Gold ANACS holders

[JIM F.]

I cracked out a few gold ANACS holders to fill spots in my 7070 type set. With a light tap, they just open up without any obvious damage. Seems like a poor security feature since another coin could be inserted and the holder re-assembled. That's my observation.

 

 

[coinman_23885]

I cracked out a few gold ANACS holders to fill spots in my 7070 type set. With a light tap, they just open up without any obvious damage. Seems like a poor security feature since another coin could be inserted and the holder re-assembled. That's my observation.

 

 

I cannot recall where, but I saw internet images of someone who broke open a Morgan Dollar slab and inserted an Ike dollar just to prove that the new holders were worthless. Other than the obvious fact that the coins didn't match, there was no noticeable or detectable damage to the holder; I find this a bit scary. The only gold holder I have contains a common date statehood quarter that I paid $2 for just to sample the new holder in person. I'm not impressed and I will not buy a coin from new ANACS for this (among other) reasons.

[James_OldeTowne]

I can tell you for sure that ALL the ANACS holders, beginning with those gold ones, can be broken open by hand, without any tools. In fact, I cracked out a Morgan dollar this past week, simply by propping the ANACS slab up against another ANACS slab, pressing down real hard, and simply pulling the resulting mess apart.

 

They were supposed to "improve" their holders in that regard, making them stronger and more tamper-resistant, but they are still junk, to me. These crummy holders, along with erratic grading, is why I do not consider ANACS on par with NGC and PCGS anymore. I used to.

 

Sorry, ANACS, but your grading has gone down the toilet. And your slabs are lousy.

[PerryHall]

I miss the older small ANACS slabs.

[gpnyc]

I miss the older small ANACS slabs.

 

So do I but, guess what, I can also crack open those all day without damaging them. NGC too. The only holder, I hate to admit, that i can't open without damaging is PCGS.

[JIM F.]

I miss the older small ANACS slabs.

 

So do I but, guess what, I can also crack open those all day without damaging them. NGC too. The only holder, I hate to admit, that i can't open without damaging is PCGS.

 

This implies that the photo certificates from the pre-slab days are actually "better" than today's slabs, since a substandard coin can be inserted into a slab. This has some significant implications.

[thebeav]

I miss the older small ANACS slabs.

 

Yup, best slab all time.......

[James_OldeTowne]

I miss the older small ANACS slabs.

 

So do I but, guess what, I can also crack open those all day without damaging them. NGC too. The only holder, I hate to admit, that i can't open without damaging is PCGS.

How about SEGS ?

[JIM F.]

Why would anyone care about SEGS? It's not better than a raw coin in my opinion.

[BillJones]

I miss the older small ANACS slabs.

 

So do I but, guess what, I can also crack open those all day without damaging them. NGC too. The only holder, I hate to admit, that i can't open without damaging is PCGS.

How about SEGS ?

 

What about SEGS? Other than the fact that it takes a sledgehammer to break the plastic on SEGS holder, a good number of their grading efforts have been disappointing.

 

That’s not to say the SEGS holders didn’t have some great coins in them. The best I ever handled was an 1847-C quarter eagle that SEGS graded MS-64. The coin cost me $5,000. The dealer who sold that coin to me also had an 1847-C quarter eagle in a PCGS MS-64 holder for $20,000. The PCGS coin was little better, but it wasn’t $15,000 better.

 

I sold that SEGS coin to one of Dave Bowers' buyers for a modest mark-up, and it won't surprise me if they got out their sledgehammer before they sold that one.

[okbustchaser]

On the other hand I love the new ANACS holders. The easier to crack the better ANY slab is. The reason I absolutely hate SEGS has absolutely nothing to do with the company's grading standards. It's because just as Bill says it takes a jackhammer to open one of them.

[johnny9434]

I miss the older small ANACS slabs.

 

no kidding. i do to

[Coindude]

I have a few coins in the old anacs holders and I like them.

[Oldtrader3]

The new ANACS slab is a disapointing design to me. Cheaply made holder of low integrity design and poor process integrity. Sonic sealing beads should be across nearly all edges for security's sake. Of course their grading hasn't exactly been too consistant either with the new holders, too bad, I liked the older holder and their grading was better. Strong competition by TPG's helps all collectors gain from their competition.

[James_OldeTowne]

Why would anyone care about SEGS? It's not better than a raw coin in my opinion.

I thought that the crackability of slabs (crackabilly ?) was mundane to the OP.

 

I own two coins in SEGS holders, and they are both terrific. But more importantly, NGC, or PCGS, or someone should have bought out Larry Briggs' slabbing technology and run with it. SEGS slabs are simply the best out there, even fifteen years after they were patented.

 

Personally, I would put NGC's new prong holders second, but just barely. Prior, I would have put ANACS small slabs in second place, moved down now just a hair below NGC-prongs.

 

Hey OKbustchaser, I'd say the old PCI slabs are the easiest all-time to crack open. Heck, you can practically just drop those on a wood floor and watch the plastic shards scatter !

[Oldtrader3]

I believe that the PCI slabs were probably crystal-styrene or some brittle plastic that shatters easily. However, it is very cheap material with good optical characteristics. I do not know what PCGS and NGC are using for slab material now but my guess would be either a Polyterpthalate or PET (Polyester thermoplastics). In any event, they are pretty tough and sonic weld well.

[michael]

I believe that the PCI slabs were probably crystal-styrene or some brittle plastic that shatters easily. However, it is very cheap material with good optical characteristics. I do not know what PCGS and NGC are using for slab material now but my guess would be either a Polyterpthalate or PET (Polyester thermoplastics). In any event, they are pretty tough and sonic weld well.

 

great information thank you

 

is pet and polyterpthalate totally inert materials? do they after many years leach any odors or oil?

 

 

[okbustchaser]

Hey OKbustchaser, I'd say the old PCI slabs are the easiest all-time to crack open. Heck, you can practically just drop those on a wood floor and watch the plastic shards scatter !

 

I don't recall ever buying a PCI coin. Not because of the company, but simply because I don't think I ever saw a PCI graded coin that I wanted as much as the seller did. Therefore, I have no firsthand knowledge as to how easy or hard they are.

 

Sounds like a "GREAT" slab, though.

[Oldtrader3]

Michael, pretty much. Some alloys of both are food or medical grade (contact lenses-PTE) and do not leach plasticizers or even contain release agents that later leach out of the plastic over time like the metal (zinc, tin) stearates that are used for many plastics. Pet is used a lot for beverage, food and medical packaging as well.

[coinman_23885]

What about SEGS? Other than the fact that it takes a sledgehammer to break the plastic on SEGS holder, a good number of their grading efforts have been disappointing.

 

 

I had difficulty even with a sledge hammer. I agree with James, I like the SEGS slab... it's too bad that the grading isn't as stellar. I view SEGS coins slightly better than raw coins, because it is my understanding that while their grading was not consistent, their counterfeit detection methods were. I only own a single SEGS coin now, and I'm satisfied with it for the price that I paid.

 

I don't like the old PCI holders that much, and the shards that result scare me a bit. I was afraid that the coin would be damaged. Fortunately it was not damaged.

 

I've never cracked out an old ANACS slab, and I am a bit afraid to with a couple of recent experiences with them. While many coins are conservatively graded, I have found a couple that had major grading mistakes in them. I've also found cleaned coins not designated as such. I find this disturbing. This is one of the reasons that I lament NGC's new cross over policy. Unfortunately, I must now take any cross-overs ATS because of the inherent risk of the crack out game.

[coinman_23885]

 

Hey OKbustchaser, I'd say the old PCI slabs are the easiest all-time to crack open. Heck, you can practically just drop those on a wood floor and watch the plastic shards scatter !

 

Actually NTC holders are the easiest to crack in my opinion, using the hammer method although I have only tried this on a single coin (a common date IKE in a MS67 holder that I only paid MS60 price for inclusion in an album). I like the fact that it did not shatter, and the sonically sealed edge was visibly disturbed with a single blow of a hammer.

[DC Dawg]

The new ANACS slab is a disapointing design to me. Cheaply made holder of low integrity design and poor process integrity. Sonic sealing beads should be across nearly all edges for security's sake. Of course their grading hasn't exactly been too consistant either with the new holders, too bad, I liked the older holder and their grading was better. Strong competition by TPG's helps all collectors gain from their competition.

I like the form factor of the new holders. One thing I like is the slanted top with the label done in such a way that you can tell what the coin is without having take the coin out of the box.

 

I have a few ANACS blue label slabs--this was pre-James Taylor buyout. Not only are the slabs nice, but the coins in them are nice! I would not buy coins in the gold holders. Many of them seem over graded.

 

HOWEVER, I am having a very hard time selling ANACS slabbed coins. For that matter, I am also having problems selling ICG slabbed coins, too.

 

Scott

 

[Conder101]

I have a few ANACS blue label slabs--this was pre-James Taylor buyout.

The blue label holders continued for awhile after the buyout as well, about 8 months.

[physics-fan3.14]

HOWEVER, I am having a very hard time selling ANACS slabbed coins. For that matter, I am also having problems selling ICG slabbed coins, too.

 

Scott

 

Old white holder ANACS coins should sell very easily. Newer holder ANACS coins trade as raw, or worse.

[messydesk]

I have a few ANACS blue label slabs--this was pre-James Taylor buyout.

The blue label holders continued for awhile after the buyout as well, about 8 months.

I was under the impression that the blue label "quick release" holders coincided with James Taylor taking over.

Actually NTC holders are the easiest to crack in my opinion, using the hammer method although I have only tried this on a single coin (a common date IKE in a MS67 holder that I only paid MS60 price for inclusion in an album). I like the fact that it did not shatter, and the sonically sealed edge was visibly disturbed with a single blow of a hammer.

Likewise most NGC holders I've tried. With the NTC holders, as anyone who has done it will confirm, you should probably be in a well-ventilated area when cracking them out.

[coinman_23885]

Likewise most NGC holders I've tried. With the NTC holders, as anyone who has done it will confirm, you should probably be in a well-ventilated area when cracking them out.

 

Why? Are there any inherent health risks?

[messydesk]

Likewise most NGC holders I've tried. With the NTC holders, as anyone who has done it will confirm, you should probably be in a well-ventilated area when cracking them out.

 

Why? Are there any inherent health risks?

Not sure if it's the plastic insert or if they used a noxious adhesive rather than sonic welding (I don't have any NTC slabs anymore), but they win the award for worst smelling slabs.

[Conder101]

I was under the impression that the blue label "quick release" holders coincided with James Taylor taking over.

The curved bottom blue label slabs began in Feb 2005. The square bottom blue labels started in September of 2007, James Taylor took over in late December 2007/Jan 2008. The yellow labels began in August 2008.

[coinman_23885]

I believe that the PCI slabs were probably crystal-styrene or some brittle plastic that shatters easily. However, it is very cheap material with good optical characteristics. I do not know what PCGS and NGC are using for slab material now but my guess would be either a Polyterpthalate or PET (Polyester thermoplastics). In any event, they are pretty tough and sonic weld well.

 

great information thank you

 

is pet and polyterpthalate totally inert materials? do they after many years leach any odors or oil?

 

 

Yes the materials referenced are inert, and they are the chemicals used in Mylar flips.

[jom]

Just as you don't judge a book by it's cover you can't judge a coin by it's slab.

 

I still think the reason these lower tier TPGs never get anywhere is the fact that they simply don't get the big-time material to show their slab off with. And when they do and it's graded correctly it gets cracked out and sent to NGC or PCGS just like Bill's situation with his gold coin. To me, it's just futile to gain a foot hold in the TGP business.

 

For the collector you just have to learn to grade for yourself. Hec, that applies to coins in NGC and PCGS as well but unfortunately may ignore that....for some reason.

 

jom