old PCGS slabs

coinfreak499

Is there a good chance of an 1-2 point upgrade from these?

topstuf

At LEAST.

coynclecter

Some yes, some no

If you find at a show or from a dealer the answer is most likely NO. This game is a couple of years old and most that can upgrade have been upgraded. What is left is the scrubs and the will tell you that it will "most likely upgrade'

Now if you have some that you have had for 10+ years I would definitely send them in for a shot.

LAWMAN

I've had 5 MS 65 common date saints ('24, '25 and '27) just sitting waiting. They were slabbed around "87/'88-

Should I send them back in?

airplanenut

There's a good chance if the coin warrants it. Some are undergraded, some are overgraded, some are just right. Look at the coin, not the holder. As it is, a lot that will upgrade... HAVE upgraded already.

oreville

I am NOT a propronent of sending in old PCGS slabs for possible upgrading. Someday those who kept the oldies will be handsomely rewarded.

edsiajb

I have a MS63DMPL Morgan that I lost over 10 years ago and found recently. It is the original type holder. Should I send it in? I dislike the holder anyway.

Stuart

Oreville: It kind of reminds me of all the dealers who cracked out their CC Morgans from the original GSA holders because they were perceived to be too bulky to carry around, or because they wanted them certified and slabbed either by PCGS or by NGC prior to NGC certifying them in their original holders.

Their actions increased the value of the diminished number of coins that remained in the original GSA holders... As we know, today CC Morgans in their original GSA issued plastic holders are worth a significant premium over those that were cracked out...

I think that there's a lesson to be learned here -- Leave well-enough alone

coinfreak499

thanks

coynclecter

Let me add that you should send them i for upgrade IF and WHEN you plan to sell. Until then, wait. The standards will change again.

Steve27

Listen to Jeremy, the old green holder means nothing, it's the coin that counts.

nwcs

No, most of them have already been upgraded.

fivecents

Alot of collectors will keep even the undergraded coins in these older rattler holders because of the mystic of these first PCGS slabs.

GoYankees

They aren't kidding when they call those holders "rattlers". At the Auburn, MA show, I bought a nice Buffalo in a 1st-gen. holder. When I left I had it in my pocket and as I was walking to Burger King, that holder was rattling non-stop. It sounded like loose dice in my pocket.

stman

roadrunner

See my earlier "no response" thread from yesterday on this topic.
I just got 3 of these off ebay from the same seller in the same night and all 3 will certainly upgrade a point. 1 or 2 of these have a shot at 2 points (but slim). It all depends the source of the "rattlers."
And I'm leaving them in these holders for the moment. Better left alone.

I concur with Coynclector and Oreville. I regret cracking out a few of my pieces for current upgrades. In the event they don't upgrade the point, you are left with a PQ coin that everyone knows didn't upgrade...hence it will most likely not bring as much money than if it were left along. Everyone likes the lottery. So leave it intact.
The older holders will be worth an exorbitant premium down the road (if not already). Only crack em when it comes time to sell...if you are so inclined. But in the auction rooms...these bring what they really are. I recently sold a PF63 Barber proof rattler for 30% over 64 bid. Both the buyer and I knew it had a good chance to 65.

roadrunner

DrPete

Sometimes I like to buy first generation coins just to have the holders as souvenirs, although I keep the coins holdered. For example, 1881-S Morgan dollars in MS 63 that even if undergraded by a point wouldn't be worth the cost of a regrade. These coins often sell for only about $25-30 and cost less than what it
initially cost just to be slabbed. I have three such Morgans and a Washington quarter and Merc. Dime in my little collection of "rattlers."

coinbuf

My MS64RB 1909-S VDB is in a rattler and might go MS65 today but no TPG is ever going to see it.

BillJones

To answer this question you have to know how to grade coins. It can only be done on a case by case basis. You can't just say, "ALL coins in the old rattler holders will upgraade." Or, "All coins in the green label holders are undergraded."

There was a time in the "little old rattler" era when PCGS was much too conservative. For example I upgraded a $5 Indian gold from AU-58 to MS-63 and a $10 Liberty from MS-64 to MS-65. BUT there was also a time in the "rattler days" when PCGS became too liberal.

So far as the green label holders go, the situation is similar to today EXCEPT that were were some coins, especially in the area of early type, when the grading was overly conservative. BUT that does not apply to all green label holders.

YOU HAVE KNOW HOW GRADE TO SPOT THE UNDERGRADED PIECES! You can't relay on the type of holder alone!

BTW the same concepts apply to old NGC slabs as well. Some of them are prime upgrade candidates.

Coppernicus

I've got quite a few Lincoln wheats in "rattlers." I'd say that on average they are a bit undergraded, say 1 point, but some are overgraded by a point, IMHO. It's just that there are a few more undergraded than overgraded; thus, my second statement above.

I haven't cracked any of them and don't plan to until I sell the set. Then some will be cracked to get the extra point. Others will remain in the 1st gen. holder.

BTW, I'd have to say that I see about the same over/under graded proportions in the green label holders. No scientific sampling here, just my perception of the grade distribution.

Mike

BillJones

The one thing that I would add is that before you crack a coin for an upgrade, you should look at the prices between the grade that's now on the holder and the grade that you are hoping to get.

For example I have a really pretty 1905 $2.50 gold piece in my type set that is in a PCGS MS-63 green label holder. Before I decided to put the coin in my collection I had it out for sale for a short while in my case. A couple of dealers told me that I should crack it out and resubmit it or send it back to PCGS for a grade review. The trouble is the current price difference between MS-63 and MS-64 is only $125 ($600 to $725). Given the cost and the risk that the coin might not upgrade (which I think is really very small) there’s not enough financial incentive there to have it regraded.