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Message:: [QUOTE="900fine, post: 448328, member: 6036"]All agree "Buy the coin, not the slab". But that doesn't mean that the slab has no value. Let's say you're at a coin show. You're conscientous and have read up and studied up. You've been around for a while... maybe five years or so. You spot a piece that is a stretch - both financially and expertise-wise. Not a big stretch, but you are expanding your horizon on this one. It appears to be an exceptional coin, and you've looking for one of these for a while. Lucky you ! You spot an acquaintance whom you know is quite knowledgeable in this area. An expert on this coin. Would you listen to his advice ? Of course. Would you blindly accept his advice ? Of course not.  An expert opinion would be part of your decision process... your final decision is a result of all the inputs - your expertise plus advice from others. The final decision is your and yours alone. And that's what a slab is - an expert opinion. Actually it's the consensus of three experts - all of 'em are probably better than I. Don't think of a "slab" as merely the plastic. Include the expert opinion that is bundled with it. Are experts always right ? No.  Are they always totally consistent ? No. No one is. Neither are the TPGs. But I feel TPGs are accurate enough for me to consider their expert opinion when making my decision.[/QUOTE]