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Message:: [QUOTE="Hobo, post: 311703, member: 11521"]A buyer who is not comfortable with his grading skills (or does not know how to grade coins) will feel more comfortable buying a coin that a TPG has assigned a grade to and slabbed. An investor who knows nothing about coins but buys them as investments and treats them as a commodity will probably only buy slabbed coins.  A person buying a coin sight unseen (e.g., mail order) will feel a lot more comfortable buying a coin slabbed by a reputable TPG.  A person bidding on a coin in an internet auction (eBay, Teletrade, Heritage, etc.) will feel more comfortable that the coin is accurately described if it has been slabbed by a reputable TPG.  All this translates into the slabbed coins will probably bring a higher price than similar raw coins. That said, we know that even the best TPGs are not infallible. They will occasionally overgrade a coin. That's why it is important to make sure the TPG offers a guarantee.  There are grades within grades. All MS-64s are not created equal. A very high-end 64 (64.9) is a much nicer coin than a low-end 64 (64.0). We know that many owners of high-end 64s will crack out and resubmit their coin, over and over, until finally one day it comes back MS-65. This lets us know that we always need to take the grade on a slab, no matter the TPG, with a grain of salt.[/QUOTE]