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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;AncientJoe, post: 3102774, member: 44357&quot;]The trepidation of slabbed ancients mirrors that of US colonial and copper coinage. There was a ton of pushback against slabbing those issues although the market generally acquiesced and they are slabbed now (save for a couple dealers). Many coins still come with an &quot;EAC&quot; grade in auction descriptions. I suspect ancients will go somewhat of the same way: &quot;slabbed AU; conventionally graded Good Very Fine&quot; (not always the case, obviously).</p><p><br /></p><p>I know of some predominately US dealers who have been dipping their toes into ancients, bringing their clients into our market. This is worrisome for selfish reasons: I want more coins first. However, some of these collectors are only buying aurei that slab &quot;at least AU&quot;, ignoring style, the type represented, and all of the other important aspects that make ancients so unique.</p><p><br /></p><p>These are the sorts of people who also have a tendency to overpay. I&#039;ve seen a few sets of Twelve Caesar aurei selling for $750K-$1M+. It&#039;s certainly possible to do this with exceptional coins and exceptional types but these were common examples which were decent but not amazing. Compared to US coins, an aureus with a population of 30-50 pieces sounds like it should cost $200K but in most cases, it simply doesn&#039;t.</p><p><br /></p><p>Slabs allow for less of a difficult barrier to entry for many collectors but it also offers an opportunity for people to be taken advantage of with exorbitant prices, regardless of your price point (but especially on less expensive coins when the cost of a slab is close to the cost of the coin).</p><p><br /></p><p>That said, we shouldn&#039;t necessarily blame the slabs: it is the dealers who are being dishonest in some of these circumstances.</p><p><br /></p><p>Long story short: caveat emptor, do your research, and ask around here as we&#039;re all happy to help.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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