I'm curious what the general consensus is on buying details coins that have been slabbed. Any strong preferences either way?
I've done it two times......Stone Mountain and Lafayette commems. Done for the simple reason that the price offered was too good to pass up. The Stone Mountain was harshly cleaned and very evident of being so but I like the design. The Lafayette was labeled 'cleaned' but when I got it in hand I didn't see much evidence of that being the case. As a rule I don't buy coins that are allegedly messed with and I normally shy away from such but these examples were too good to pass up. Buy what you like, cleaned or otherwise....
Slabbed details coins serve their purpose (like authentication) and can make sense to pick up in different scenarios. Sometimes it is a more affordable way of getting an expensive coin (key dates are one example). Other times the coin still has a nice look but a minor issue prevents it from straight grading. What I would caution against is paying up for a lackluster details coin when a straight graded example can be had for not much more.
