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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Drusus, post: 457750, member: 6370&quot;]If my hobby was cars then no, I would not go to a mechanic, I would work on my own car and sometimes do. If I had a passion for tiffany lamps, then I probably wouldn&#039;t spend a dime until I studied them rather extensively and didn&#039;t need to spend more money on a tiffany expert EVERY TIME I buy one and THEN encase it in plastic. Every lamp I buy gets put in plastic and it catches on and now all the best tiffany lamps are locked in plastic boxes and selling for twice the price.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>If you have a very casual interest in something and decide you want a roman coin or a tiffany lamp and just don&#039;t want to be bothered delving deeper, then yes, I can see how authentication would be a good thing. If you see coins as just a commodity then again, yes, slabs are great for such things. If you are new to the hobby and dont want to be taken but want to get coins to study and will pay more for reassurance, yes... but good luck studying them properly through a plastic sheen. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I would recommend getting it from someone who guarantees that assessment and there are people and companies that indeed do. Yes, I view it as lazy, a person who wants something but doesn&#039;t bother to learn about it. I started that way, I bought a fake...and then I stopped buying and immersed myself into it and I could be wrong but I dont think I have purchased a fake since...many of them are online and have been posted for many knowledgeable eyes to see. I have a feeling every coin in my collection save one or two I have set aside would be slabbed as authentic. Do I think a person should become and expert if they want to get into a hobby that requires one to spend serious money? Without doubt...slab or not.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>My main issue is the effect it might have on the price of coins in general if it becomes common place. I dont care if someone decides they want an ancient coin but doesn&#039;t want to collect or learn about them, slab some LRB and sell them for 3-4X more, I PERSONALLY don&#039;t like encasing them in slabs in general for a variety of reason. I dont like spending another cent for anything but a coin in the hobby of coin collecting. The opinion from an expert who stands behind the service he is being paid to give can be useful even to experienced collectors though I have gotten by with advice from other experienced collectors for free as of yet. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>If I needed to bite the bullet and pay for help I would still not want it encased in the plastic. As someone said elsewhere though, this service isn&#039;t aimed at collectors like me...I dont care what anyone else does with their coins, I only care how it might effect prices, if I can buy the same coin unslabbed or slabbed for the same price...no problem, I can always break them out. If there are still plenty of coins I can buy unslabbed from reputable dealers with lifetime guarentees like on vcoins...then I am fine....nuff said.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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