building a set what does it matter if you leave the coins in the holder.. cause it preserves there declared value , altho some coins will tone after time .. yes there are people that still buy raw .. but anything before 1978 i buy graded and cert by pcgs ngc anacs icg even segs but thats just me.. im not buying raw unless i know where its coming from. yea othere people will buy them poped out.. but thats defeating the purpose to my a graded coin then take the coin out.. yea sure certing a modern coin maybe a waste.. unless your adding it to your personal set.. thats good you payed 40 bucks

but that still defeats the purpose of buying them then taking them out.. its a waste of money
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Most members of this forum would consider me one of the biggest proponents of certified coins. However, that support is not blind and only applies to PCGS & NGC. Personally, after engaging in Bahabully's grading contest, I don't ever want to own another ANACS graded coin. I would rather the coin be raw. Hence, the ANACS holders are in a pile and the coins are in a Intercept Shield album


your self centerness is your own pitty to deal with.. as shantideva said

"all samsara arrises from the egoistic delusion........"

personally i feel anacs and the companys i mentioned before are cool and there to serve those who like that company.. i prefer pcgs and ngc myself.. weither the coin is 5 or 10 in value .. the value is secured is it not??