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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Herodotus, post: 8192294, member: 111387&quot;]Let&#039;s be honest..&nbsp; Ancient coins in slabs (on average)cost more.&nbsp; After all, one is paying for a coin and the slab(and what it implies/entails).</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;d like to believe that I&#039;m a savvy bargain-hunter.&nbsp; It&#039;s why I&#039;ve yet to buy a slabbed coin.&nbsp; It&#039;s also one of the primary reasons, (despite looking at and bidding on quite a few), I&#039;ve yet to win/buy any individual coins from Heritage Auctions.&nbsp; In my experience, the coins there often sell at auction for around 30-50% more for the same type/grade auctioned raw elsewhere. I believe this to be a combination of being a U.S. auction house(more desirable for domestic collectors), and that the coins on offer are majoritively slabbed.&nbsp; I find, I can get more &#039;bang for my buck&#039; bidding/buying coins from other auction houses that deal in raw coins(such as CNG).</p><p><br /></p><p>As for grading.. To me, a TPG means nothing with ancient coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s pretty easy to discern the difference between a G, an F, a VF, an EF/XF, an AU and a MS coin.&nbsp; Sure one&#039;s gVF+(Ch) is another&#039;s aEF, much like an F sharp is the same as G flat.. but, it&#039;s all really one person&#039;s subjective opinion anyways. </p><p><br /></p><p>In my experience, NGC&#039;s (numbered) grades for ancients are all over the map.&nbsp; I presume that their grading system is based upon other same type coins in comparison -- There are situations when (IMO) a 4 is graded a 5, and others when a 5 ought to be graded a 3, based on previous NGC gradings.</p><p><br /></p><p>Look at enough coins, and it&#039;s pretty easy to discern what *Fine Style means, and when it applies to the devices of a coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>What matters for me is:&nbsp; Do I like the coin?&nbsp; What is its numismatic interest?&nbsp; Does it have eye appeal for me?</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m not buying individual coins $1,000+.&nbsp; My coins are going to have some issues -- What some might refer to as &#039;character&#039;, or &#039;honest wear&#039;.&nbsp; They were made by hand, and they&#039;re millennia old for Jeebus&#039; sake.&nbsp; I expect them to look like it.</p><p><br /></p><p>In addition to circulation wear, my coins might be off-centered, weak strikes/old dies, encrustations/earthen deposits, scratches, corrosion/pitting, crystallization, cracks, in addition to many other so-called flan flaws.</p><p><br /></p><p>I will state that there is a certain level to where an ancient coin could be considered an investment.&nbsp; If we&#039;re talking about individual coins that value in the 10s of thousands of dollars.&nbsp; Rare type coins that could be considered FdC or Mint State* 5/5 5/5 to the nth degree(finest known to exist).&nbsp; It then might make sense to have the coin in a hard capsule to protect it from potential damage that could injure it from the near-perfect state that has endured for 1000s of years.&nbsp; That stated, the coin doesn&#039;t have to be permanently encased.&nbsp; It ought to still be able to be removeable, and made possible to be handled.</p><p><br /></p><p>As with anything, this is my own personal opinion on the matter.&nbsp; A collector is free to spend(or IMO overspend) extra on slabs for their collection to their own heart&#039;s desire.&nbsp; If slabs provide peace of mind for authenticity and/or confirmation of grade, then the extra premium for slabbing may be worth it.&nbsp; That&#039;s for the individual to decide for themselves.</p><p><br /></p><p>If/When I ever do buy a slabbed coin, it will be broken out.&nbsp; I don&#039;t want to have to explain to someone that I&#039;m showing my coins to why all but a few of my coins are in slabs, and that they aren&#039;t any more special than my raw coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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