Franklins - Slabbed vs Raw and FBL etc

[Steve N-migration]

I started collecting in the early 70's and drifter away in the late 80's. I got back into it quite enthusiastically about 3 years ago. Frankies are my favorites, but when I got back into it, it seemed like the hobby was totally different from when I left. I immediately fell into the slab trap and started buying only slabbed Frankies until I "woke" up. Now I am buying only raw coins. I have completed a set (the last of them are being slabbed as I write this) that is slabbed MS 64 or better, but I will have no more coins slabbed.

 

FBL is somewhat important to me, because it is an indication of the overall condition and strike of the coin, but it is not a determining factor as to what I think of a coin. I am now interested in eye appeal only, and don't like the toned coins very much at all. I must say that some of them look awful!

 

I think a full set of nicely matched coins in a Dansco album, can't be beat for eye appeal.

[Hoot]

SteveN - Welcome to the boards! I like your idea that collecting in a Dansco can be quite rewarding. Can I ask, then, why are you collecting a slabbed set if that's unappealing to you? FBL Franklins inside a holder are much more liquid than outside a holder. For me, there's too much disparity in price, and that's nearly pervasively true for any strike-attributed series.

 

Anyhow, I like my Frankies toned and in albums. Variety is the spice of life, yes? I cracked this one out of a PCGS holder (Is it worth as much now, raw? ):

 

 

Hoot

[gmarguli]

FBL is somewhat important to me, because it is an indication of the overall condition and strike of the coin, but it is not a determining factor as to what I think of a coin. I am now interested in eye appeal only, and don't like the toned coins very much at all. I must say that some of them look awful!

 

FBL is not an indication of the overall condition and strike of the coin. It is an indication that 6% (NGC standard) or 3% (PCGS standard) of the coin is well struck. The rest of the coin could look like mush. It also has no bearing on condition. The condition of the coin could be superb gem MS67 or it could be a slightly circulated EF45.

 

Personally, I'd rather have an all around well struck coin than a coin with just some well struck bell lines.

[JamminJ]

It also has no bearing on condition. The condition of the coin could be superb gem MS67 or it could be a slightly circulated EF45.

 

Do the TPGs give FBL designations on non mint state coins?

 

-JamminJ

[gmarguli]

Do the TPGs give FBL designations on non mint state coins?

 

NGC does. PCGS does not.

[Oldtrader3]

I happen to like white Capital holders for silver coins. I cracked many of my Ike's and SBA's to put them in a Capital holder. I figure that the keys can be resubmitted if I ever want to sell them. I can understand how you feel about slabs, at least for more modern coins.

[James_OldeTowne]

I'll give my humble opinion, for what it's worth. I have a collection of Frankies, both proof and business-strike, though I'm missing about four coins. Many of mine would go FBL, but that's not why I chose them, it was just a question of wanting fewer bagmarks and highly lustrous coins.

 

Now, on Standing Liberty quarters, for example, I've learned that the full-head designation is about as "fool-headed" a designation as there is, because many "FH" coins have awful shield definition, and yet there are crazy people out there who pay ridiculous money for two letters on the slab. So in my opinion, SLQs are the worst series for paying extra for a "full" designation that's really meaningless more than 90% of the time.

 

Mercury dimes are somewhat better. If all three bands are full, it's likely the rest of the coin is at least well above average, but again, it's not definitive. I would pay special attention to Mercs with full-bands.

 

Finally, my opinion on Frankies is that if it has full bell lines by the definition that NGC uses, then you've probably got a pretty well-struck coin. NGC requires both sets of lines to be there. PCGS requires only the bottom set, so "Frank"ly, I totally ignore any PCGS Frankies that state "FBL". I look at them just for grade. So what I'm saying is if you're buying NGC certified Frankies, then I think there's a little added value to the FBL designation, but not for the other services.

 

In closing, I should admit that my entire collection of Frankies was put together from raw coins. There are no crackouts in it at all, as this was one set I was determined to collect with "virgin coins". But this also means I was very careful selecting coins, and the way I know that I did well is based on the frequent offers of people wanting to buy my set. No way!

 

The only time I really look at certified Frankies is to fill a wantlist. It's a series that truly is enjoyable to collect raw!

 

James

[GoYankees]

FBL is somewhat important to me, because it is an indication of the overall condition and strike of the coin, but it is not a determining factor as to what I think of a coin. I am now interested in eye appeal only, and don't like the toned coins very much at all. I must say that some of them look awful!

 

FBL is not an indication of the overall condition and strike of the coin. It is an indication that 6% (NGC standard) or 3% (PCGS standard) of the coin is well struck. The rest of the coin could look like mush. It also has no bearing on condition. The condition of the coin could be superb gem MS67 or it could be a slightly circulated EF45.

 

Personally, I'd rather have an all around well struck coin than a coin with just some well struck bell lines.

 

For FBL designations, how does ANACS compare to NGC/PCGS?

[SilverDollarMan]

I'll give my humble opinion, for what it's worth. I have a collection of Frankies, both proof and business-strike, though I'm missing about four coins. Many of mine would go FBL, but that's not why I chose them, it was just a question of wanting fewer bagmarks and highly lustrous coins.

 

Now, on Standing Liberty quarters, for example, I've learned that the full-head designation is about as "fool-headed" a designation as there is, because many "FH" coins have awful shield definition, and yet there are crazy people out there who pay ridiculous money for two letters on the slab. So in my opinion, SLQs are the worst series for paying extra for a "full" designation that's really meaningless more than 90% of the time.

 

Mercury dimes are somewhat better. If all three bands are full, it's likely the rest of the coin is at least well above average, but again, it's not definitive. I would pay special attention to Mercs with full-bands.

 

Finally, my opinion on Frankies is that if it has full bell lines by the definition that NGC uses, then you've probably got a pretty well-struck coin. NGC requires both sets of lines to be there. PCGS requires only the bottom set, so "Frank"ly, I totally ignore any PCGS Frankies that state "FBL". I look at them just for grade. So what I'm saying is if you're buying NGC certified Frankies, then I think there's a little added value to the FBL designation, but not for the other services.

 

In closing, I should admit that my entire collection of Frankies was put together from raw coins. There are no crackouts in it at all, as this was one set I was determined to collect with "virgin coins". But this also means I was very careful selecting coins, and the way I know that I did well is based on the frequent offers of people wanting to buy my set. No way!

 

The only time I really look at certified Frankies is to fill a wantlist. It's a series that truly is enjoyable to collect raw!

 

James

 

Good post, thx 4 the info. Still learning and liking it.

[Steve N-migration]

In answer to Hoot's question about why I started buying slabs....

 

When I returned to the hobby, most of the coins that I saw for sale were slabbed. I was foolish, and before checking things out, I assumed that the hobby and gone totally in that directions so I joined NCG and sent my raw coins to be slabbed. Most of them came back with very satisfactory grades, in my opinion. Having a nearly complete collection of slabbed coins, I now feel this compusion to finish it.

 

I still want my raw coins though, and will continue to purse a complet collection of raw Frankies.

 

By the way, I think this is a coin that is grossly underappreciated. Thanks for all of your insightful responses.

[michael]