Read Part I First

Sample slab collecting can be fun and interesting. In some cases with only a few hundred samples handed out to dealers or show attendees, they can quickly become very scarce. The fun begins with the search.

You can peruse through ebay or search your local coin shops hunting for that elusive sample that’s so hard to find. While the coins may be common, the holders are not! Sometimes, Sample Slabs will contain some very nice coins. We’ll look closer at them in my next article.

With all the changes that have come about since the mid 1980’s there’re many different samples to collect. Sample Slabs were created as a way for TPGS’s to advertise their new holders, any new label changes as well as any new security features that have been added.

It’s best to start at the beginning so we’ll cover two TPGS’s; NGC and PCGS. PCGS was founded in 1986. They wanted to create a product whereas a collector could buy a certified coin, in a plastic holder, without ever seeing it. They could do so with the knowledge that the coin was authentic and with the grade being guaranteed.

The best part was, if a coin was found to be over graded, the company would buy it back from the customer at the retail price. NGC was formed a few months later, offering pretty much the same service.

Both were in competition with one another, and each offering guaranteed authenticated and graded coins, and with a money buy-back policy. What the two companies’s offered was very similar, but when it came to the slab’s, that’s where the similarity ended.

In the beginning their slabs could not have been more opposite. As you can see in the picture PCGS has an almost generic and plain slab, with an insert looking like it was made on a dot matrix printer using common card stock. NGC had a far more modern look to it.

So let’s look at a first generation PCGS sample‘s, we will look at the holder first and then discuss the coin. You can see that the insert looked quite primitive, there are perforations lines all around the insert and the print is very a basic typed written label.

From what I’ve read, PCGS used Roosevelt Dimes at first dated 1964-D and 1963 . These coins ranged from no grade to a Proof type but both contained very nice coins.

PCGC chose these coins in the first place because they were low cost common coins but sill good enough for people to want to hang onto, but that’s only my opinion

It’s now very hard to find this type of sample, I’ve seen very few if any for sale so if you do see one, and you can get it and still stay within your budget , my advice would be to grab it wile you can.

Now let’s look at the NCG first generation samples. This sample slab has the nickname “The Fatty” as it is thicker than later NGC slabs. Now the NCG is a smaller more symmetrical looking slab, with a modern type face and a logo pressed on the back of the outer shell, which PCGS didn’t have.

The NGC label has a more all around pleasing Appearance. Again you see the Roosevelt Dime’s being used. Here we have a 1960- D, this slab was not graded , however, they also used a 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963 and a 1964 some with grades some without, the graded coins ranged from Pf -64 to PF-65.

Now just to keep it interesting NGC also used a 1964 Kennedy and even a 1943 steel war penny The 1964 The Kennedy was a MS-64 and the 1943 steel war penny was a MS-65.
The one thing first generation NGC slabs have in common is the green label (or do they)? I will cover this in a future article.

Remember some sample slabs can be valuable, I have seen them for sale on Ebay from
$0.99 to over $500.00. When I started collecting you could buy a first or second generation PGC or NGC for around $10.00 now they can go for over $40.00.

This is not to say you still can’t get a deal out there, what this should tell you is that more and more people are realizing the value of sample slabs. Don’t wait until it’s to late, because they have gone up so high you find yourself saying, remember when I could have bought them at a far lower price. Star now and stay with it…

So until next time remember to buy the coin and not the slab, but when it comes to sample slabs, buy the slab and not the coin..

All the Best,

Alan Canavan

Buy Sample Slabs At Ebay