This is a question that has come up before, and I'm interested in knowing what everyone thinks. Do you buy coins in slabs and keep them there or do you crack them out? I personally like to be able to hold my coins as it helps make the history come alive. I crack all coins I receive or buy out of the plastic and put them in poly bags in a paper envelope. I do, however, keep coins slabbed when I intend to sell them. So what do you do?
If a coin is in a slab I keep it there if it's been graded. Most coins I like to be graded when I buy them. I am not that good at grading them myself and like knowing a third party has looked at the coin before I purchase it. Some coins like from the U.S. Mint I send those off for grading hoping for that 70 grade So I can sell it and buy more coins off the profit.
I look back on all the slabs I cracked over the past 20 something years and understand I made a giant mistake. It was cool at the time but the feeling changed over the years. At an older age I now wish they were still in the holders.
Ive only got 5 slabs total. Sadly one I got recently got cracked in the mail. I lightly tryed to bend it and there was no give to the crack. So far im keeping it that way but its eating at me.
So few coins that I collect are currently slabbed that it is not really an issue. For the few that I've bought that were already slabbed, I leave them entombed. I much prefer them to be in old collectors envelopes, or to have old collection tags accompany the coin!
I'd say 90% of the coins I buy are raw, but are inexpensive. The more expensive coins are always slabbed, so it makes sense to keep them slabbed, fi for no other reason than it makes storage an easier task. Guy~
If I bought them slabed they stay slabed better market value. Most of my coins are not so they stay that way.I do however want to get my Albany NY half slabed just dont know which grading company is going to get.
I don't own any slabs and do not buy coins to resell. If a coin I want is in a slab, I would break it out. I think most slabs are way too large for the tiny coins they hold. Whether a coin is in a slab or not doesn't change the coin one bit...just makes it harder to view and enjoy, in my opinion, and I certainly would not pay a premium for any TPG graded coin, not even $5. lol
ABSOLUTELY leave the slabbed coins in their slab. When I was new to collecting, and didn't know any better, I had a couple of coins graded by shady TPGs. Now those I cracked and sent to NGC, but thats probably the only time I'd do it. Graded by PCGS/NGC = leave 'em IMO
Ever go to a zoo and see the sadness on the animals faces, thats because they're caged and not in their natural enviroment... :hail::hail::hail::hail::hail:
What benefit will I have if I take a $15,000 indian eagle out of it's slab? Or a $200 merc dime or whatever? So I can touch it? I'll buy a "cheap" coin if possible to get the real feel of a coin. And I have, that is curiosity - we like to feel the texture of anything. To me, though, coins are artwork that should be preserved. Same with my art I purchase, or rare fossils, they should all be preseved as much as possible. Just my opinion and I know it's been discussed a billion times before.
