Put dates on slab inserts !!!

[DonHeath]

Lasering gold is a relatively new practice. Some of the more sophisticated AT techniques were not common practice a few years ago. Concerns about stability of conserved coins diminishes with the passage of time. It just seems that maturity in the current holder might indicate fewer potential worries, and might actually slow some of the crackout momentum. My guess is that the crackouts would be selected very carefully. Would that be good for the collector? I don't know.

 

[Wihlborg]

Don,

 

I agree with everything you have said, but I guess the point I am trying to make is that just because a coin was recently graded does not mean it has a problem.

 

For example; I have complete sets of Lincoln cents, Jefferson nickels, Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, Morgan & Peace dollars. All of the coins are mid to high-grade mint state examples except for a few of the rarer Morgan dollars that are AU-55 to AU-58 coins and the 1893s that is a F12.

 

80% - 85% of the coins were in NGC or PCGS holders when I bought them. I don’t really like the look of having a set of coins in different holders and as I firmly believe in the old saying ‘buy the coin, not the holder’ I had a lot of coins in different holders, so I cracked them out and put them into albums. All of these sets were completed at least four years ago. None of these coins had problems when I bought them and they still do not have any problems.

 

Now lets suppose that I decided to sell any of these coins and I sent them in to be graded again. Would the fact that they were graded recently mean they had problems? Should anyone pass on a coin that they really wanted because they look at a date on a label and think ‘Oh my god, this coin was only graded two months ago. I better not buy it, it might have a problem’. If a collector did this he/she would surely miss out on a lot of very nice coins.

 

The other side of this would be if a collector looks at a date on a label and thinks ‘WOW! This coin was graded years ago. It MUST be under graded!’. Sure there are some under graded coin in old holders, but is every coin in an old holder under graded? You can find coins that are under graded, over graded, with problems, without problems in ANY holder, new or old.

 

We need to remember that nothing in life is without risk, but if we all followed the principle of ‘buying the coin’ I believe the risk would be significantly reduced.

 

John

 

[Sunnywood]

John,

 

I agree that a recent certification date does not necessarily imply a problem. But, in conjunction with looking at the coin (a radical concept !!), I still feel it is useful information.

 

For example, a piece of rare proof gold in a brand new holder is not likely to have come out of Grandma's shoebox this past week. It has probably been resubmitted, possibly played with, etc. It makes you look carefully at the coin to see what you are getting. If a coin is obviously original, but is in a new holder, that conveys different information. Perhaps it was recently certified from an old-time collection, or resubmitted, or crossed.

 

If a coin is white & in a new holder, it has probably been conserved recently. That is useful information. You have to weigh your thoughts as to whether the coin will turn over time. If a coin is white & in an older holder, say at least 1 yr old, that conveys some security that the coin will not turn in the holder. If a coin is one you recognize from, say, the Childs Collection, auctioned in August 1999, and it still carries the same grade, but the holder is now from 2001, then you know it was already tried for an upgrade, so you won't think you can get one. This goes on and on and on.

 

You are at a show. A dealer offers you a "Pop 2/0" coin (according to a recent PCGS Pop report). But the cert date is yesterday. Therefore, this coin just got "made," the Pop is now really 3/0. Believe it or not, in the Registry world, this can affect value.

 

Of course, ultimately, the buying decision is based on the coin, not the holder. But the value of a coin may become more clear if you can say something about its history -- not just pedigree, but resubmissions, conservation, etc. I am not opposed to the idea of the cert being available online, but I prefer on the insert, so I can see it right on the bourse floor !!!

 

Sunnywood

 

[Wihlborg]

Sunnywood,

 

A dealer offers you a "Pop 2/0" coin (according to a recent PCGS Pop report). But the cert date is yesterday. Therefore, this coin just got "made," the Pop is now really 3/0.

 

This is the one point that you made in your reply that I have to admit I had not thought of, and I can understand how someone would want to know the date of certification when making a decision on whether or not to buy a coin under such circumstances.

 

Like I said, I am not saying that I do not want the date on the label, just that ‘I’ don’t think it should be relevant in 99% (it was 100% until you made the above point) of the decisions on whether or not someone should buy a coin. If NGC or PCGS started putting the date a coin was certified on the holders label I would still buy coins in their holders.

 

Speaking from my point of view, I buy coins that I like. If I find a coin I want and I agree with the grade (or think it is under graded) and I cannot find any problems with it, and it has nice eye appeal I buy it! If not I don’t. I don’t care if someone resubmitted it a couple of times trying for an up-grade. I don’t worry that someone may have done something to it sometime in the past, because if I can’t find a problem with it and it is in a NGC or PCGS holder than the people who are supposed to be experts could not find one either.

 

I guess it’s like you said ‘to each his own.’ And as one gentleman to another, I respect your thoughts on this matter and hope you can understand mine.

 

John

 

[Sunnywood]

Hi John,

 

Of course I respect your opinion, and I agree with most of what you have said in all of your posts !!

 

So much goes on behind the scenes in the coin market ... any little extra piece of information that can help collectors & buyers is welcome in my view. Of course, being able to get the information online would also be helpful in most instances.

 

But I'd still rather have it on the insert, preferably discreetly on the back, where the bar code *should* also be put !!

 

Best,

Sunnywood

 

 

 

[Wihlborg]

Sunnywood,

 

preferably discreetly on the back, where the bar code *should* also be put !!

 

Finally, there is something about this issue we agree on! I also think the bar code should be on the back of the holder, and if they do start putting the date on the labels I feel it should go there also.

 

John

 

[kenwin1]

What happened to "buy the coin not the holder"?

[kranky]

Very interesting points raised regarding dating the slabs, most of which had never occurred to me.

 

The ones that really struck me were the ones about the importance of knowing if a coin was slabbed before a particular designation was used, and the one regarding the pop reports. I don't play in the registry game but I can see how easy it would be to cash in big on a coin that hadn't hit the pop reports yet.

 

I don't think this is a matter of buying the holder, but buying the coin and ALSO knowing the history.