Question for Album collecters (and those who also buy slabs)

Simple

How does one determine how much money, or more specifically how good of quality, they spend on a coin that is going in an album. Obviously, one would want the nicest looking coin possible but who is going to crack out 69DCAMs so they can fill their albums?

I am faced with this dillema myself and have taken an approach I am not yet sure makes sense. I try to first fill the albums with any coin I can get my hands on, usually a low grade circulated coin in hopes of one day upgrading the coins that don't meet my personal standards. The question, though, is how much?

Do other people have the same dillema? Obviously this pertains to older, more difficult coins where the cost difference between a beautiful BU and Circulated is quite high.

MacCoin

I have the same problem but I leave holes in the album with a sticky paper saying pcgs what ever the grade is look in the pgcs boxes.

dorkkarl

<< <i>How does one determine how much money ... they spend on a coin that is going in an album ... who is going to crack out 69DCAMs so they can fill their albums? ... I am faced with this dillema >>

i'd do it in a second (well, 4 seconds, which is about how long it takes to crack a coin out). is money your motivating factor in buying coins? if so, you need to bail on the whole album idea - your a slab collector (which is fine, no offense, but that's the truth).

i do have a very simple solution: if it's a coin i like, i really REALLY like, i plan to keep it anyway regardless, & couldn't care less how much "money" it costs. it gets cracked out & album-ed right away.

simple solution, no heartaches, but it relies on you being an honest coin-collector, & truly TRULY collecting what you like. if you "settle" for coins, YOU WILL GET HOSED, as i did w/ my pcgs-slabed buffalo nickels

K S

morganbarber

69DCAMs are not meant to be cracked for the purpose of filling albums. Usually, AU58s are prettier and cheaper than MS60s. I would not reccomend filling albums with ultra-highgrade coins. You should choose either very high grade slabs, or pretty raw coins. My opinion only.

DeepCoin

There is quite a difference between a 69DCAM and a circulated coin. If you are collecting modern proofs, I would recommend buying coins still in the Mint packaging and then keeping them in Eagle albums.

The current Mint products are of exceptionally high quality, so many of your raw coins are 69DCAMs.

I say this from the perspective of having nice raw moderns in albums (complete Frankie set in a Dansco for example) and a certified Mercury set in Eagle albums. Both provide a wonderful double sided display.

I dont collect slabbed moderns, so I do not have any advice on what to do with those coins. Good luck and enjoy your collection.

Baley

simple, here's a thread on the related topic:

cracking out coins to put in albums

basically, you have to use common sense, combined with your level of experience and confidence in handling the coins, as well as judgement of what could happen to the coin "out of the holder" in terms of its protection and potential changes to its value. My favorite older type coin to free from a slab and display in an album is choice AU/lightly cleaned because of the "bang for the buck"

I have no problem cracking out new coins to display in albums all the way up to about MS/PF65. Above that, I tend to leave them in their holders, where their surface conditions and value can be better protected and documented. fir the newest coins in my albums, they were purchased raw and never saw the inside of the slab in the first place.

as for just "first fill the albums with any coin I can get my hands on, usually a low grade circulated coin in hopes of one day upgrading the coins that don't meet my personal standards." I find that's fine if the first, low grade coin is inexpensive. for older, rarer coins, its usually best to stretch a bit the first time and not have to deal with the transaction costs and hassle to upgrade.

Steve27

69DCAMs can be found cheap enough to be placed in albums, just by the proof set and remove the coin from there. Don't crack them out of slabs, they go for too much of a premium when slabbed.

Simple

Thanks for the feedback. It is interesting to see the difference in opinion from board members that range from one end of the spectrum to the other. I agree - buying proof sets straight from the mint into an album makes sense and something I do. It is those older coins that start to make it more difficult to decide.

dorkkarl

here's a motto you can live by:

when in doubt,
crack it out



K S

g097103

I have no qualms about cracking any coin out of a holder to go into my albums. I collect coins not plastic trinkets. Some coins I
may keep in slabs if they are keys for authentication purposes, but that is subject to whim.