Buy the slab or the coin?

Coins in slabs may not always be what they seem. I was just browsing for gem Indian quarter eagles online and ran into so many poorly graded coins that it made me think about the major dealer complaint these days- they say they can't find enough 'quality material'. What I think it is is that they can't find enough 'properly graded material'. I don't say this to slam the TPGs, they are needed and I now either purchase my gems slabbed or I buy them raw and have them slabbed for security and peace of mind. What I'm saying is that we all have a bad day. I can even remember many days in my Navy days when our whole division had a bad day as a whole. It happens, and even groups of two and three graders can get it wrong, and the photos I viewed today for several 1929 MS65 Indian quarter eagles demonstrates why you need to be VERY CAREFUL when buying slabbed coins. Once purchased, you're still stuck with it as if it was a raw coin- few dealers give a lifetime buyback guaranty.

The four coins I just viewed all had very hi-res images and I was appalled that the first of the coins (PCGS MS65) was covered in both minute as well as moderately visible marks on the obverse and several very visible spots on the reverse, a mere 62 or 63 in this experienced numismatist's opinion. One (NGC MS65) had several prominent marks on the portrait of the Indian, a nice 64 but no better. The third (NGC MS65) had several marks and tiny spots on the obv and reverse but had the eye appeal of a gem, so while I can't disagree with the grade, I wouldn't purchase it at that grade. The forurth (PCGS MS65) was a full fledged gem with no marks and great luster.

Of the four, I'd buy none. Not because the latter one wouldn't satisfy my strict standards for a 'gem', but because the price was more than twice the average of the other three, which illustrates the problem in this hobby- the TPG's, if they really want the prestige they think they deserve, should revise their guarantees and allow ALL of these poorly graded slabs to be taken off the market instead of pawning them off on one unsuspecting sucker after another. As an advanced collector I am so tired of seeing this deceit that it makes me want to sell my collection and start collecting butterflies or something they CAN'T manipulate or mislabel.

Sorry for the ranting, I thought it was time someone point out how easy it would be to get ripped off blind on slabed coins these days. A 1929 MS63 quarter eagle sells for peanuts, a MS64 for $750-$900 and a MS65 in the $3,000-$6,000 range. Would YOU want to get stuck with a MS63 in a MS65 holder? Slabs guaranty you are buying a genuine coin, nothing else. The grade *opinion* on the label is just that- a mere opinion made by humans who are obviously fallible.

The moral of the story? Take Q. David Bower's long-given advice- buy the book before the coin. The 'book' really should include grading and a general discussion of striking, equipment and planchet quality, etc, for the series you choose to collect. The point is that if you don't know what is in the slab, how do you know it is graded properly and you're paying fairly for it? Slabs will NOT protect you if you don't know how to grade and evaluate the coin's surfaces for yourself. Caveat emptor...