A reason why you should buy the coin and not the slab

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CaptJohn

A reason why you should buy the coin and not the slab

#1 Unread post by CaptJohn »

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Got this in a recent Heritage Auction. One other bidder spotted the glowing error (NOT the grade) on the PCGS tag so I had to pay dearly. It is the rarest combo of all the 1891 cents SDSL Obv 2. And they have it labeled as the most common one - LDLL. There are six significant varieties.

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Re: A reason why you should buy the coin and not the slab

#2 Unread post by SensibleSal66 »

I actually look at both. Especially with companies like ANACS .
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Re: A reason why you should buy the coin and not the slab

#3 Unread post by Daniel »

But would you have bought this particular coin if it wasn't in the slab?

CaptJohn

Re: A reason why you should buy the coin and not the slab

#4 Unread post by CaptJohn »

Absolutely. I only had a circulated example of this coin and wanted a MS one. Of the six varieties of the 1891, this is considered the rarest with less than 5% of total mintage.

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Re: A reason why you should buy the coin and not the slab

#5 Unread post by Amishjedi »

Speaking from a "weekend novice" perspective and not as an experienced numismatic, I am forced to rely on ONLY purchasing slabbed coins - there seems to be so many fakes/replicas out there (and overall shady people, in general) taking advantage of newer collectors. I try to save for higher-value pieces in my collection, so I can't take any chances on wasting my money or getting taken for a ride. That is why I appreciate Daniel's videos and his attitude toward respecting the business - refreshing to hear the truth. I wish there was an LCD that I trusted close by, but for now I rely on my own research, and forums like this one to try and educate myself.

Struggling to arrive at a current, fair value for what a particular coin is worth is maddening sometimes. I find myself asking is there *really* that much of a visual difference between an MS64 and an MS65 to justify spending the extra $300 - $800? Sorry for the rant - appreciate finding this Site, the resident veterans and Daniel's videos - very helpful.
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CaptJohn

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#6 Unread post by CaptJohn »

ANACS kinda started this whole thing. But back then it was only to authenticate, not to grade. I used ANACS back when I wanted to make sure a gold $10 Indian of mine was legit. (It was). No slabs back then - just a photo. So I have no problem with getting something authenticated. But as you can see from my example, PCGS and others don't always get that correct.

But for somebody to pay thousands of dollars for a common date Lincoln cent just because a little sticker says MS68RD makes no sense to me. I bet I can show you many examples where a lower "graded" coin looks better than one they graded a point or two higher. If you cannot see the difference between a MS67 and a MS68 why would you pay ten times more? The Registry is a great marketing ploy by TPGs to have collectors duke it out to be number one on a list. Me, I want to catch a bigger fish than you, not be number one on a Registry list.

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Re: A reason why you should buy the coin and not the slab

#7 Unread post by Earle42 »

Amishjedi wrote: Wed Oct 14, 2020 11:32 am Speaking from a "weekend novice" perspective and not as an experienced numismatic, I am forced to rely on ONLY purchasing slabbed coins - there seems to be so many fakes/replicas out there (and overall shady people, in general) taking advantage of newer collectors.
When I personally say to buy the coin and not the slab, the meaning behind that is to check the coin itself to make sure its worthy of what is on the slab. You can find damaged MS70 coins in slabs without having to look too hard. Yet some people just go ahead and pay for what the label says b/c a TPG printed the label. Buy it if you like the coin itself - don't evaluate the coin ONLY on what is printed on the label.
Edited to add...or buy from Daniel or someone else you know you can trust!
Struggling to arrive at a current, fair value for what a particular coin is worth is maddening sometimes. I find myself asking is there *really* that much of a visual difference between an MS64 and an MS65 to justify spending the extra $300 - $800? Sorry for the rant - appreciate finding this Site, the resident veterans and Daniel's videos - very helpful.
It is good you have struggled with this b/c they are absolutely NOT worth the extra. The proof of this is that if you break the coin out and resubmit it even to the same company, there is never a guarantee of the same grade again. The values assigned are totally artificial b/c of this fact. This is why people resubmit coins until they get the higher grade - if the difference in alleged value is thousands more.

And...the companies openly advertise grading is subjective. They know its not a science and openly proclaim coin grading is an art...and then proceed to do things like make registry sets so competition increases amongst collectors and people WILL pay the extra (sometime huge) dollar amounts for that one point better grade.
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

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