Am I Crazy?

[BOILER78]

Okay I've been wrestling with this for the past three hours.

I purchased a complete set of 1868 aluminum patterns at the FUN show and they arrived in this mornings mail. This set was one of only five sets issued and comes with the original leather bound presentation case.

 

The case itself is really cool with thick glass panes protecting both the obverse and reverse sides of the coins. Here is a catalog photo of the Garrett set form Bowers and Merenas 1979 auction for reference.

 

 

Now my dilemma. All of the coins have been certified by PCGS and I have this crazy urge to crack the coins out and put them back in the original case. The coins range in grade from 64-66 and for the most part I agree with the assigned grades (2-3 of the gold pieces are probably overgraded by a point and a couple of the silver types are undergraded)

 

I know from a financial standpoint the obvious answer is leave them be but asthetically this set would make a fantastic presentation in the case of issue.

 

What do you think guys what should I do? Am I crazy for even thinking about this?

[MunkyMan95]

I'd be afraid of damaging them while I was putting them back in. Or eve while cracking them out. Yeah, I'd say you're crazy. One of 5 sets known, no doubt crazy value, leave them in the holders for protection, not just necessarily valuation.

[MarkFeld]

Mark, having met you, I'd say you are definitely crazy, but that has nothing to do with the subject at hand.

 

Go for it - that's how those coins were meant to be (displayed and enjoyed).

 

[gmarguli]

While I can fully understand the desire to free them from their slabs and return it to being a set, I'd leave them in the slabs. Aluminum is not pretty when it reacts. I've seen too many ugly aluminum coins over the years. I'd want the added protection of the slab for these coins.

[Zoins]

How you treat high priced coins, or indeed any collectible item, is a trade off between enjoyment, resale value and historic preservation. Will putting them back in the original holder or storing them in it long term damage the patterns?

 

If the patterns are going to spend most of their time in a safety deposit box and you are primarily going to enjoy them through photos, then I would say leave them in the slabs.

 

If you intend on looking at the actual patterns and you think you'll get more enjoyment out of having them in the original holder, then I would say put them back in the holder. There are many times when a set of coins is more enjoyable to look at when placed together. Do you intend on looking at them or showing them to your friends?

 

One of the things I enjoy is sharing with people what I have. I get a lot more enjoyment when a friend visits and comments on a painting I have hanging up, than with a painting I have in storage which I can't share. If you feel the same way and think showing people the coins in their original holder would be a better experience, that is something to consider.

 

At the end of the day, money is just money, but enjoyment and time with your friends is priceless.

[IGWT]

This case is one where the plastic adds nothing but protection. I'd place the coins where they are meant to be if I were certain that there wouldn't be any degradation in condition.

 

You received them through the mail? I hope that they arrived in 16 separate, registered packages!

[MikeInFL]

Crack those suckers out. A set as awesome as that deserves to live it its original packaging. If it has lasted this long in its original packaging, I see no reason the coins would turn if returned to its original state. That being said, if these coins are worth as much as I suspect, I can see why someone might prefer the relative safety of the slabs....Mike

[MikeKing]

I think it's a great idea to put them back in that lovely original case, as they were meant to be, and you will also

win kudos and points from the goddess of numismatics as well as from your friends here on this board, but, I worry about the coins 'turning'.

 

The addition of a fingerprint in the process is also a concern.

 

I don't know how reactive aluminum is, but don't get any tomato sauce on them, otherwise you'll be up *spoon*'s creek.

 

Considering all that, if it were mine, I would like to be so bold as to do it and earn the kudos from the goddess.

[craton-migration]

Leave them in the PCGS holders for protection and storage. Though it would be pretty cool to have them out and in the original display case, they are sitting safely in propper storage.

[TJ'S Coins]

If one wants originality then the original case is the way to go. It adds to the authenticity of the set and remains an heirloom of numismatics from that day. I do not think you are crazy for thinking about this. The slabs are the unoriginal part of the set in its current condition.

[truthteller]

What if a meteroite hits your house and tosses around the set? Wouldn't you want them protected from the chaos?

 

 

 

 

TRUTH

[WoodenJefferson]

"CWAZY! " ~spit....sputter~ You'll get environmental damge just from people drooling all over those!

 

Make some sort of display...a shadowbox, something framed, (not Rodger Rabbit) laid out, you know a high dollar artsy piece out of mahogany/glass with velvet back ground.

 

Keep'em in holders!

 

Well, that's my idea.

[GAB]

I sure don't think YOU are crazy !

Why?

Because I suffer with the same mental anxiety over my little presentation set.

BUT - I don't have the original case, or I think the choice would be easy

 

[JRocco]

I think it's a great idea to put them back in that lovely original case, as they were meant to be, and you will also

win kudos and points from the goddess of numismatics as well as from your friends here on this board, but, I worry about the coins 'turning'.

 

The addition of a fingerprint in the process is also a concern.

 

I don't know how reactive aluminum is, but don't get any tomato sauce on them, otherwise you'll be up *spoon*'s creek.

 

Considering all that, if it were mine, I would like to be so bold as to do it and earn the kudos from the goddess.

 

I totally agree with this...

 

Go slow...go careful...BUT GO.....

 

Congrats by the way on that awesome set.

[leeg]

Coin Collecting is a hobby that should be fun and bring us enjoyment. I'd do some research on Aluminium to assist in maintaining a neutral enviornment then put them back in thier original display case.

[toyonakataro]

Wow, that's a great set.

Based upon a speculation that your are very rich and already have enogh money to leave for your family, then why would you worry about losing some money by cracking them out if you wanted to? Life isn't long(most of us won't live a century), and it's your money. You should choose the best way to enjoy your hobby.

But I would ask someone who is good at cracking slabs if I were in your position/

[AegisIII]

They belong in the original case. Break them out.

[Newmismatist]

Mark - A great set, but too much risk that you might damage them just in the removal process - and they could get damaged without the plastic protection. I'd leave them in the Holders and do a display with the original presentation case, the bowers photo and the coins. It woud be a killer display!

[DirtyGoldMan]

I have viewed the Newman 1868 aluminum set (below) at the new Newman Museum, and I found that the presentation in the original case was somewhat awkward and unattractive, as least as it was displayed. I also like the protection provided by the slabs and the relative ease of studying each coin individually.

 

[XpipedreamR]

I have viewed the Newman 1868 aluminum set (below) at the new Newman Museum, and I found that the presentation in the original case was somewhat awkward and unattractive, as least as it was displayed. I also like the protection provided by the slabs and the relative ease of studying each coin individually.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's your picture

 

[CarlWohlforth]

Thanks for posting this question. It is a fun question to think about.

 

I don't see the labels on the slabs adding value because there are only 5 sets known. I don't think the price of the set will go up or down if the grades on the labels were different.

 

The set would look very nice in that display. Perhaps it would even protect the coins from corrosion? I don't know but the glass is encouraging. Anyway the worry for me (like many of the other responses) would be preservation. It would really be terrible if any of those coins started corroding.

[MikeKing]

my guess though is that if they haven't shown any signs of corrosion already, chances are they'd last another 140 years in their original holders.

[just-john]

STOP walk away from the coin's- Relax walk away from the coin's-Take a break go to the bank buy some rolls of halfs-pennys- dimes-nickels- play with them till you get that idea out of your head

[23Pairer]

Make like Seymour Butts and get crackin'. Original container is calling them home. Good Luck!

[Bruceswar]

Crack them out!!

[IrishMike]

Thomas Wolfe was wrong, you can go home again. I don't see the labels adding any value and I would get more pleasure viewing them in their home.

[James_OldeTowne]

I am not a fan of Kointains, but this is one of these rare scenarios in which I would use them. Personally, I would not hesitate for even a second to liberate these coins from their slabs (though I would keep the inserts). I can't see any way that being forced to look at these lovely coins individually in their big, ugly plastic tombs can ever exceed the enjoyment of seeing them the way they were meant to be presented. The Kointains would give them maximum protection while still allowing you to enjoy the effect of the presentation.

 

Now, if these were widgets, I wouldn't crack them out, but the coins you have are classy and special, and the slabs only serve to detract from their refinement.

 

I do not think you're crazy at all! (Well, maybe you'd be crazy not to do it .)

[Conder101]

No brainer, these pieces BELONG in that original case. As you said they made five sets. To me there are now four (or less) because I just don't see individual coins sitting around in somebody elses holders and not the original holder as a SET, but just as individuals. It's like having the Mona Lisa in a glass front steel picture frame from Wal-Mart. It just isn't right.

[DC Dawg]

It's like having the Mona Lisa in a glass front steel picture frame from Wal-Mart. It just isn't right.

 

Count me amongst the "crack out" crowd. Keep the set as a set and enjoy them as a set. That's the way they were made, that's the way they should stay.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Scott

[zrlevin]

I think that James's Kointain idea was an excellent one.