Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;superc, post: 1815299, member: 44079&quot;]For what it is worth, for &#039;from my heart&#039; collecting I prefer unslabbed coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>For investment collecting I prefer slabbed coins of key date.&nbsp; To me, as a speculator, it is better to have a single slabbed MS or PF, key date specimen than a half dozen XF40 but not rare coins of the same genre.&nbsp; An example would be a bunch of XF40 1916 and 1917 Mercury dimes, vs. a single PCGS slabbed MS63 1916d.&nbsp; I think this is part of what Mr. Reynolds is saying.</p><p><br /></p><p>For &#039;eye appeal&#039; collecting, i.e., folders, we are stuck with unslabbed coins.&nbsp; There is a market niche out there somewhere for the guy that markets a folder (hopefully no larger than a coffee table book) designed for the various slabbed stuff.&nbsp; I have a Whitman for Mercury dimes I am playing with this week and all of the dimes went in nicely except for the 41/42 which unfortunately is slabbed.&nbsp; This forces the slab to be taped to the back of the book which is unsightly.&nbsp; There are fake 16d and 41/42 coins out there, so buying a certified one seems to be the smartest choice.&nbsp; From 70+ years out the odds of finding a genuine one in pocket change seem slim.&nbsp; Even when &#039;roll hunting&#039; (if you can find a genuine, still unopened Mercury roll in the possession of someone less than 88 years old) the odds of our finding one of those are lower than the odds of winning the Powerball.&nbsp; Besides, almost all of the unslabbed 16ds I have seen are barely AG3.&nbsp; What I used to call, in Poor Condition.&nbsp; Likewise I have seen some 41/42&#039;s being sold in various stages of good/fair which are what I call, mmmm, uh, questionable.&nbsp; Not saying it is fake, just saying my old eyes can&#039;t detect the worn overstamp the seller is saying is there.&nbsp; Likewise I did find some decent looking 41/42s that were unslabbed, but I am/was wary of their authenticity.&nbsp; I did a lot of hunting and internal debate before spending the money on some nice clear non-debatable slabbed specimens in XF.&nbsp; LoL, now the debate is should I break them out of their slabs so they will fit in the Whitman books?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in