Do slabs make you less picky on your KEY dates?

topstuf

IF you collect whole series, that is. In the old days of ....albums..(?)..... the crummy key date REALLY stood out and drew your attention to it.

Now, with a box of slabs you can LOOK at the BEST coin/s and just have a "middlin" thingie for the keys ...but it's still COMPLETE....

Just curious as to whether it is now as important for collectors to have matched sets.

????????????

merz2

topstuf
In a word NO!!!!!!
The grade may be lower but it is because of the money.I buy the best I can afford and the eye appeal has to be there.Certainly not because of the slab it's in.

MacCoin

no I like my keys to be nice in a slab or raw. but I will buy a key quicker if it is in a slab and slab coins are the only why I buy sight unseen.

numonebuyer

I will take the opposite stance to the previous responders. I want my Key dates to be in a slab. Obviously I want the best possible coin that is in the slab, but if I had to choose between a PCGS MS-65 and a raw "MS-65" Morgan in a key date, I would have to go with the certified coin. I am pretty good at grading, but I have been fooled a couple of times.

shylock

Interesting post. When PCGS put the "Indian Head Showdown" on display at the September 2002 Long Beach show I watched a lot of serious IH collectors look over the 3 sets of PCGS graded coins. Most (myself included) looked at the 1877 first and were immediately swayed by Stewart Blay's out of this world example. It really set the tone for his collection, and the quality of his other tough dates solidified our first impression. So I'd conclude that no matter what level you're collecting a set in, the key dates will always leave a lasting impression.

numonebuyer

Well said Shylock.

jdimmick

As a key date collector, with only slab coins residing in my collection. The quality of the piece in question is of utmost importance, in fact if not more so than the grade itself in many cases. There are lot of unattractive coins holdered by the TPG's including PCGS, just becuase the grade is "whatever" doesnt mean the coin has eye-appeal?? or is nice.

I like for my key date coins to have that special look, and I am more pickier when choosing.

jim

goose3

<< <i>As a key date collector, with only slab coins residing in my collection. The quality of the piece in question is of utmost importance, in fact if not more so than the grade itself in many cases. There are lot of unattractive coins holdered by the TPG's including PCGS, just becuase the grade is "whatever" doesnt mean the coin has eye-appeal?? or is nice.

I like for my key date coins to have that special look, and I am more pickier when choosing.

jim >>




well said and I too am a Key date collector for the most part.

I'd rather have a pleasant looking problem free good4 Key date that a XF with problems.

I tend to buy mine slabbed also for some added protection for me.

Colorfulcoins

no no no no no no and noo!

puff

<< <i>no no no no no no and noo! >>

Hoot

I'm most picky about my key date coins. This is simply because I don't want to have to buy them over again and I also feel like they will endure best, in terms of my collection and investments, if they are appealing and interesting coins. Key dates that look average or poor will only provide me with personal disappointment in my decisions as a collector and will not bode well for a quality collection over time.

Hoot

UncleWiggly

If I need the key date raw, I'll buy it slabbed anyway and crack it out. Jerry

BAJJERFAN

As for matched sets, its a nice idea in theory but not so hot in practice. In the Morgan series its very tough to get all dates in MS63 even if you have the $$$. For some of the tougher dates there just aren't enough nice coins to go around unless you are willing to wait and wait for the right one.

coinkat

With all due respect, earlier series are very difficult to complete whereby all coins look alike. I prefer to have each coin add something to the collection

ccrdragon

absolutely not!!!!!!

oreville

Hmm, the opposite has happened with me.

Now, all I care about are the keys and the common dates. Very little in between! Strange.

topstuf

I mainly stick to only key dates also.
Mainly because at (shudder) "sale time" the only dates a buyer (usually) cares about is the keys.

But, I think some may have misconstrued my question. (Or I phrased it ambiguously)

My question was SUPPOSED to ask if FULL SET collectors cut more slack for keys if their collection was ALL SLABBED. Not a suggestion that no one cares about their key dates. But it used to be in the "old days" that since the collection was in an album, people would try to collect ALL the coins in the same condition and appearance to keep the set LOOKING uniform.

Am I twisting this out of shape?

A collection in an album if the keys are lower grade (not rats, but just not as nice as the commons) draws all attention to those few rare but lesser grade keys. (Herkimer asks how kum dem fore koins ain't ez nice as dem udders?)

THUS.....my question. IF the collection is slabbed, are you happy with oh, say, FINE (nice eye appeal mid circ) keys where the rest of the set may be Unc? Or some such relationship.

That's what I ....think.....I tried to ask.

haletj

Very interesting question! Personally I like well matched sets so my keys would have to match regardless of holders (unforntunately I can't afford all Lincolns in rd. I actually thought about getting a few common dates in rb to match say my 14-d for example. Probably won't though). I think it's harder to enjoy the well matchedness of a set if the set is in slabs. I hope to break all my coins out and put them in Whitman plastic holders which fit in pages of 20.

merz2

I too can't afford RED Key Lincolns.So I've purchased Circulated BN ones.Example 1909-S VDB AU BN PCGS,1914-D XF/AU BN raw.