When is it worth breaking an ancient out a slab?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Swervo513, Oct 2, 2024.

  1. Swervo513

    Swervo513 Well-Known Member

    Hi all,

    I have recently dived into ancient coins heavily. Before it was just a fascination. I would say now I am trying to specialize more in Ancient Greek and Roman coins with a few other contemporary mintages.

    Being the constant newbie I’ve made a few bad choices. I’ve overpaid for some damaged Aurei. 3 to be exact. In my excitement at finding 3 aurei floating in the 2k -2.8k range I quickly bought them not taking account of how bad they were. I know rookie mistake. The Titus aureus is edge filed, the Tiberius aureus is ex-jewelry, and the Nero Aureus is brushed. I’d say the Nero is the best of the bunch.

    I know this is a contested debate. From a logical perspective, is it better to crack these coins out of their NGC holder? Can I hurt the value by cracking them out? Since, the labels are so bad I figured it couldn’t hurt to take them out. Plus it would be fun to hold a bunch of Aurei in my hand. But, my question is from a rational standpoint.

    Is it beneficial to keep low quality ancients in a slab or to remove them to enjoy in hand?

    When is it ok to crack them out? When should you absolutely not crack them out?

    Does the holder make them more desirable or is it hurting their image?

    Below is my only current picture of the group along with some other coins. Please, feel free to add your input!

    IMG_1778.jpeg

    Thanks,
    Larry
     
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  3. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

    It's always OK. There is no need to slab an ancient and if you like, you can always keep the label from the slab...I do.
     
  4. nerosmyfavorite68

    nerosmyfavorite68 Well-Known Member

    I second the motion. If I were less of a klutz, all the execrable slabs would be broken. I only have maybe a dozen, all presents.
     
    sand likes this.
  5. JayAg47

    JayAg47 Well-Known Member

    Break it out and enjoy the coins! I can understand if they are mint start aureii, but these have seen better days and are meant to be fondled.
    IMG_9466.gif
    While i don’t have any slabs, i do keep high value coins in a capsule unlike other coins that just sit freely in my album.
     
    BenSi, Johndakerftw, GinoLR and 2 others like this.
  6. Pickin and Grinin

    Pickin and Grinin Well-Known Member

    Yes to all of the above, free those metal pleasures.
    Honestly, if it is worth more in the slab keep it there. I am not a fan of tombs.
     
  7. The Meat man

    The Meat man Well-Known Member

    I would absolutely break them out!

    One of the nice things about ancients is that the "problems" you speak of don't matter nearly as much to us as they would to a collector of modern coins. Ancient coins have been carelessly tossed around for decades before being buried for centuries. In most cases they're going to be a bit beat-up (and this can add to their charm.) A bit of edge filing from an old jewelry mount, or some brush marks, isn't usually a big deal.

    Edit: All that to say, don't judge the value of your purchases by the somewhat artificial standards of modern collecting! ;)
     
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  8. Swervo513

    Swervo513 Well-Known Member

    I appreciate you all for the vote of confidence. I most likely will crack them out.

    But I am curious, are they worth more in the slab or out? Being that the designations are less than desirable would they be worth more if those remarks were not seen? Most dealers told me to leave them in the plastic.
     
    sand likes this.
  9. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

    and how many of them were ancient coin dealers?

    being in a slab does not help value...frequently they sell for less because of the slab.

    as far as the remarks on the slab; they would be included in any coin description by any honest collector or dealer that might plan on selling the coins.
     
    BenSi and philologus_1 like this.
  10. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    The only coins I keep in slabs are the ones I am worried about authenticity. I have an example of Andronicus El Aspron trachy slabbed only because the fakes of that coin run freely in the market. Other than that slabs hold no place in the ancient coin market, I want to have these coins in my hands. Touch the history.
     
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  11. Cherd

    Cherd Junior Member

    If you prefer raw coins, then crack them out.

    But to your question, "When is it worth it"?........ Never.

    Buying slabbed coins and cracking them out is a losing proposition from a financial perspective. A lot of ancient collectors crack out coins and brag about it because they think that all of the other tag-alongs will think that they are cool. Don't be one of those people.... collect what you like.
     
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  12. LukeGob

    LukeGob Well-Known Member

    Whenever you find one trapped in a slab. We call possession of a coin "In-hand" for a reason.
     
  13. ewomack

    ewomack 魚の下着

    Ancient collectors will almost always tell you to crack coins out of their slabs, modern collectors will almost always tell you to leave them in. In the end, it's up to you, you bought the coins. For me, it depends. I have a few ancients in slabs because I bought them that way and it doesn't really bother me. Most, about 99%, of my ancients are raw, though. For modern coins, I prefer them slabbed for the reasons mentioned: slabbed coins (especially moderns) are generally (but not always) easier to sell. That's been my general experience. I would keep very rare or expensive coins slabbed, modern or ancient, just for resale purposes. Cheaper ancient coins (under $1,000), I wouldn't have much problem cracking out. But the slabs don't really bother me, either. It's up to you in the end.
     
    Cherd likes this.
  14. red_spork

    red_spork Triumvir monetalis

    The slab collectors will tell you to leave all coins in slabs but most of them also won't buy coins with big glaring problems like "edge filing" or "brushed" listed on the slab and staring back at them every time they look at the slab. TBH I wouldn't either, I don't need NGC to spell it out for me but I also don't want to have to see it every single time I look at the coin. I don't really think your aureii will fetch a different price in or out of the slab because of this.

    Is resale easier in a slab? In my experience, not really. If you can't properly write up and photograph a coin resale is going to be a pain in or out of a slab unless you have somewhere you can go and sell them in person and the number of places for that is pretty small. If anything my experience is I can generally get slabbed coins from amateur sellers on sites like ebay cheaper than similar raw coins if for no other reason than slabs make coins more difficult to photograph and after their coin sits for a year they'll be more likely to accept my lowball offer.
     
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  15. Swervo513

    Swervo513 Well-Known Member

    Wow excellent responses. I will most likely take them out. I’m just nervous because I’ve never done it before. I was thinking using pliers to break it open.
     
  16. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

    I use a small sledgehammer. Wrap the slab in a towel and set it on its edge and one firm but gentle tap with the hammer will open it up.
     
  17. sand

    sand Well-Known Member

    Here's my hacksaw method.
    upload_2024-10-13_18-9-44.jpeg
    Then, I use a large flat head screwdriver, to pry the 2 halves apart.
    @Swervo513 Regarding whether you should free your 3 aurei from their slabs, it is a complicated situation, which depends on your personal preferences. If you want to sell the 3 aurei soon, then it seems to me, that you would get more money for them, and it would be less time consuming, and you could sell them more quickly, if you left the coins in the slabs. For some auction houses, such as Heritage and Great Collections, most of the coins they auction, are slabbed coins. And, a slabbed coin seems to be easier to sell on Ebay, than an un-slabbed coin. Also, if you want to sell your coins at a local coin show, then it seems like it would be easier to sell your coins, if they were in slabs. Even though the Titus aureus is edge filed, and the Tiberius aureus is ex-jewelry, and the Nero Aureus is brushed. But, if you want to keep the aurei for a long time, and if you prefer your coins to be un-slabbed, then it would make sense to remove the coins from the slabs.
     
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  18. Swervo513

    Swervo513 Well-Known Member

    This is exactly the sort of response I was looking for. And it’s a practical way to decide. Now I just have to decide if I am keeping them long term. I’d like to do a full denomination set of the 12 Caesar’s. And beyond if possible. The aureus portion is going to be the toughest part to complete. I’ve already got 4 of the 12 Caesar’s but some are extremely rare in gold. Getting a gold portrait of Julius Caesar will be close to impossible but it is a bucket list coin for me. Nice Aegina turtle btw! I’m looking for a lower quality example to fill the void.
     
    sand likes this.
  19. The Meat man

    The Meat man Well-Known Member

    From what I've observed, slabs don't really increase the resale value on medium- or lower-grade coins. It's when the coin can be labeled "MS* 5/5" etc. that prices can go sky-high, especially at a venue like Heritage which caters to that sort of collector.
    The OP's coins won't become less sellable by de-slabbing.
     
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  20. calcol

    calcol Supporter! Supporter

    What I use to open slabs is pictured below. Safe for coin and collector and easy to use. Cal
    nippers_8_inch_Wiha_b.JPG
     
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  21. Blake Davis

    Blake Davis Well-Known Member

    I wear goggles, put a plier on each end twist a bit. Once it cracks it is usually easy to remove - done it at least a dozen times. Ancient coins and slabs do not go together.
     
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