slabs

[Peter]

I agree I don't like steak every night.Sometimes egg and chips will do.

[Oxford_Collector]

I agree I don't like steak every night.Sometimes egg and chips will do.

I don't really have a problem with slabs, I can see how they could help when buying a coin "unseen" (apart from in a photo), not just from eBay, but from online dealers too, especially if they're not one's you've dealt with before and don't know how they grade coins (someone's "GEF" can be another's "UNC", or a "GVF" an "EF", for example...). Also as a private seller, if selling a coin on eBay and its a really nice one, I think there's more chance potential buyers will believe you when you say its UNC i.e. it actually *is* UNC, not like many coins described as such on eBay, so they might actually bid on it as if it is a UNC (whereas I think many eBay bidders will assume when a seller says something is "UNC" that its only really EF, and will therefore bid as if it was the lower grade....). I can also see how slabbing might be useful for insurance purposes too, for higher value coins and also for coins for which there a a large number of known counterfeits (e..g. Gothic Florins, key dates / mints of many coins etc.), especially for beginners.

I'm aware of the arguments against them, of course, and I prefer buying coins when I can see them and hold them in the hand first, but this isn't always possible and I think slabs can have their place. I'm not sure I'd like to see them take-over here like they have in the US for all but the low-end market, though.

If I was to sell any of my better coins privately (e.g. via eBay), though, I would consider slabbing the British coins via CGS, and any US and European coins with PCGS (I think to submit coins to NGC you would have to send them to the US, whereas you can submit to PCGS via UK partners who send them to Paris for grading, I think) to try to ensure I get a price for them that is appropriate for their grade. I'm not sure that this would be necessary if asking a dealer to sell a coin for you on commission, though.