Slabbing

[oldcopper]

3 hours ago, PWA 1967 said:

"onto a fortune" i dont think they are doing so bad Peter with the two main companies having done nearly 90 million already  ,think they are only interested in their name on the label and not bothered about the coin thats in it 

Sorry Pete - I mean even more of a fortune!

The bottom line for me is why buy a coin when you can't enjoy it's beauty in all lights, especially directly reflected light to show off any brilliance. Apart from as an "investment" maybe. Surely reflectivity (ie brilliance) is one of the main reason people like proofs for instance. Ah, the dazzling reflection of....perspex! It's not quite the same.

But if you find it hard to store or care for your coins properly (I've been there!), then slabs do have their plus points.

[VickySilver]

And as careful as I try to be, I have had proofs to deteriorate as far as surface toning or loss of original copper "red".  The worst example is what was a completely red and original 1926 ME that now would have to be characterized as "Red and Brown". Still well struck and one of the finest, but just not all there the way it was 15 or so years ago.

[oldcopper]

2 hours ago, VickySilver said:

And as careful as I try to be, I have had proofs to deteriorate as far as surface toning or loss of original copper "red".  The worst example is what was a completely red and original 1926 ME that now would have to be characterized as "Red and Brown". Still well struck and one of the finest, but just not all there the way it was 15 or so years ago.

I remember viewing a 1694 and 1717 halfpenny in the first Gregory sale (Baldwins May 206) and their orange lustre was breathtaking for copper of that age. Anyway, they turned up again for auction at Baldwins several years later (maybe 2014?) and they just weren't the same, I'm sure there had been a very noticeable fading/darkening of the colour and it wasn't just my eyesight. They were described  in the auction catalogue the same as in 2006.

The person who bought the 1694 did well though, as the coin got slabbed (significantly it was now a BN) and sold for ~$8K hammer at HA  a year or two back (from memory)!

[Colin88]

On 8/24/2019 at 3:42 PM, VickySilver said:

And as careful as I try to be, I have had proofs to deteriorate as far as surface toning or loss of original copper "red".  The worst example is what was a completely red and original 1926 ME that now would have to be characterized as "Red and Brown". Still well struck and one of the finest, but just not all there the way it was 15 or so years ago.

I had the same problem with my then collection of copper and bronze back in the day .. prior to slabbing .. I lived in valley where the air was habitually damp and over time reduced my BU coins to not so BU .. we live and learn 

[Diaconis]

Interesting chat about slabbing

 

[copper123]

Slabbing has death conutations , if you call it slabbing is it death of a coin?

Entombing is not much better

[copper123]

On 8/24/2019 at 6:02 PM, oldcopper said:

I remember viewing a 1694 and 1717 halfpenny in the first Gregory sale (Baldwins May 206) and their orange lustre was breathtaking for copper of that age. Anyway, they t

The person who bought the 1694 did well though, as the coin got slabbed (significantly it was now a BN) and sold for ~$8K hammer at HA  a year or two back (from memory)!

The person who bought them - took them out of circulation years ago and probably died in the 1730's , I seriously think he never recieved any folding money for them

[blakeyboy]

35 minutes ago, Diaconis said:

Interesting chat about slabbing

 

Very interesting...thanks for that.

I slabbed my wife a few years back to keep her in the same condition.

The Police have now informed me that that was a mistake, and are taking action.

Should I show them the video?

[oldcopper]

17 hours ago, Diaconis said:

Interesting chat about slabbing

 

I saw this the other day - well done and appreciate them doing it, but as usual the  key drawback  of slabs (to me) is not mentioned - it's not so much whether you can handle the coin in question, but that you can't enjoy the coin in directly reflected light. So it's much harder to appreciate the brilliance or beautiful multi-coloured toning, say, of an old proof, as you're mostly seeing the light reflection off the plastic which drowns much of that out. 

[Peckris 2]

3 hours ago, oldcopper said:

I saw this the other day - well done and appreciate them doing it, but as usual the  key drawback  of slabs (to me) is not mentioned - it's not so much whether you can handle the coin in question, but that you can't enjoy the coin in directly reflected light. So it's much harder to appreciate the brilliance or beautiful multi-coloured toning, say, of an old proof, as you're mostly seeing the light reflection off the plastic which drowns much of that out. 

Hear hear.

[celtic_coin]

My previous post is related with the topic: the Numistacker is so depended on slabbing that he does have a very limited knowledge regarding grading coins. Any experienced coin collectors would grade this as NEF, while he thought he has bought a UNC proof.

Edited March 13, 2021 by celtic_coin

[Diaconis]

8 minutes ago, celtic_coin said:

My previous post is related with the topic: the Numistacker is so depended on slabbing that he does have a very limited knowledge regarding grading coins. Any experienced coin collectors would grade this as NEF, while he thought he has bought a UNC proof.

numistacker = uk miscreant 😬

[Sword]

On 8/24/2019 at 3:42 PM, VickySilver said:

And as careful as I try to be, I have had proofs to deteriorate as far as surface toning or loss of original copper "red".  The worst example is what was a completely red and original 1926 ME that now would have to be characterized as "Red and Brown". Still well struck and one of the finest, but just not all there the way it was 15 or so years ago.

I would be a lot more keener on slabbing if I collect high grade copper coins. I think it is just a lot of effort looking after coppers and slabbing is an easy way out. 

With regard to the 1926E, it is a little strange that the coin has been fine for 80 years before toning kicking in. But I guess we are probably living in a more polluted atmosphere these days. 

[celtic_coin]

26 minutes ago, Sword said:

I would be a lot more keener on slabbing if I collect high grade copper coins. I think it is just a lot of effort looking after coppers and slabbing is an easy way out. 

With regard to the 1926E, it is a little strange that the coin has been fine for 80 years before toning kicking in. But I guess we are probably living in a more polluted atmosphere these days. 

Indeed. Tin coins would be the same. It is extremely difficult to store tin coins without slabbing.

I have purchased https://live.spink.com/lots/view/4-15AC0V/mint-state-63-colonial-america-james-ii-1685-88-plantation-token-of-124-reale-1688-in-tin this coin from the hardcastle sale, and slabbing this gem is definitely necessary and brilliant.

Information of this coin: https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/AmPlant.intro.html

 

[VickySilver]

Indeed, I am very sad as that coin was one of my very favorites that when sold by Spink 20 years ago was listed as GEF. The colour was so terrific that I thought that the best chance of preserving it was to slab it (PCGS65 RB). I still prefer it to all those "hyper varietal" 1877 narrow dates and the like.

[1949threepence]

On 3/13/2021 at 1:43 PM, oldcopper said:

I saw this the other day - well done and appreciate them doing it, but as usual the  key drawback  of slabs (to me) is not mentioned - it's not so much whether you can handle the coin in question, but that you can't enjoy the coin in directly reflected light. So it's much harder to appreciate the brilliance or beautiful multi-coloured toning, say, of an old proof, as you're mostly seeing the light reflection off the plastic which drowns much of that out. 

Yes, very interesting. Three observations:-

1/ I agree with Neil that many UK collectors prefer not to have their coins slabbed. They appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the coin in the raw state, where it can be handled and seen as it should be seen, not through plastic.

2/ This video made me realise even more than I conjectured in the thread I started about the issue a few months back, that slabbing places a steep premium on a coin, and that the subjective difference between say MS63 & MS64 can mean thousands of pounds difference in price.

3/ I'm not sure I necessarily agree with getting a professional to remove a coin from a slab. If you take care you should be able to do it yourself without damaging the coin. There are instructional videos on you tube as to how to do it. I've removed quite a few now, without damaging one coin in the process.     

[Sword]

For me, having a 19C coin in a slab is more acceptable from the aesthetic view point than having a hammered coin slabbed. A 500 years old coin encased in plastic looks rather strange.

Any potential advantage of slabbing is greatly reduced for hammered. Grading is much more subjective and less significant compared to eye appeal. Hammered coins can be handled more easily without special precautions.

[ozjohn]

https://theassayoffice.com/tarnish_labexpert

Food for thought. However my major concern is not so much the slabbing process more the inconsistencies of the grading outcomes for some coins. Always buy the coin not the assigned grade.

[blakeyboy]

30 minutes ago, ozjohn said:

 Always buy the coin not the assigned grade.

Exactly.

I don't understand slabbing, just as I don't understand  'AUNC' as a grade...

What someone else thinks of your coin only really comes into play when you intend to sell it.

If you want it to keep, who cares what others think?

 

Unless the coin is that good that you can't resist posting it here for us to ogle......:)