Review: Guardhouse aluminum slab boxes
dsessom
Posts: 2,427 ✭✭✭✭✭
I posted a thread a few weeks ago asking if anyone had ever bought or used any of the Guardhouse aluminum coin slab boxes. I hear lots of comments such as "Why bother? The plastic PCGS and NGC boxes are free, or cost next to nothing."
Well, maybe it's just me, but I don't like the "feel" of the plastic boxes, and on one occasion, my cat knocked over a box and the slabs spilled all over the floor. Fortunately, they were on the floor and not on a table 3 or 4 feet off the ground or I might not have a cat today.
At any rate, I came across some slab boxes that looked like they might be what I was looking for - a bit more sturdy, and had lid latches so the slabs couldn't spill. Plus, these boxes have a clear window in the top so you can see if it is empty or full, half full or whatever.
Here are a few photos of the box:
The interior of the boxes are lined with a soft felt cloth and the slab holders are made of a semi stiff slip resistant foam rubber. Very nice...
NGC slabs fit tightly and do not move a bit even when the box is dumpped upside-down! But IGC and PCGS slabs do slip and dont stay in as tight as the NGC slabs. Fortunately, the box has the latches on the lid so this isn't really a problem.
If you have kids or animals, or are just a klutz and there is any chance you might knock your precious slab boxes over, the Guardhouse boxes are for you! The latches close the lid firmly and there is NO chance of spilling those slabs all over the place!
If you knock over a Guardhouse slab box...
If you knock over an NGC or PCGS box...
You get the picture.
The Guardhouse slab boxes come in 10, 20 and 25 slab sizes. I bought two of the 25 slab size and they dwarf an NGC 20 slab box!
Here is a side-by-side comparison of the internal compartment of both an NGC and Guardhouse box. The slabs in the NGC box rattle when you carry the box around, but with the Guardhouse box there is not rattling at all. I like that a lot.
The Guardhouse boxes also stack nicely and just look a whole lot cooler than the other plastic boxes.
Why spend hundereds or thousands of dollars on those precious coins and then keep them in a flimsey plastic box?
Lid locks are probably what really sold me on the Guardhouse boxes. You don't really think about it until something unfortunate happens, like a cat knocking over a box full of slabs. I was pretty upset, but fortunately there was no damage. But had that box been at any elevation off of the floor, the results could have been much different. Those latches are really nice!
Have you ever been searching for a specific coin or a particular series and had to go through boxes and boxes to find it? You could label the boxes, but if you are like me, the contents of the boxes are constantly changing. This is where that clear window on the lid of the box comes in really handy. You can see what's in it at a glance!
So if you want to give your slabs a bit more security in a box made of aluminum, with the extra protection of lid latches and even a window in the lid for quick identification of contents, I would recommend the Guardhouse coin slab boxes to anyone!
You can purches them at CoinSupplyExpress.com for $20.99 each for the 25 slab size RIGHT HERE!
Thanks for reading my review!
Well, maybe it's just me, but I don't like the "feel" of the plastic boxes, and on one occasion, my cat knocked over a box and the slabs spilled all over the floor. Fortunately, they were on the floor and not on a table 3 or 4 feet off the ground or I might not have a cat today.
At any rate, I came across some slab boxes that looked like they might be what I was looking for - a bit more sturdy, and had lid latches so the slabs couldn't spill. Plus, these boxes have a clear window in the top so you can see if it is empty or full, half full or whatever.
Here are a few photos of the box:
The interior of the boxes are lined with a soft felt cloth and the slab holders are made of a semi stiff slip resistant foam rubber. Very nice...
NGC slabs fit tightly and do not move a bit even when the box is dumpped upside-down! But IGC and PCGS slabs do slip and dont stay in as tight as the NGC slabs. Fortunately, the box has the latches on the lid so this isn't really a problem.
If you have kids or animals, or are just a klutz and there is any chance you might knock your precious slab boxes over, the Guardhouse boxes are for you! The latches close the lid firmly and there is NO chance of spilling those slabs all over the place!
If you knock over a Guardhouse slab box...
If you knock over an NGC or PCGS box...
You get the picture.
The Guardhouse slab boxes come in 10, 20 and 25 slab sizes. I bought two of the 25 slab size and they dwarf an NGC 20 slab box!
Here is a side-by-side comparison of the internal compartment of both an NGC and Guardhouse box. The slabs in the NGC box rattle when you carry the box around, but with the Guardhouse box there is not rattling at all. I like that a lot.
The Guardhouse boxes also stack nicely and just look a whole lot cooler than the other plastic boxes.
Why spend hundereds or thousands of dollars on those precious coins and then keep them in a flimsey plastic box?
Lid locks are probably what really sold me on the Guardhouse boxes. You don't really think about it until something unfortunate happens, like a cat knocking over a box full of slabs. I was pretty upset, but fortunately there was no damage. But had that box been at any elevation off of the floor, the results could have been much different. Those latches are really nice!
Have you ever been searching for a specific coin or a particular series and had to go through boxes and boxes to find it? You could label the boxes, but if you are like me, the contents of the boxes are constantly changing. This is where that clear window on the lid of the box comes in really handy. You can see what's in it at a glance!
So if you want to give your slabs a bit more security in a box made of aluminum, with the extra protection of lid latches and even a window in the lid for quick identification of contents, I would recommend the Guardhouse coin slab boxes to anyone!
You can purches them at CoinSupplyExpress.com for $20.99 each for the 25 slab size RIGHT HERE!
Thanks for reading my review!
Best regards,
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
0
Comments
SEMPER FI 2/11 1977-1981
"LAS PULGAS"
Nice pics and an interesting product review
Who makes them?
What about off gassing from the foam inside the box?
<< <i>Great review! Are these boxes any heavier than PCGS or NGC boxes? A heavy box falling from the floor would put a bigger dent in the floor and that could be a big problem. I would rather have spilled slabs than a dented floor. >>
Yes, they are probably 4 to 5 times as heavy as the NGC or PCGS boxes, but for the size and construction they are surprisingly light.
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
<< <i>Very cool, wasn't aware of this product. Nice review. May have to consider these. I ultimatley need to find something nice that'll hold a few more though as my 1909 mint set will ultimately be 30 coins and it would be sweet to have them in one box. I like that this one will hold both PCGS and NGC though. >>
What you might want is something like this:
It's also made by Guardhouse, but it's made of wood (Mahagony I believe) and costs $54. It holds exactly 30 slabbed coins!
Here's the direct link.
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
I'm not sure if the secure top is that much of an advantage. I think we all know your cat will wait until the Gatehouse box top is unlatched before proceeding to knock it over and spill your contents all over everywhere. That's what my cats would do
<< <i>one hell of a review
Bob
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<< <i>
<< <i>Very cool, wasn't aware of this product. Nice review. May have to consider these. I ultimatley need to find something nice that'll hold a few more though as my 1909 mint set will ultimately be 30 coins and it would be sweet to have them in one box. I like that this one will hold both PCGS and NGC though. >>
What you might want is something like this:
It's also made by Guardhouse, but it's made of wood (Mahagony I believe) and costs $54. It holds exactly 30 slabbed coins!
Here's the direct link. >>
That's pretty nice looking, thanks for the info! The more I think about it though is that for preservation it might be better just to keep everything hidden away in my intercept shield double protection boxes... takes a lot of the fun out of it though
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<< <i>Have you considered a new career being a salesman for that company. I would buy from you. Nice presentation.
Thanks for the kind words. Actually, I used to do PC hardware reviews (motherboards, video cards, memory, hard drives, etc.) on a website I started called PCExtreme.net so I do have a few years experience doing reviews. I could do a lot better, but this was just a quickie.
But to answer a few other questions and comments:
Even with the lid open, if you knock it over the coins stay snugly in place except for the PCGS slabs which are thinner and do slide out. NGC slabs wont budge a bit.
This was a review of the largest box (25 slab). They also come in 10 and 20 slab sizes.
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
I'd be curious to know if the interior does come out and if the Intercept Shield boxes could fit inside these Guardhouse boxes.
I believe in protective overkill by the way.
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
Happy Holidays!
I also noticed that Excalibur (Forum member) has them For Sale Here!
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
Edited to add: I use the PCGS prestige (30) coin box for my fractional farthing collection.
Nice review BTW, thanks!
<< <i>What about off gassing from the foam inside the box? >>
That was my first thought. I've had bad experiences with coins and foam rubber. If they are soft polyethylene like the inserts used by PCGS or NGC, they should be inert and safe.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire