Are we coin collectors or slab collectors?

Barry

All the talk and criticism of the new ANACS' slab amazes me. Does it really matter how attractive the label is? Do art collectors avoid certain paintings because the don't like the frame?

BAJJERFAN

Most of us collect coins in holders. Most cars will get you to the same place in the same amount of time but there is no doubt that styling is a consideration for many who buy a new car.

nankraut

I'm a collector of coins in PCGS Slabs

Coxe

Too many are slab collectors and too many registry folks are tag collectors. There are still real coin collectors, even among younger folks, but they seem to be in the minority from what I see at shows and elsewhere. TPGs have been great for several important reasons but the downside is that a lot of collectors don't bother learning to grade well and probably don't look at their coins much.

mirabela

I'm a believer in nippers, the hammer, and the cold chisel. I collect coins, but I recognize that slabs help even the odds when I buy them and sell them. They're sort of a necessary evil in a lot of cases, but the coin inside is what I'm after. In most cases, the thing is freed within hours of its arrival in my home.

MD

Freak1c

I collect coins no matter what they are in. If it strikes my fancy... I WANT IT NOW !!!


Freak

Gemineye

I hate to admit it to myself that I am a slab collector also.Even though I have coins that are not encapsulated by the TPG ....I find I MUST have those also.I have become addicted more or less to them.It is just the urge to purchase them.Is that wrong.....????
I don't know but it fullfills my need to collect and compare coins as a collector.............

TwoSides2aCoin

I'm a profiteer
I used to be a mouseketeer, but the kool-aid™ sucks.

edited for spelling and hyphenation along with trademark stuff
and about coins, mirabela hit it on the head

Barberman55

Slabs are great for authenticating key dates and for piece of mind when shelling out alot of money for a coin. Other than that, I know my series (Barber quarters and halves) pretty well, and feel comfortable buying raw coins. If the coin is slabbed, I buy the coin and not the name on the slab, although I stick with one of the big 4 TPG services.

Cladiator

This debate cracks me up every time. Who's to say who is a "real" coin collector or not and why do "they" get to make that assumption? IMO this debate brings out the true idiocy in many people. Let folks collect what they want, how they want.

Joe Schmoe coin collector #1 collects COINS and chooses 2x2's or a Dansco album as his preferred method of storing his COINS.

Joe Schmoe coin collector #2 collects COINS and chooses PCGS and NGC slabs as his preferred method of storing his COINS.

Why on Earth would one be better or more "real" than the other. They both collect coins. They just keep them in different storage containers.

orie

For me it's worth twelve bucks to get an opinion from ANACS on the grade or if the coin has been altered. Not being able to see the print clearly on the label is a hugh problem. I don't understand their knucklehead attitude after all the complaints.

Lakesammman

Do art collectors avoid certain paintings because the don't like the frame?

Subconciously they do. A bad frame can make a painting look bad and hard to unload, a proper frame will have people lining up to buy it.

Burks

I buy the coin, not the slab. Picking up really nice coins in those $3 off name slabs is great. Especially when they are waaay under/over graded.

morganbarber

Also, I guy who bought a painting that was supposed to be by a famous artist would be very upset to find out that it was not. He still has the same painting whether it is truly by the artist or not. Should he care? Was he buying art, or a signature?

Conder101

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm both. Of course you all knew that anyway.

secondrepublic

I think most of us are SLOB collectors

keets

personally, i like uniformity in my collection for presentation and other considerations so the slab doesn't really matter when i buy a coin. any coin will eventually be in either a PCGS or NGC holder. my only concern with the new holder is that i was falsely told that the face was concave and that the center would scratch easily, information that was debunked by members who have actually seen the new holders. from that standpoint i thought they were bad cause viewing a coin would be a problem.

RYK

Do art collectors avoid certain paintings because the don't like the frame?

Subconciously they do. A bad frame can make a painting look bad and hard to unload, a proper frame will have people lining up to buy it.

I agree. I have passed on paintings because of the frame.

Longacre

What coins?

SamByrd

gotta admit some of the slabs are nicer then the coins inside (at least in my collection)

MajorDuty

<< <i>I'm a profiteer
I used to be a mouseketeer, but the kool-aid™ sucks.

edited for spelling and hyphenation along with trademark stuff
and about coins, mirabela hit it on the head >>



What ever you're on - I want some of it.

TheRaven

Slabbed coins are coins just the same as raw coins.....

I would spend $500 on a PCGS slabbed 190x gold coin, but I would not buy that coin raw for fear of it being a ____ (pick a reason and there are many for getting a coin slabbed).....

To try and seperate slabs and raw into two seperate groups, I don't understand it

michael

well i do not know

but from what i see

most all on here are slab collectors

which is okie by me collect what you like with plastic you love

fc

for some reason i feel many collectors are forgetting
the main reason many of us like PCGS slabs (or others).

i want an authentic coin with a guarantee of sorts that PCGS
stands by in case it is fake (not 90% gold, a copy/fake/etc).

i want a independent 3rd party's opinion on the grade, preferably
a conservative opinion!!

and other basic reasons...

other posters mentioned these things.. sorry to repeat.

so getting all the above when you spend more than 100 dollars
does give one a "bit" more assurance he is not getting ripped off.

keets

well i do not know

but from what i see

most all on here are slab collectors

this is actually an inane observation if you think about it.

as a group we tend to collect the best coins available. perhaps that's a general statement and there are exceptions, but for the most part it's true. likewise, the best coins tend to be in holders, again, perhaps a general statement but for the most part, true. to go a step further, many here buy some of the best coins, encapsulated, and crack them for inclusion in a collection raw.

the end conclusion is simple; in todays world it becomes increasingly difficult to collect the best coins without also collecting the plastic they are encased in.

Jcarney

<< <i>Slabs are great for authenticating key dates and for piece of mind when shelling out alot of money for a coin. >>



Yep, I always have peace of mind when I'm paying 14k for wildly toned Peace dollars in NGC slabs.

ColonialCoinUnion

I think the painting and frame analogy is a very good one.

I would think that the same sort of people who appreciate and spend a large amount of money for the design, artistry and eye-appeal of a coin are precisely the sort of people who wouldn't want to encase it in an ugly cheap looking holder.

AU58WALKERS

<< <i>for some reason i feel many collectors are forgetting
the main reason many of us like PCGS slabs (or others).

i want an authentic coin with a guarantee of sorts that PCGS
stands by in case it is fake (not 90% gold, a copy/fake/etc).

i want a independent 3rd party's opinion on the grade, preferably
a conservative opinion!!

and other basic reasons...

other posters mentioned these things.. sorry to repeat.

so getting all the above when you spend more than 100 dollars
does give one a "bit" more assurance he is not getting ripped off. >>

Tyrock

I like slabs because they're a form of insurance for the collector. And it makes sense to have a coin in a decent looking slab. I started collecting in 1978 and I'll take PCGS, NGC or ANACS any day. You can't be competent with every series and it sure helps to have an expert opinion on your side.

CalGold

<< <i>All the talk and criticism of the new ANACS' slab amazes me. Does it really matter how attractive the label is? >>



The criticism of the label is not that it is ugly, it is that nothing is legible except the grade. It is really annoying when you are looking in a dealer's case and can't read the dates and mm on the labels. And the grade is so large and garish it is as if the grade number is more important than the date and mm.


CG

09sVDB

I saw them at show this weekend and the dealers were general unhappy with them.

LindeDad

If the coin cost less than the grading fee then I will buy it raw. After that it will be in a PCGS or Mint package.
Too muck junk out there to fool with at this time in life.

RR

Just like QSL's, Barry. (hi)

RR

JZrarities

>>>Do art collectors avoid certain paintings because the don't like the frame?

No. They get it RE-FRAMED !

messydesk

<< <i>The criticism of the label is not that it is ugly, it is that nothing is legible except the grade. >>


But it is ugly, and there's my criticism that it is so. If I spend good money on a nice coin, I want it protected in a nice holder. If the holder's ugly, I'll say so.

carl

I have no slabbed coins. I have bought many but break the coin out for my albums. I really hate slabbed coins. However, I wouldn't think of buying a coin worth over $100 unless it was in a slab. I just don't trust anyone with that much money. I go to aabout 2 to 3 coins shows a month, visit coin shops and coin counters in places frequently. Many of the dealers I meet frequently and many I have known for many, many years but unless it's slabbed, no deal. Not that I don't trust the dealers I know, I just don't know if they could recognize a fake, dipped, cleaned, etc. So many dealers I've talked to have been taken themselves so they could sell me something bad and not even know it. So slab away. I've talked to dealers that have bought or sold coins in the thousands not slabbed and that really scares me.

leothelyon

<< <i>All the talk and criticism of the new ANACS' slab amazes me. Does it really matter how attractive the label is? Do art collectors avoid certain paintings because the don't like the frame? >>



I haven't seen the new holder in hand but it's new and this could be another good thing for the hobby. A little less criticism and more acceptance of the new holder just might bring a little more coin grading consistency into the hobby. And be a plus to the coin market which includes many of our coins.

On buying slab verse raw coins, if you're dealing honestly with someone they'll give you a guarantee. If they don't, then you simply move on! It also helps to get references when buying raw. No dealer wants his name going around that he ripped someone off by selling something (by not accepting a return) that ended up being counterfeit or artificially toned.

Leo