What would you do????

I might regret this because I'll end up with 100 differant opinions but here goes...

As I said in my intro, I have been collecting for quite a while and have nearly 6500 pieces in my collections.
I am proud to say, I have ALL raws coins with the exception of my Goodacre (which kinda doesn't count as a slab).
This year I joined PCGS and I am ready to start the next step...slabing my coins.
So...
How to proceed?
maybe..focus on slabing all the completed (100%) sets i.e., Statehood quarters (incl states, terrorties, and national parks to date plus all proofs and silver), or maybe Presidential (incl proofs), or maybe SAC + Native Americans (again everything to date)
or
forget focusing on a set and focus on the slabbing all the proofs and silver from everything (cents to dollars)

...yikes, this is a BIG task and will be done over many years. I'd have to remorgage the house, sell the kids and wife to do it in one year!...WAIT
maybe that is another option (only kidding)

...so, what would you do?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Well, your proofs and such are (assuming here..bad I know) still in mint packaging, so they're safer than others. I'd wait to do those, unless you have some rare ones.

I'd start with what you have that is older and in great shape. Then move forward through everything else. That's how I would do it, as I recently joined as well, and am using my free 8 on some of my gem wheaties that I've come across that are in beautiful condition, just sitting in some flips.

 

I'd skip PCGS, spend that $$$ on more coins. That's just me though.

 

Pick out the absolute "best" coins that you have and submit them with your 8 vouchers. You DID get the Platinum Membership which gives you 8 free grading vouchers didn't you?

IMO, if anybody is going to join the PCGS Collectors Club so that they can submit coins for grading, they might as well go for the Platinum since it does give you 8 "regular" (15 day turnaround at $32 each) free submissions which would normally cost you $256 for only $199.

After you pick out your best and submit them, you might be surprised.

Surprised at the crap you've been buying

OR

Surprised at how good your eye actually is!

At any, after the first submission, then you can decide whether or not you want to continue as the process can be incredibly frustrating and/or rewarding. At least, that is what my experiences have been which I guess............makes me kind of a masochist ................... given the beatings I've taken lately.

OY!

Good Luck!

 

starting from the top
... i have always purchased 2 sets of everything... one to keep in the original packaging and the other to break apart into indivdual 2x2 packages... same opinion?

 

2nd from the top...
too late...we could debate whether PCGS is worth it...another thread

 

NO...i did my little cost analysis and could NOT get myself to spend the extra money for no apparrent value....went with silver(i think) for only 4 freebies.

 

Can you give us a better idea of what specific coins you have in your collection? TC

 

Yeah, still same opinion, only varying slightly. I'd still do older, better coins first, then move forward to your Silver that's in 2x2's if you have them that way, then proofs broken up, etc. Always go for what is going to be a better deal in the end. A state quarter certified isn't more valuable than older gems certified.

 

I'm with the "don't slab any of it" camp. Unless you think you have something super there.
For example I saw in one of the price guides that an uncirculated MS-69 1982-D George Washington 50 cent commemorative is worth $150. If I had one of those I thought could grade MS-69 I'd send it in.

 

Slabbing is great for selling coins. It's also a good way to protect them, authenticate them, and have them ready to sell. There is value though the cost is significant and far more significant if you have a large number. Most coins are simply not worth the cost of slabbing. The better of two random modern coins is rarely worth substantially more after slabbing and low value coins are not increased by the cost.

There is one advantage to having your coins graded and that's they'll be ready at any time if prices spike. You'll have a slight advantage getting graded early as standards seem to toughen up as more coins come in for grading.

If it's worth the cost to you then go ahead but like others I'd use some or most of the cost of slabbing to buy more coins instead.

I would go very slow until you're sure you're doing the right thing.

 

You will go bankrupt slabbing coins indiscriminantly. Share what you have and why you would like to have it slabbed and then we might be able to help you much better. By the way, I am also located in CT.

 

If anything, for the modern proof/mint sets, sell your raw coins and then re-buy graded ones. It sounds counter-productive, but unless you have all 70's and you KNOW you have 70's, it will be cheaper than trying to go get them slabbed. And, if you read a lot of the posts here you'll get the idea that the 70's are not easy to spot and there's plenty of examples of folks getting 70 grades on coins they were sure were 69's and vice versa. For me in most cases I can't tell the difference between PR69 and PR70 with the naked eye, so I don't strive for the "perfect" 70, and keep my costs down.

I prefer slabs or at the very least plastic holders myself. If you are patient, you can find good grades cheaper on eBay. For example I've put together almost 6 sets of silver state quarters in PR-69 grades from both PCGS and NGC for about an average cost of under $10 per coin. I've been able to assemble almost a complete set of MS-65 and MS-66 Pres dollars, mostly PCGS for around $6 a coin, and PR-69 sets for about $8 a coin. There's no way you'll come under that cost even with the freebies you get every year, and with a 50-60 coin set you're talking a savings of hundreds if not thousands of dollars in grading costs over time.

Where you can at least have a chance to break even is for the older coins like the Kennedy and Franklin halves, Ike dollars, etc, where the value of a well graded coin may well exceed your cost to grade/slab, but you need to get a feel for what's worth the shot and what's not. Again, in certain cases you're probably better off just trying to land a slab for anything worth under $25. Then again the anticipation and waiting for the results does make for a cool feeling, and to some that alone is worth the money.

 

Oh YES! He better listen to you...:thumb:
:thumb:

 

6500 coins? Wow, that's quite a collection!

I would slab coins that I intended to sell first, and the most valuable coins second.

But that's just me and YMMV.

 

Start with highest value and don't bother with anything worth less than $300.

 

Nothing. That set was amassed in 'raw' form and I'd leave it that way. You want something 'slabbed'? Buy it slabbed.......

 

Op, the most important question to ask yourself is WHY? Why do you want to slab? Do you have rare coins you wish to certify are real? Do you have coins in high condition where one tiny grade can be huge differences in value? Do you wish to compete in registry sets?

Those are reasons i could think of to slab, (not saying i agree with each). But to just say "i have to get them all slabbed" does not make sense. Most of the coins you mentioned it would be a waste of money to slab.

Sit down and ask yourself why. Because all of the cool kids do it is not a great answer.

 

Thanks for all the advice so far. This is what i heard and/or interpeted so far..
(1) I have no intent to sell anything that made it into my collection. So my reason for slabbing is purely for preservation purposes. You have to understand that the coins that got put into the 2x2s (aka my collection) were the best of everything i have searched over the years. Anything that didn't make the cut (and didn't get thrown back into circulation) is stored in regular wrappers inside Land O' Lake cheese boxes. There is a LOT of 90% and 40% in them there boxes We'll just call that the TA Hoard for now.
(2) Obviously i have never been a fan of slabbing, always thought it was overpriced. Decided that this was the year that I would protect some of those. I am not going to stop collecting raw stuff. Like I said, I don't think i could afford to do that even is I want to. I guess it is just selectively picking and choicing the ones to protect
(3) Most of you like the ...slab the high value items across all sets rather than slab an entire set. I can live with that.

...more thoughts?

 

There are lots of good products out there that protect coins just as well or better than slabs. You are the first i have heard of slabbing just for safety.

Read about cointain maybe.