Anyone here crack out most of his coins and collects them raw?

TheGoonies1985

What are the ups and downs of collecting this way you have learned over time?

Manifest_Destiny

I had my seated quarter collection in a dansco. I started slabbing them last year to make it easier for my kids to sell them. The upside is you get to actually hold the coins and they're all together in a compact format. The downside is, you can't sell them easily.

Colonialcoin

I collect US colonial coins and notes and have zero slabs in my collection. I will immediately break it out of its confines if it is “certified”.

KiwiNumi

I know many ancient coin collectors prefer to buy coins graded and then crack them out so they can handle them with their hands (often with gloves.)
An increasingly small number of people will also crack out coins to put into their albums. I personally prefer to keep mine in slabs in case I sell/trade/upgrade them in the future. A slabbed coin will ALWAYS sell for more than a raw coin in the same condition as long as its from a reliable TPG.

OAKSTAR

I wouldn't say most but I have cracked out coins to complete albums. Mostly to ensure they are problem free and not counterfeits. It's all upside for me...........why?............Because I like it.

lkenefic

I cracked more than a couple to finish my 7070 but I stopped after I completed the set. I buy most of my large cents raw but I also have a few that are slabbed. As a general rule at this point in my collecting... if I like the coin and the price meets my budget, I'll buy it. That said, I also gravitate to slabbed coins for those issues that are heavily counterfeited or are more pricey (relatively speaking).

I'm not sure when I'll decide to sell off the 7070... I do like the presentation of an album, but whenever that day comes, I'll get the higher dollar coins slabbed because that does make them easier to sell too.

nwcoast

I’ve cracked out just a handful to complete albums, but no more than that.
More recently I have added photos of coins and labels into those albums to avoid cracking those graded slabs.

lcutler

@Colonialcoin said:
I collect US colonial coins and notes and have zero slabs in my collection. I will immediately break it out of its confines if it is “certified”.

I collect colonials as well and do the same thing, with one exception. I have a French, 30 Denier, counterfeit actually, from a hoard discovered in England. It is in a slab marked New World Hoard which I left for the provenance.

Morgan13

I have cracked out specific coins for my album. Primarily 1921 PL Morgan's. Outside of that I prefer to keep them in slabs. Definetly easier to resell for more money.

Twobitcollector

I did that when I made my 7070.

Onastone

@Manifest_Destiny said:

The upside is you get to actually hold the coins and they're all together in a compact format.

Amazing how much space you can save in a compact format! Even RAW coins can take up a lot of space if you keep them in original boxes they're sold in. I do enjoy some coins in a little tray, kept raw, circulated, & fun to hold and examine...but most of my raw coins are kept in capsules.

BillJones

I don’t crack out anything although I am sorely tempted to do it with a couple of my less expensive ancient Roman and political pieces. Unfortunately, just about everything that appears in auctions is graded these days. Cracking them out only involves having to get them graded again to get the best price.

lcoopie

Someone paid to send in and get a professional grade, encapsulate it, and send it back.

If you don’t want the benefit of someone else’s spent money, then crack away.

coastaljerseyguy

I think I cracked at least 70+ Morgans, Peace and WLHs for my albums. Cracked nothing higher then MS64 for common dates. But have cracked Rattlers, many soap bars, including Gen 2 alpha/numeric, old NGC, CAC sticker, and a 93-S.
At one time I was trying for the complete Morgan set in holder, Dansco and LOC albums and was 90% there. Had the best in slab, then Dansco, then circulated in LOCs. To fund son's college, sold most of the Morgan slabs. After that, I cracked some nice remaining slabs to complete the Dansco.

I like albums, but still have a dozen slabs that are duplicates. Kept all the slab grades for reference. Profit loss doesn't bother me nor loss of marketability. Never started hobby for profit, only enjoyment.

PeakRarities

Sometimes

lkenefic

^^^Seriously Cool^^^

TwoSides2aCoin

One of my customers cracks everything out. Key dates , higher grades, etc., it's quite disturbing to me but he likes them raw and in Dansco Albums. Yesterday he had two slabbed coins he picked up in Kansas City and wanted to show me prior to cracking them. 0ne cost him $4500, the other was $2150.

Each to their own.

lkenefic

There are definitely LOTS of different ways of enjoying this hobby...

jfriedm56

Standing next to a guy at a show who was buying GSA CC dollars so he could crack them out to send to PCGS. I couldn’t contain myself and said to him that it would be better to just buy ones that were already encapsulated by a third party company. And he would be destroying part of numismatic history. I think the dealer wasn’t too happy with me costing him a sale and this was a dealer I purchased from regularly. Oh well. I hope I convinced him not to crack them out.

OAKSTAR

@lkenefic said:
There are definitely LOTS of different ways of enjoying this hobby...

We both have the same idea. Just a suggestion:

MrEureka

@lkenefic said:

I think of a coin collection as a work of art, and presentation matters. Just saying.

OAKSTAR

@PillarDollarCollector said:
Anyone here crack out most of his coins and collects them raw?

No! 🤣 😂 👍

jesbroken

Done so many times for my albums. I just place my holders label on the final page in a coin zip lok baggie. I have an 09s and 31s lincoln, along with a 75s 20 cent piece to crack out for albums. I use a bandsaw and have never even came close to damaging a coin or a label.
But have never even came to 5% of my holdered coins cracked out.
Jim

OAKSTAR

@jesbroken - It's easy. 🤣 😉 👍🏻

From this:

To this:

To this:

To this:

To this:

jesbroken

Oh, I see, now.
Jim

DisneyFan

@DeplorableDan said:
Sometimes

Did you really???

DisneyFan

I just wonder that as our eyesight gets weaker we would prefer to have our coins in slabs so we can easily read the dates and mintmarks rather than trying to flip the pages back and forth.

yspsales

I can't do it.

Is it OCA or ADD?

I get the shakes if my slabs don't match.

The host has me brainwashed.

coinkat

Seems there is more than one question- collecting raw is fun and reasonable. Buying raw coins at certain grade levels is also fun and reasonable. If what is being collected is price sensitive based on condition rarity, then cracking out coins within that set simply does not seem to be a winning financial strategy. And buying certain types of coins in series that have been graded in an effort to avoid counterfeits makes some sense at some level... but then cracking them out seems to defeat the purpose.

PeakRarities

@DisneyFan said:

@DeplorableDan said:
Sometimes

Did you really???

I did, the holder was all scratchy and I’m keeping it for a while. Eventually I’ll get it into a different holder.

DisneyFan

@DeplorableDan said:

@DisneyFan said:

@DeplorableDan said:
Sometimes

Did you really???

I did, the holder was all scratchy and I’m keeping it for a while. Eventually I’ll get it into a different holder.

Have fun with your coin!

oilers99

I cracked out a PCGS XF-40 1909 s VDB and a PCGS VF-30 1922 no D to finish up the Dansco album. Also several coins for the 7070 Dansco including the Gold page. It's much more enjoyable to see the complete album this way.

Morgan13

I have cracked out many coins for my albums.
I still have a few that I wouldn't touch.
I think raw coins are so much more interesting. Not that anything is wrong with slabbed coins either.
I guess I'm 50/50.

OAKSTAR

I'm trying to think of a good numismatic term or phrase that would accurately describe or depicted a collector that cracks out coins. Is there one?

Sounds like a topic for a new thread.

PeakRarities

@OAKSTAR said:
I'm trying to think of a good numismatic term or phrase that would accurately describe or depicted a collector that cracks out coins. Is there one?

Sounds like a topic for a new thread.

Cracker
Crack head
Raw Dog

jacrispies

@OAKSTAR said:
I'm trying to think of a good numismatic term or phrase that would accurately describe or depicted a collector that cracks out coins. Is there one?

Sounds like a topic for a new thread.

A real numismatist.

Just kidding don't cancel me!!!

Copperindian

I do a lot of trading, flipping & upgrading. It’s much easier to do so with slabs. Plus, I’m looking ahead to where my coins end up. Raw coins would be a problem for my heirs as they don’t have an interest in the hobby like I do.
But I can understand those who like the feel & look of a raw coin in hand. I know of a high end IHC collector who cracks all of his slabs out to place in an album. Nothing wrong with this - to each his own.

erscolo

I have never sent a coin in for grading and have no intention of doing so. I do own 537 graded coins and would not think of breaking them out of the slab, as those slabs do protect the coin and make storage easier. I do not have any albums, and the rest of my 2,400 plus coins are in air-tite holders or their original government packaging in the case of uncirculated sets, proof sets and commemorative issues.

In the end, to each his or her own. I will say that 27 slab boxes are quite a good amount of them.

OAKSTAR

@erscolo said:
I have never sent a coin in for grading and have no intention of doing so. I do own 537 graded coins and would not think of breaking them out of the slab, as those slabs do protect the coin and make storage easier. I do not have any albums, and the rest of my 2,400 plus coins are in air-tite holders or their original government packaging in the case of uncirculated sets, proof sets and commemorative issues.

In the end, to each his or her own. I will say that 27 slab boxes are quite a good amount of them.

And that's what makes this hobby so interesting. There are so many different aspects, covering a wide range of interests.

lkenefic

I couldn't bring myself to crack the last coin for my 7070, so the "proxy coin" in the album serves as a marker for the transition in my collecting style (if I even have one)... These days, I "just say no"... to crack... ;-)

OAKSTAR

Agreed @lkenefic - Good looking page! 👍

I should start a new thread. For the crack lovers: "Which Coins Would You Never Crack Out?"

lkenefic

@OAKSTAR said:
Agreed @lkenefic - Good looking page! 👍

I should start a new thread. For the crack lovers: "Which Coins Would You Never Crack Out?"

...or... for those of us still "on crack"...

edited to add... https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1089579/confessions-of-a-reformed-crack-addict

OAKSTAR

@lkenefic said:

@OAKSTAR said:
Agreed @lkenefic - Good looking page! 👍

I should start a new thread. For the crack lovers: "Which Coins Would You Never Crack Out?"

...or... for those of us still "on crack"...

edited to add... https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1089579/confessions-of-a-reformed-crack-addict

I forgot about that thread @lkenefic, thanks!

oldabeintx

Not as enjoyable as albums but I keep and display my slabs in trays in Lighthouse boxes of 8, 12, 24 and 32. A good compromise. I’m a type guy tho, may not work with a long series.