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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Vess1, post: 3211017, member: 13650&quot;]This topic comes round and round again...</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; I think some need to invent controversy just to get worked up over something.&nbsp;&nbsp; I appreciate that we have TPGs.&nbsp;&nbsp; Even to a non-collector, the simple fact that a coin is in a slab means it cost money to get it in there and it must have some value as a reason to be in that slab.&nbsp; &nbsp; They also ensure that gem coins that are 100, 200+ years old that has made it all this time without a finger print, will now be permanently protected from finger prints (which I find incredibly annoying on otherwise decent coins).&nbsp;&nbsp; At some point, a non-collector would have the opportunity to grab even a MS-67, MS-68 Morgan and reduce it to a 62 in no time not knowing the difference.&nbsp;&nbsp; The slabs are protecting the best of whats out there.&nbsp; &nbsp; Then the permanent label quickly identifies it along with a 3rd party&#039;s opinion of a grade which is fairly valuable to me.&nbsp; Especially in the higher grades.&nbsp; &nbsp; They also provide pedigrees for shipwreck coins, hoard coins, etc...&nbsp; There&#039;s no other way.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; I recently was looking at 1964 Kennedy halves for a type set.&nbsp; They made over 200 million of them!&nbsp; They are so common in MS I&#039;d have to look through hundreds if not thousands to find one that interested me if they were raw.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;Instead I wanted to see MS-65, 66 versions which narrowed down the search by a lot.&nbsp; I found a MS-66+ that was toned and jumped on it.&nbsp; &nbsp; Which brings me to the next benefit.&nbsp;&nbsp; We can look at a population report of this coin and see if it makes sense to pay what I did for it.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Ok, NGC has graded only 1300 out of 200+ million, (!) a MS-66.&nbsp; Idk how many got a + but probably not many.&nbsp; &nbsp; The price jumps 6 to 7 times from a 66 to a 67 so a 66+ is gonna go for a little more than a 66.&nbsp;&nbsp; A 66 is kind of the sweet spot and is very impressive as far as regular, MS Kennedys go.&nbsp;&nbsp; There&#039;s only 65 graded in MS-67.&nbsp;&nbsp; None higher.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; So in addition to more easily locating a Kennedy that really caught my eye, I also have all this data on the side to help with pricing info based on what&#039;s available.&nbsp; Without grading, none of this would be possible.&nbsp; &nbsp; A novice collector might sell a MS-67 Kennedy, not realizing how nice it really is compared to what&#039;s out there, to someone for a 65 price.&nbsp;&nbsp; A 65&nbsp; might be sold as a 63.&nbsp;&nbsp; If they were all raw, nothing would stand out.&nbsp;&nbsp; This is just one coin series.&nbsp; I won&#039;t even go into recognizing cleaning.&nbsp; I have a dime they labeled as cleaned that I still can&#039;t see it but they say it&#039;s cleaned so it is what it is....</p><p>&nbsp; Dealers probably make a good living off of playing the grading game.&nbsp; I&#039;m not a dealer and it has worked in my favor.&nbsp;&nbsp; So many coins have been manipulated in the old days in order to look better.&nbsp;&nbsp; The flaws need to be emphasized to protect buyers.&nbsp; Beginners really get ripped off during the learning curve IMO and many people probably get ripped off their entire collecting careers if they don&#039;t learn.&nbsp; The details grade label itself, although hated, is ALSO valuable.&nbsp;&nbsp; Third party authentication is valuable. </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All the stuff out there that stands out from the rest of the pack is probably going to be sent in sooner or later by a collector or dealer, in order to realize the full value of the coin.&nbsp;&nbsp; So what does this say about the rest of what&#039;s available that doesn&#039;t get sent in?&nbsp;&nbsp; As time goes on , I believe a larger and larger percentage of the highest quality, **original** coins available will be&nbsp; housed in slabs.&nbsp; We&#039;re probably already there.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; I see it as a positive more than something to find fault in.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There will be plenty of common coins left that never get sent in because it simply isn&#039;t worth the fee.&nbsp; Handle them all you want.&nbsp; So remind me again why someone in business to sell coins wants to sell a raw &quot;X&quot; as a MS-65 when it may double in price in a MS-66 slab?&nbsp;&nbsp; The average buyer and seller won&#039;t know the nuances to determine what bumps a 65 to a 66.&nbsp;&nbsp; There can be anomalies and mistakes, but usually not.&nbsp; &nbsp; Mic drop... <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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