I committed a darkside taboo!

If so then:
"You’re not quite evil enough. You’re semi-evil. You’re quasi-evil. You’re the margarine of evil. You’re the Diet Coke of evil, just one calorie, not evil enough."

 

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I consider it a compliment for someone to use the words of Dr. Evil to throw shade at me. In my free time, I run an evil petting zoo .

 

I have a lot of slabbed ancients. My first ancients were purchased in a coin shop that had a display case full of them. The shop owner was pushing them and had me convinced that buying slabbed ancients was absolutely the only way to go. He said that slabbed coins would be easier to sell if I ever decided to give up the hobby. I didn't join the CoinTalk forum for two years. The only contact that I had as far as ancients collecting was my friend the coin shop owner. I had two years of slab happy collecting. Now I enjoy purchasing bulk lots and flipping them myself.

 

Pic of all my slabbed ancients:

 

David has recently been joined by Barry Murphy. Imo, Barry has the best eye for forgery detection of anyone active now. David is very good as well. I'm sure that any really doubtful coin will be looked at by both of them. So I can't agree that NGC's collective opinion on authenticity is "not any better than any other dealer." Barry and David will readily acknowledge that, like anyone, they can be wrong, but the Murphy-Vagi tandem is the best single defense against forgery available now.

 

I've not seen a single slabbed ancient at any coin show in my area yet.

 

While most ancients collectors would agree with this sentiment, how do you know that some novices won't go on to be interested and serious collectors, triggered by their purchase of a slabbed ancient coin?

Not only is it possible that a slabbed ancient will pique his/her interest in this hobby, it's probable that this has happened numerous times (Deacon Ray, want to chime in here?) and will continue to happen in the future.

As little as I like slabbed ancients and the idea of ancients purely as an investment, I stop short of blanket condemnation of these practices, simply because I'm convinced that there will be new collectors who otherwise wouldn't have risked buying a non-slabbed coin. As their experience grows, they'll eventually crack out the coin and buy unslabbed coins, and the non-serious and investors will eventually move on to other fads.

 

Yes, definitely true! Often the slabbed ancient is the first ancient coin that we purchase. I can remember going into a coin shop looking for presentation boxes for military medals and seeing a slabbed ancient for the first time. I can almost recall my exact words when peering into a display case and seeing a certified ancient Judaean coin 4 years ago. "Is that coin really 2000 years old?" "You only want $120.00 for it?" "Amazing!" I can remember not buying it and leaving. I then remember thinking about it constantly for the next two days and then going back on the third day and buying it.

 

DR those are my thoughts the first time I saw an ancient coin about 50 years ago. That LRB was $1 and I had to have it. I did not see another ancient coin for decades.
It is fun to let kids hold a 2000 year old coin.

 

Really? You would say that they are better than CNG or Berk? I wouldn't assume that myself. Sure, I would rank them if Barry Murphy is at NGC now up there with the best dealers, but not better than everyone else.

 

Thanks all.

You know, being slabbed, I felt more comfortable taking out to show people. I took it to hospice to show a patient and did not have to worry about it being dropped. No one asked me "how do you know it's real?" as well.

 

Attica Athens ca. 454 - 404 BC, AR Tetradrachm (24 mm, 17.10 g, 6 h). NGC AU strike 5/5 surface 4/5.

...*braces for critism for keeping Athena in a plastic jail*

 

LOL... AND THE BEATINGS WILL NOW BEGIN!!!

 

I have 89 AV slabbed coins/ most are MS 62-67. Sadly, most European/British raw graded coins that are EF= MS-60/61/62/63
Coins graded virtually mint state/fast stempelglanz= MS-64/65/66
Mint state/FDC/Stempelglanz= MS-67/68/69
But....I do like that these gems are in protective custody/ since one should NEVER handle pristine coins/ unless very carefully with "special handling gloves".
I only have 2 ancients that are slabbed.