Would you consider the condition of the slab when buying a coin?
OldGold
Posts: 41 ✭✭
So looking back as some recent eBay purchases, I noticed that the condition of the slabs have varied greatly. Some are pristine, some a little scratched and one was cracked with a chunk missing (seller took care of it though). That got me wondering, if I had been looking at these coins in person would the slab condition have played any role on my purchases or price offered? Granted, you are buying the coin and not the holder and you can always get a coin re-slabbed, but this service is not free. For me, if I was looking at two nearly identical coins and one slab was scratched and one was not I may tend to pick the non-damaged slab over the scratched one if the coins were of equal quality.
Just wondering what everyone else’s take was on this?
Any damaged slab horror stories?
Comments
Yes. It will cost money to get the coin into an undamaged slab. That should be taken into consideration.
Preference is an undamaged slab if everything else is equal.
Buy the coin, not the slab.
If a slab is messed up, I may pass on the coin. However, if the coin is exceptional, I'd get it and have it reholdered...
I hate damaged slabs.
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If the slab is badly cracked or chipped, that would be a concern to me, otherwise I can easily remove scratches and blemishes with Scratchx 2.0 by Meguiar and a microfiber cloth. I polish all my slabs, even ones with microscopic hairlines, makes them look fresh from the grading services. Also, It;s great to see the coins clearly without distractions. Some require a little elbow grease but it's well worth it!
I do consider it though if the coin itself is not in jeopardy I would still purchase. I do not plan to sell any of my collection so the slabs condition is not a deal breaker.
Every collector should have some Maguires or similar product; it takes less than 30 seconds to remedy the problem usually.
Generally this advice is the way to go.
If it's a widget, a.k.a. dreck, that I just need to fill a hole in a big set, then why bother purchasing an example that has a messed-up slab? You can just wait on a better slab. On the other hand, if it's a rare coin that I need and/or cannot easily find, what's $17 for reholder/TrueView in the long run?
Only if it a holder which substantially affects the value. Doily or Redfield or GSA as examples.
+1
I definitely consider it in terms of the price I will pay. I’m buying the coin, but a damaged slab may impede the enjoyment of it if the slab damage interferes with my ability to view the coin (damage to parts of the slab away from the coin aren’t as much of an issue). Id definitely factor in the cost of reholdering if that will be necessary.
Problem slab ='s a reduction in the cost to reholder.
I would definitely consider a damaged slab to be an issue. If it was rare enough or if I wanted it badly enough then of course it could be reholdered.
But if I am buying that particular coin because it is slabbed (not the same thing as "buying the holder, not the coin"), then the condition of the slab is very important.
Some slabs can't be replaced and they add some or almost all of the value to a coin. For example, I have a 9/11 WTC recovery silver coin that is just melt value without the special label, and that can't be reissued if I have it reholdered.
Also, I have to admit, when I see a beat up slab I just figure the prior owner had no respect for the coin and that is a disincentive for some reason.
Doesn't matter for those aiming to do a crack out. Otherwise it's a thing of personal preference.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
I have removed lots of coins, mostly early coppers, from slabs, so the condition of the slab itself does not normally bother me. If the slab were so scuffed up that I did not feel confident that I could evaluate the coin properly, I would pass.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
I just figure in the cost of reslabbing. For some coins, it might not make sense....for any coin I like this is worth over $100 or so, that reslabbing fee becomes pretty easy to ignore.
Bought a Seated 1875-CC dime in a HORRIBLY scratched/gouged slab. Took a little extra time to make sure I could see the surfaces well enough to prove there was nothing being hidden....then paid the asking price. Didn't make me want to walk away!
Not these days... I don't buy many coins anymore but when I do, it's because I'm upgrading. When I can find a coin I like I'm going to try to buy it... If the slab is dirty, scratched or damaged, I'll just send it in for re-slabbing... That's a real PIA if it's also been beaned.
Have any of you ever used the fact that a slab is heavily damaged to negotiate a better price for a coin?
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Every coin I own has been reholdered for one reason or another.
I want them to all match so there's that obsessive issue also.
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Maybe since PCGS and CAC are together now they could rebean now too!
If I wanted the coin the poor slab wouldn't dissuade me. But I would expect a small discount for the reholdering cost (assuming the slab can't be restored).
Slab horror stories? Just a few like this in the last several years.
Lance.
Yes. But I am drawn to vintage slabs. If I found a coin I really wanted, in a slab generation I felt good about, but the slab was damaged? I'd probably pass. Reholdering isn't really an option.
--Severian the Lame
This came in an intact slab but one of the stacking legs is broken off.
I'd do something about it but it's stickered and would be too much trouble.
Not really, unless the scratches are so bad that they obscure the condition of the coin itself...or if the slab itself may have been compromised. Prefer a nice new slab, obviously, but it’s not a show-stopper for me, especially when it’s a difficult coin to locate.
Dave
Poorly maintained slabs bother me more than they probably should. I just don't get it: there's nothing difficult or tricky about keeping a slab in its original condition. A banged up slab doesn't stop me from going for the coin but I'll always have a mental grumble aimed at the person who seemingly didn't care.
Smitten with DBLCs.
The condition of slabs in a large auction is pretty abysmal by the time you might actually get possession of the coin. On occasion, I can't even see the coin well enough to make a go/no-go decision.
As others have said, it's pretty easy to clean up scuffs and even gouges. Broken corners are different, but usually a minor consideration. The Mona Lisa would still be a pretty good painting even in a damaged frame.
The focal areas over the coin on PCGS slabs before 201? had a tendency to get scuffed up through handling two slabs together or sliding across a table. How scuffed up the face of the slab told me the coin was rejected a few times between the buyer and dealer. I and many others over the years were instrumental in voicing their concerns with this problem with their holder. Than one day they came back and said they were having the holder redesigned. Can't remember if it was 2, 3 or 4 years back when they made the change.
But I have refused to buy a coin if I could not see it through the scuffs well. I remember buying one, a colorful 1955-D shown in my collection below. And yes, you can see the scuffs in the photo.
Leo
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
My Jefferson Nickel Collection
I am not building sets anymore... and since coins I purchase are of special attraction to me, the slab condition does not really enter into the decision....If it were a special coin, and a badly damaged slab, I would either crack it or send it in for re-slabbing....not a major issue for me. Cheers, RickO
If the slab is all scuffed up such that I can't effectively view the coin and you want full retail for the coin, not only will I pass on that coin, but I will put you on my list of dealers who don't really take pride in what they sell, which will probably negatively affect my desire to do any business with you. I don't care if it's an old holder. Polish it! Have lots of old holder stuff that'll take you all day to polish? Not my problem.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Great explanation Ditto!
Slightly peripheral to this, but at shows I notice some dealers who smack slabs on the table and/or slide them around and it always makes me cringe. Why not protect the case which cost $50ish? I have purchased coins with damaged slabs but I definitely required a price break for reholdering.
It seems the horribly scratched slabs of a few years ago are getting fewer.
I had to use the Simichrome far too often.
Yes damaged slabs no go for me / ditto for scratched. I will simply buy something else.
It is the responsibility of the seller take care of his slabs avoid scratches / chips. Get them reholdered if could be problem with a buyer
Damaged / scratched slabs can be reason for return.
No. If I think I can make money on the coin I don't care what the slab looks like
The latest generation of PCGS slabs have the lens recessed a fraction of a millimeter below the stacking tabs/fins. The lens doesn't contact tabletops or the glass on cases when being slid across them. As a result, fewer scratches. Not sure whether this was intentional or an accident. Now if they could only be made slightly concave.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Are you sure @Cougar1978, less than a minute and a few drops of Meguiar's PlastX and this 83CC PL looks like the day it was put in the holder.