I have a pretty nice looking 2006 Silver Eagle proof, should I get it slabbed or is it worth it? My biggest reason for wating to do this is because I would like to preserve the luster of this coin because I understand that in the mint issue case it does nto allways age well. Any advice?
Personally, I would store it in an airtight, and if it ever lost it's luster, I'd give it a quick dip (only once, and then never again).
airtight will only run you a couple of bucks and is a pretty good deal, they've been keeping my sackies from going all yicky for a couple of years now and you know how those things fall apart lusterwise.
The coin is already in an airtite case when shipped from the mint. You can get it graded and slabbed but IMHO I think it is a waste of money concidering how well proof coins are minted today most all should grade 69 or better. I also think that most of the 69's that I have seen could or should be 70's and the 70's, 69's. The grading standards are just to subjective when it comes to modern coins of this caliber. I collect ASE proofs and business strikes. I have a couple proofs graded by NGC that are no better then the ones that are in the original mint packaging. Now if you want to sell and get that "graded" premium, get them graded. Otherwise I think you are wasting your money.
I agree about the grading - waste of time and money unless you are pretty sure you have a 70 and plan to sell it. As for the holders - the ones used by the mint are not Air-Tites. They are a similar product made by a different company though and work just as well. None of the holders made by anybody are truly airtight. If you want to do the utmost you can do to prevent any toning - place the coin in an Intercept Shield holder. But if you store it properly in the mint issued holder - it should stay just the way it is for years.
