How long before the next logical step in Coin Certification and who will take it??
keets
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What might that next step be??? To my way of thinking it is some type of encapsulation not of the coin, but of the entire capsule with the coin inside. It may sound absurd at first, but is it really?? Consider.................
Everything seems to already be in place at the major TPG's, PCGS and NGC, and there is already a quasi-precedent being set by CAC who only stops short of assigning a grade(though only for the coin). Both PCGS and NGC offer an oversized holder which could easily accommodate most/all standard capsules with varying sizes of internal gasket surrounds. Additionally, NGC encapsulates GSA Dollars and I believe Eisenhower Dollars still enclosed in the plastic holder.
Collectors have expressed an interest in the history of encapsulation as evidence by all the chatter here and a short run publication by forum member Condor101 which was hugely popular. It spawned a thread which many of us reference as a matter of routine. Though I haven't looked at it, members have said that PCGS even has a history of their holders posted online. Is it a stretch to expect that someone will start to encapsulate an entire holdered coin??
Al H.
Comments
Ever look into two parallel mirrors, and see the images reflected and re-reflected?
One can imagine a very large number of slabs within slabs, with the coin (maybe) visible waaaaay down inside.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
I have been doing that myself on newer coins, using a zip lock bag.
I like to be able to hold coins, by the edge.
Of course, this presupposes that the original packaging is inert. I don't trust the mint to always get this right. The GSA Carson City dollars seem to be correct, but the 'brown' Ikes ? There was something going on in that packaging. They're almost always 'milky'.
Postcard sleeve work great, and they're cheap.
RF Chips in the slabs.
I've tried vacuum sealing 1960's silver proof sets. I was trying to preserve the beautiful toning on the Franklin half (you can see it below in my sig line). Not sure if it was the greatest idea....
Insert witicism here. [ xxx ]
Coin > PCGS Slab > CAC Sticker > PCGS Slab > CAC Sticker > PCGS Slab > CAC Sticker > PCGS Slab > CAC Sticker > PCGS Slab > CAC Sticker > PCGS Slab > CAC Sticker > PCGS Slab ............................................................................
Although I find it hard to believe, I have been around this hobby for so long, it would not really surprise me....Though I surely hope it does not come to that......Cheers, RickO
what are you saying? soon they will encapsulate rare slabs?
A small red dot that goes on the green sticker.........
But seriously. I see high-res photography of all graded coins (except maybe generic moderns) as the next big step to thwart coin docs and counterfeit slabs.
Any such move would be driven by the desire to extract every last cent out of a coin and slab's value. Is there enough demand for such a service? With the strong profit motive evident in the coin collecting field I would not rule such a thing out, however absurd it may actually be.
I like this idea. And have a 7 mag built in the sleeve.:)
I still remember fondly when women started going braless back in the 1960s,as part of their freedom movement....maybe coins will follow suit.....SET THEM FREE
i love collectable slabs. however, i can't imagine encapsulating one and enjoying it. i guess it makes sense, but...
as for what's next? could it be possible there would be a slab backlash in the future? people who like to handle coins raw emerge and take over?
i imagine the next logical step is some kind of app that identifies a coin provides all the features that grading companies currently do. i am not talking about scanning a barcode. i am talking about an app that will use the camera to "look" at the coin and identify it, grade it, etc. it may even be possible to weigh and measure it as well, if it's raw. i think pcgs uses something like this with secure plus, so it would make sense that it could evolve to something that can be fit in your pocket, while being more accurate and cheaper than ever, based on the technological advances we have seen in the recent past as an example.
1960s braless should probably not now be set free, MHO. Same with coins. That's why there are coin grading companies.
I think a workable idea would be to devise a process whereby a coin in an old holder could be reholdered in a new, unscratched, more tamper proof new holder but with the original insert inside. While I acknowledge that there are people who like older holders as is for various reasons, my perspective is that most people value an older holder because it implies that the coin is conservatively graded and has not been messed with. (Neither may be true on any given example, but that seems to be the favored theory.
So you offer a reholder service that allows the original insert to be used. You insert a separate slip behind the original insert that mentions something like 'Reholder Only'. The back insert has the hologram and the new holder is more tamper resistant and easier to photograph through. As part of the service, any coin submitted is imaged for a Trueview or Secure Plus based on coin value.
TPG makes a killing reholdering, collectors get to keep the cool older insert but get a new nifty holder and high quality image of the coin. Coins in newer holders likely make for fewer guarantee claims down the road. All holders fit into current boxes The population of coins that have been Truviewed or Secure Plused increases so that counterfeiting valuable coins is made tougher.
Those who collected the slabs for the slap and not the insert would simply refrain from the practice and over time would be rewarded by having their holders increase in value as more succumbed to the new reholder option.
Brilliant and Crazy. Good Luck. That'll work.
One layer of plastic is enough for me, and some days I wish that there were none when I'm trying to photograph a coin.
I think that there should be a CAC slab. It's time for them to own up to the elevated status to which some people have given them. Of course this could be a case of "be careful what you wish for." If CAC is really as foolproof as people say, all of the PCGS and NGC coin grades would be invalidtaed.
CAC was a brilliant idea, because PCGS and NGC do the initial screen, and then CAC certifies a subset of coins with stickers.
Crucial to this system is that they're willing, at least in theory, to back up their sticker with a bid offer and make a market.
I could see a new company coming along that only starts with PCGS/CAC coins, and then certifies a subset of THOSE coins, that meet their even higher standards for quality and eye appeal.
and so on..
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
If the collectors of collectible slabs start becoming concerned not only with the condition of these slabs, but also originality of surfaces (i.e., whether or not a slab has been cleaned or buffed) to the extent that certification of these surfaces becomes necessary, it is possible that another layer of absurdity plastic would come into play. The coin, of course, becomes more removed from the picture.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
this may not be a bad idea. i think they could implement it on a small scale for prestigious coins, perhaps. sorta like the louis vitton or versace of coin slabbing.
another idea i think cac should consider is a set registry for collectors...especially since NGC and PCGS are both exclusive now.
Insert witicism here. [ xxx ]
Not just braless but with see through blouses as well. I worked a a company that had a secretary that dressed like that. (It was the mid-1970's)
Ever look into two parallel mirrors, and see the images reflected and re-reflected?
I recall sitting in the chair for my boot camp haircut, it was a long, narrow room with chairs lining each side and facing a mirror that went the entire length on both outside walls. looking into it I could see myself and then the reflection from the mirror behind me getting smaller with each re-reflection, ad infinitum. but, back to the coin capsule.
so no one thinks there's a market for this after the way everyone goes (Lady) ga ga over the next rare old slab??
I see the natural evolution in grading as being the primary factor with certification merely being a reflection of what grading should accomplish.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
We are on "Candid Camera" right!!
I recall pondering the "Ummagumma" album cover years ago thinking about this very thing!
This. The technology is cheap, has incredible profit potential for the services and is long overdue. I'd say our hosts are likely to roll it out first, and I'd be surprised if it wasn't already in the works to some extent.
Slabbing slabs, on the other hand, is too niche IMHO to really be profitable.
engraving?
Repetition of ignorance is ignorance raised to the power two.
@291fifth...I remember that very well... and I worked at a company in AZ...where many of the males had facial bruises from bumping into pillars while observing a passing beauty...
@AMRC...I agree, I think embedded chips will soon be a slab identification feature, readable by our cellphones.
Cheers, RickO
I think the "next logical step" in coin grading will be the major players "cross-stickering" coins from the opposing service. This would provide another opinion on the coin's grade and reduce the need to send to CAC. It could also be used as a way to gain entry for one TPG-graded coin into the other-TPGs registry, without the need to crack a coin out of "old plastic".
Coin photographs should be graded and encapsulated.
It would make the hobby much cheaper.
At some point in time it will have all seen its day. Many coins still well below 1989 levels.