Raw or Slabbed?

[bajablu]

Do you as a collector prefer raw coins, or slabbed?

 

 

I know with high priced keys and semi keys I prefer graded.

 

But what about the rest of the stuff we collectors collect.

 

Just curious because I love the feel of a coin,medal,token, or whatever in my hand. I like slabbed though too. But for different reasons. When I buy a coin I may not have a great knowledge about, I prefer slabbed examples.Also they are easier to sell when needed.

 

Since joining here I have had the pleasure of speaking with some very nice, knowledgable people, and yes, your opinions matter to me.

 

 

Thoughts...

[CAP Freak]

I like it raw.

[DJCoinz]

I prefer them slabbed...mainly because I like the protection and easy organization the slab offers.

[okbustchaser]

With the exception of a couple of pedigreed ones all my coins are raw. About 30 percent of them were slabbed when I bought them though.

[cpm9ball]

It doesn't matter to me if it is raw or slabbed as long as I have it in-hand to inspect, although I must admit that I get a real kick out of finding a Top 100 or Hot 50 Morgan that is unattributed in a PCGS or NGC slab.

 

Chris

[Mozin]

Anything I have worth $100 or more is encapsulated, except for foreign.

[James_OldeTowne]

By far, I prefer coins that I can hold in my hand and enjoy without the encumbrance of a bulky plastic holder. There is a time and a place and a value for certification, but the cost of certification is awfully heavy for coins under about $300. Then, there are coins that you simply know how to grade, and don't need certification for regardless of value.

 

A couple of rules of thumb might be:

 

- only buy gold certified

 

- coins under about $300, only buy raw

 

- exception to rule above: for commonly counterfeited coins, buy certified unless you trust your dealer

 

- if it is a "grade rarity", and you want it as such, only buy certified

 

I always find it very unfortunate to see a $100 coin in a $30 slab, as that basically means somebody paid a sadly unnecessary "tax" of a whopping 30%. You already pay enough taxes to Uncle Sam - don't pay more than you need to.

 

The best defense against getting smacked around is to buy - certified or not - coins from a reputable dealer or fellow collector.

 

Maybe the best way to think of it is to assume every slab costs about $30 when all is said and done. Weigh the value and the likelihood of counterfeiting against that cost of "insurance".

 

For the record, my collection is about 85% not certified, 15% certified. Many of my "not certified" coins were removed from slabs.

[bsshog40]

I mostly like Raw myself.

[Lem]

I'm a 50/50 guy, I own and like both!

[JCM-Houston]

Everything I have worth more than about $100 is slabbed. I started collecting in the early '70's, and I remember the bad old days like it was only yesterday. If I could only buy coins from local dealers my collection would be very small. The advent of TPG's, while not perfect, has allowed me to collect from other sources without as much concern.

 

In the past month I have purchased from a dealer in the Netherlands, and in Florida and Massachusetts. All were correctly graded, in my opinion, by the TPG's. In the old days, even with well known dealers, it seemed I had a 50-50 shot of getting a decent coin when I mail ordered.People often seemed to forget to mention the hairlines form an old cleaning, or the rim dings, or the scratch in the reverse devices.

[okbustchaser]

People often seemed to forget to mention the hairlines form an old cleaning, or the rim dings, or the scratch in the reverse devices.

 

And today they don't? TPG's haven't begun to solve that problem in many series.

[Jeffrey Cardona]

[font:Comic Sans MS]I perfer to have my coins slabbed. I like the ease of handling and storage. My family also likes to look at them alot (thumbs u and slabbed offers more protection for the coins.[/font]

[Conder101]

Strictly raw. I won't even look at slabbed coins for my collection. As far as I'm concerned if it is slabbed it doesn't exist.

[JCM-Houston]

Okbustchaser, you forgot to mention that I also said "they are not perfect". I can say that the TPG's are much more consistant than the dealers were when left to their own interpretation. There used to be a lot of dealers selling as choice or gem BU, then when you wanted to sell or trade, the same coin suddently became choice AU. Does it still happen with slabbed coins, sure, but a whole lot less now than then.

[okbustchaser]

What consistancy are you referring to? I haven't seen any. If it existed then crackout artists would go broke.

 

Edit to add: This is not to say the TPG's have not provided a positive service to the collecting community. Their authentication has greatly cut down on the selling of counterfeit/alterations.

 

I just don't think that their opinion as to grade or lack of problems has any consistancy.

[James_OldeTowne]

I can say that the TPG's are much more consistant than the dealers were when left to their own interpretation. There used to be a lot of dealers selling as choice or gem BU, then when you wanted to sell or trade, the same coin suddently became choice AU. Does it still happen with slabbed coins, sure, but a whole lot less now than then.

IF there is more "grading consistency" today - and I am not certain there is when we are speaking of reputable dealers - then it is something we have all paid awfully dearly for. The outrageous skyrocketing of the price and value of coins stems mostly from the advent of certification, which has allowed much more money to feel "safe" entering the market.

 

A paycheck spent on coins in 1975 bought you a heck of a lot more than it does today. Even taking into account overgraded or misrepresented coins back then, you still got much, much more for your money. From that standpoint, if certification in its entirety had never existed, I hate to say it, but we would all be much better off.

 

On the other hand, I actually think the biggest value we have gained from certification is from the light it shed on the widespread dispersion of fake and altered coins, and the formalizing of a few areas of numismatic research. So, we have certainly benefited to some degree.

 

I just very often think that unfortunately, the benefits of certification have been terribly overshadowed by the cost....

[WoodenJefferson]

The coins I have picked up since the grading services began in '86 only amount to small percentage of my collection...some of those are coins I never cracked out because I found a much better example in the same grade. Of those retained, they are key coins or proofs that have cameo contrast and are more valuable encapsulated than raw.

 

But give me RAW!

 

Buying raw is becoming more and more of an obstacle course that I can't negotiate much anymore. There is sooooo much junk floating around out there it's like a war game...mine fields galore!

 

a. enhanced images

b. fuzzy photos

c. incomplete descriptions

d. distant photos

e. out right scam artists

f. grading service fly-by-nights

g. inconsistencies with grading services

h. grade-flation

i. stickers

j. counterfeiters

k. lost in transit

l. wrong coin sent

m. I could go through our alphabet and then start on the Greek one, need I go on?

 

But through thick or thin, there are still good buys out there, especially at coins shows and at dealers. Hands on with a reputable dealer and with experience, that will get you the best coins for your buck.

 

Thank you for asking.

 

[1798CentCollector-migratio]

My primary are of interest is early copper and I prefer to collect and hold these coins raw. The visual quality of an early copper in a slab behind the plastic is greatly diminished. I'll buy slabbed, but will crack them out. I'm not opposed to slabs, primarily for authentication purposes and have those too - in other series that I collect.

[Dcoin]

I like to hold and feel my coins...even if its in a 2x2. I loose a little of the intangable connection with the coin if its behind plastic.

[BillJones]

I prefer graded for most U.S. coins. The exceptions for me are modern mint issues in their original packages. Modern coins are FAR more interesting with their packages and papers.

 

When comes to tokens and medals I prefer raw. I have my tokens in Eagle albums, which makes for an interesting display.

[BillJones]

Strictly raw. I won't even look at slabbed coins for my collection. As far as I'm concerned if it is slabbed it doesn't exist.

 

... Unless it going into your book about varieties of slabs.

 

But for a early copper collector, I understand you position completely.

[CoinZip]

I guess I'm kinda in the middle of the road on this issue. I don't go out of my way to find coins in designer plastic, but I don't pass up a good deal either.

 

Here is how I store my coins, this way I can store them with other graded coins in graded coin boxes.

 

[MikeInFL]

Do you as a collector prefer raw coins, or slabbed?

 

I buy both raw and slabbed. Early in my collecting days, I collected nothing but raw coins. More recently, and as a matter of course, coins for my type set tend to be slabbed because most of the ones in the price range I buy supply-wise are slabbed. In contrast, about 80% of the large cents in my collection are raw -- because these coins are available in numbers raw. One might say I'm an equal opportunity buyer, with my less expensive coins generally raw and more expensive coins generally slabbed -- but there are lots of exceptions to the rule, if you will.

 

That said, I "prefer" raw coins. Actually I prefer coins in Airtites because they provide protection yet you can still see the edge and can open them back up easily.

[Conder101]

Strictly raw. I won't even look at slabbed coins for my collection. As far as I'm concerned if it is slabbed it doesn't exist.

 

... Unless it going into your book about varieties of slabs.

 

But for a early copper collector, I understand you position completely.

 

Ah, but the two collections are totally separate entities. For the slab reference set all that matters is the slab, I don't care what the coin is in the slab, what the grade is, whether it is right or wrong.

 

For my coin collection the coins are important and they must be raw.

 

When I go to a show looking or slabs and I look at a dealers case of slabs all I am doing is scanning the label styles looking for ones I don't recognize or oddball companies I may not have. I don't even look at the coins and I have no real idea what coins are in the case. Then when I go around looking for coins, if I look in a case and just see slabs, I move on to the next table.

[BillJones]

If you are buying nothing but raw coins, Condor, my hat is off to you. Most any raw coins, except early copper at the EAC conventions, that I see is problem stuff. Sadly today, if a coin that is worth more than a several hundred dollars is raw, it's raw for a reason. And that reason almost always has to do with something that would land the coin in a body bag if you sent it to PCGS or NGC.

[James_OldeTowne]

Sadly today, if a coin that is worth more than a several hundred dollars is raw, it's raw for a reason. And that reason almost always has to do with something that would land the coin in a body bag if you sent it to PCGS or NGC.

Bill, I think that is probably true of dealer inventory (what you see on the bourse floor), but I would contend that even today, a large majority of coins in collections are raw, including those worth well over hundreds of dollars.

 

And speaking of early copper, of the coins in slabs, a frightfully high percentage are just plain awful. Sometimes, I think to myself that it must have needed to be slabbed for a reason...

[Conder101]

Sadly today, if a coin that is worth more than a several hundred dollars is raw, it's raw for a reason. And that reason almost always has to do with something that would land the coin in a body bag if you sent it to PCGS or NGC.

I guess that is why both companies are going out of business right?