To Grade or not to grade. That is the question

I have read all/everyone's posts to this point and am not just jumping in without doing so... I would like to add that the there is yet one other potential in whether or not to slab bullion coins which has not yet been discussed in this thread:

When the time comes that any of these bullion coins ASEs/Pandas/Maples/Philharmonics ceases production, and someday they all will cease production (and this could be very soon), there will be a collectors market overnight that didn't exist previously. For this post I am not referring to rounds or art bars from assayers or mines or bullion trader houses with their logos on them.

When production stops, the slabbed bullion coins will then be viewed differently. They may well attain or regain a potential numismatic value and be worth more than the raw bullion despite all the down steps from the initial mark-up market dealers enjoyed selling slabbed bullion and hyped in recent years. Over time, with the very volatile ups and downs, price/oz. will rise, perhaps significantly as some folks like to stoke the big correction theories for silver. Some of these coins over time, as bullion, will be melted and reduce the numbers originally minted. Coins left raw and which get handled, dented, scratched, ugly toning, get cleaned and so on will have bullion value all their life. Certain raw bullion will happen to be treated well by those who collect them and some will get their gold toning and rainbow effects over time and have special audiences who value them, etc. Proofs of course will have their price tier and collectibility slabbed or not and will most likely out perform the majority of the MS coins, even if slabbed until remaining quantities/populations can be determined.

Quantities currently minted and in existence not withstanding, if you see this VERY distant horizon and that's your goal, you could take HUGE risks spending money having high grade MS bullion slabbed now rather than trying to find perfect raw coins later and paying the future price of slabbing coins (if slabbing will even exist in the future) or you can try picking up these slabbed varieties now while prices are low and the advice and opinions such as Doug's and others doubting them based on their experience and stats now tell you not to. That is after all one of the best times to invest or to get your collection at the lowest cost, when no one wants them or talks them down. Again, the stats can be cited against this idea but collector mentality changes and doesn't always have a rational explanation for why some things are worth more than bullion or the denomination struck on the coin.

If you spend money on slabbing these coins today you can only hope to win because the odds are majorly stacked against you as widely discussed here. You will likely wait your lifetime holding them for this moment, it might not even happen in your lifetime, you might never see the grading fees recouped... It would be a tough decision to live with and you will continue to face stiff advice to the opposite of what you are doing, which is highly likely to be correct in that you'll fail. There will always be those who try I suppose.

I am just stating that there lies a potential area within this discussion for a time when these coins cease to be produced that should be considered if you have not already done so. I don't think it hurts to have some slabbed bullion, if you acquire it at a good price which you determine to pay for it and/or if it's what you like. Evaluate the situation from your own perspective and buy accordingly.

Note I did not get into the various dates, MM, high vs. low mintages, anomaly varieties and such as those factors have already been floated/reasoned.

Thanks for checking out my post and my thoughts on this issue from the OP.

 

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krispy,

Could you not apply your theory to commemoratives? They cease production every year, many are slabbed but the collector market appears to be stagnant or even shrinking for these. While it is possible that there would be a new collector market for the bullion coins I would think that there will be a transition from existing collectors to the new market and the values won't be effected to much.

 

Every current ASE that has been slabbed probably came out of a tube from a monster box. Why not just buy tubes or monster boxes and have a ton of the exact same coins with no grading fees? That would be my take on ASEs anyways.

 

I still think I could get $600.00 for my PCGS PR70 half ounce plat!. only 5000 coins were minted and out of those very few graded PR70!

 

True and I would agree that I would rather have a few tubes full over fewer slabs.

But that is not true for Proof or Mint Collector versions of the bullion coins.

 

How many ASE proofs from the mint aren't already 69 DCAMS? Didn't the graded ones all come out of the little blue velvet boxes anyway? I like the coins in the boxes myself with the round plastic holder. I would never buy one slabbed unless I was gonna break it out and put it back into a mint package. Just my taste for them.

 

I don't think there is any right answer for this, I stack the round holders and throw away box. They just take up a lot of space over time. I don't like all kinds of irregular shapes so the mint and proof sets go into Dansco albums.

 

I agree about the boxes and COAs and junk like that. I just want the coin in the round holder so I can put it into the wall display frame I end up making for the set. Slabs will never 'fit' into my display goals.

 

Ahh, I missed that part.

So in theory you don't need to own any coins right now, you can just borrow and study?

 

Thanks, and yes, that's what I was driving at. :thumb: