I recently watched a bidding war on eBay, 43 bids battling it out for the chance to be the new owner of a PCGS, 1964 W/ Japan, 100 Yen, Olympic Silver, sample slab that eventually sold for $92.99. It’s a very rare sample, and by the looks of the bids, it showed. I have never before seen one for sale before, but you never know when one will show up again.

Without a population report on this particular sample, or any other sample, it is unknown how many were made. This got me thinking about the really rare sample slabs, and if people know what to look for, when rummaging through dealers bins, or if one comes up for action?

Like coins, there are some very rare examples of sample slabs. Knowing just what to look for can be paramount, in securing a long forgotten sample. So in this article we will discuss just how rare some samples have become, and where you might look to obtain one of these treasures.

I have never seen any of the following samples come up on any action site, but be assured they will command a hefty price when they do. As no one knows just how many are left. Some of these company’s are no longer in business, and that makes these samples even more elusive and difficult to find on the market. The fun is all in the hunt, and knowing what to look for will only help, if you ever come across one of these treasures.

ACG ACCUGRADE

Lets start with ACG. They were founded in 1984. ACG was the first company to slab coins in a hard plastic slab. They originally used photoslabs, but changed to using a smaller slab without photo around 1986 . Now from what I have read, they claimed never to have produced a sample slab. But yet they do exist. I think this is going to be a tough one to find.

BLANCHARD

Next we have a company named BLANCHARD. This company deals mostly in gold and silver coins and bullion, They used a slab produced by ACG and they decided on a Nickel for there sample slab. You can see that it’s a common proof Nickel. Plus, for this sample, they changed the color on the reverse. This company is still around and helps people invest in rare numismatics. So this is one to look for, as it would be considered a rare sample slab.

COMPUGRADE

The next sample we will look at is slabbed by Compugrade. Originally formed in 1991 Compugrade planned to grade coins using computers. But after only a few months they went out of business. The only two I have seen where both Mint State 1967 Kennedy half dollar. There samples are very hard to find, and will also command a high price when and if they ever come up for auction.

GLOBAL

Here we have a sample from GCS who started slabbing coins in 2001. This was a very unusual sample as it had a picture of the coin, and a detailed write-up as well. Also you will notice that this sample has been graded. Is it the actual grade of the coin? It would take some further research if it can be determined at all. This slab never really caught on, and I imagine it will be a hard sample to find.

HALLMARK

Now we have Hallmark, they were around from 1987 to 1991. Now you might recognize the holder, as it was sold off to a dealer, who in turn sold the slabs, labels and moulds to PCI and they continued to use the same basic design and label color. This is another one that was probably made in small numbers and I have never seen one except in pictures.

NTC

This sample is from NTC, founded in 2002, and is still around today. Though not in the top four of all coin grading companies, I have seen their normal slabs listed on eBay. However, their sample slabs don‘t come up for sale often, it would fit nicely into any sample slab collection.

PCGS

Now here is a prized sample, the PCGS Doily. Called that because it looked like a tea pot doily. It was first produced in August 1989 and only lasted until January 1990. A very short lifespan for any slab. The Doily was designed because a shop owner was counterfeiting the PCGS label. He got away with it for a short time, but was soon found out. PCGS though it was time for better security.

To make sure this never happened again, PCGS countered with the doily. They were made from thousands of tiny dots on a dot matrix printer, with an outer ring and hologram placed on the back.

From what I understand, very few of these samples survive. This has got to be one of the most sought after of all samples. Even Doily slabs that are not samples command a very high price. To even find a doily sample would be very exciting to say the least.