Are some coins "bigger" than the holder?

braddick

I was looking at Michaels wonderful Classic coinage on another Thread and the thought ocurred to me. Are there some coins it simply doesn't matter what holder it is in?
ANACS. PCGS. NGC. Who cares?

The coin actually transcends the holder and is 'bigger' than the Service that authenticated and graded it.

Another example?
How about the Legend 1885 Proof Trade?

The holder (NGC in this case) is meaningless to me. The coin speaks past the plastic.
Many of ANACONDA'S coins also fall into this catagory as well as many of the coins shown here by all of us.

If anything, sometimes the insert and label and 'manmade' "grade" just gets in the way.
The plastic is just "noise"- speaking much too loudly, at times. It's the coin that speaks softly and to our hearts.

Am I alone in this thought?

(Edited to add the final question.)

Draco

IMHO, most patterns would qualify there. I wouldn't care what holder it was in so long as I'm reasonably sure that it's real.

DHeath

Pat,

I vote for putting the grade on the reverse of the holder. Far too much focus is placed on the grade assigned by a service, and beyond authentification, attribution, protection, the holder itself is only a guarantee of the minimum grade a coin qualifies for. Put it on the back of the holder, and lets look at the coins ourselves. Wouldn't you rather your eye be drawn to the coin first, without prejudice of the holder grade?

braddick

"Yes"

EVillageProwler

Pat,

If you collect die varieties, whether Bust coinage or more current coppers like Chuck Daughtrey, the holder matters little more than a means at authentication and environmental protection. When Joe Jaffe (a dealer in the hinterlands of NY State) discovered the 5th reverse die of the '70-CC Seated Dollar, his first thought was to write an article for the LSCC.

I wrote across the street that based on his studies of the 1854 DDR half dollar, Dick Osburn theorized that there must be a DDR version of the '54-O. Years later, he found one. Both the discovery coin of the '54-O DDR and his '54 DDR are raw; they are greater than the holder.

What was greater than the holder? The thrill of the discovery... In the case of the Eliasberg 1885 TD, it's the thrill of simply owning the finest of a very special coin. The plastic? Mankind makes them by quantity, and they are common as sin.

EVP