Excellent topic. I’m 63 and have been collecting since I was five. Out of the thousands of coins I have in my collection, only four are slabbed. It is incredibly satisfying putting on a pair of gloves and holding a coin in your hand that someone else held all those years ago. Being able to examine the coin from all sides is important to me. In a slab the coin becomes just an object in a piece of plastic. It loses that sense of history and wonder of who hands it has passed through before getting to me. When I watch RUclips videos of people sending out coins to be slabbed, they rarely say they are doing it to protect the coin but talk about how much more money they can get for the coin if it gets the grade they want. To me slabbed coins are more for people that are just flipping coins to make a quick profit.
I'm not a coin guy, I just have a passing interest, but I collect interesting and historical firearms and I feel very similarly. Not only do private collectors often take better care and do a better job at documenting and cataloguing important historical firearms, they also often actually use these items. They keep them running, if possible. It really is something extraordinary to use a relatively complex mechanical machine in the exact same fashion it's original owner did 180 or 200 years ago, and in the same exact fashion many others have between that time and now. The sense of connection, to me at least, is unparalleled.
Agree 100%. I get angry when youtube throws a video at me from people like Acousha Collectible because I absolutely get this awful feeling with that guy's videos. It's the dark side of coin the hobby -- so-called 'investors' who don't actually spend their money on something that could actually grow and produce something (i.e. actual investment).. they put their money into things just hoping to flip. Buy slabbed coins, picking through people's older slabs to look for more conservatively graded coins so they can try to get a CAC sticker on the slab and put up the coin for a higher price. It's a big nasty scheme that takes all the fun out of coin collecting. I'm like you; I have a total of 3 slabbed coins. Those 3 coins are steel cents (one from each mint). I bought them because they are steel and I wanted something that would most likely keep them from rusting in the future and thus keep looking nice. We knew the whole "slab everything" idea is a monetization scheme the moment the grading companies started posting their own price guides.
I agree but at the same time I can have slippery hands and messy work areas and slabs help keep them safe. What I do is I keep some slab free so I can get my "touchy fix" Haha. Usually my favorites that I know I'll keep forever and coins that are mint or I'll resale, I'll slab. I'll also slab to get information on coins I don't know much about. Currently I'm debating whether I should slab a Ptolemy coin that I recently found from the Svornos collection. The rainbow patina is amazing and it feels so heavy and good in the hand but it looks like it has been slabbed prior due to 4 little "holder" marks on the coin . I found it in a box at a numismatic shop in the corner with a price of $120. It looks ChXF at the worst. This place treats ancients like a red headed step child for some reason. I also found aMS Tiberius tribute penny there as well for 80$
Hello chat. I am an american and have been collecting coins for 20 years. This has become one of my favorite channels. If I may, I've been all around my Country to coin shows. I've made some big scores and I've made some purchases that I dont like. Graded coins have always been a "plus" for me, but in today's times I find that I dont agree with much of NGC's grades. Furthermore, on ancient coins you need to know quite a bit about the coin when you send it in, otherwise they not grade it anyways and charge you. This wasnt a big issue before. But they haveost many of their good ancient graders. Retirement, PCGS, etc. I will say that as an american ancient coins are so scary to many of us. There are so many fakes, and horror stories. So on big purchases I have bought from a slabbed seller. But I've since cracked many of them open. I will shorten this some. I want to thank Classical Numismatics. I love your passion. The correct way to pronounce Latin and other languages on these coins. You also gave a teaching style that is fun and very informative. I've become more confident on purchases of late. I will ask for us that do most of their purchasing on eBay. Sending coins in that I'm not sure kf can take months. By the time I get an answer that ebay seller may be gone or may not care since the 60 day guarantee is up. Is there a website for ancient coins where the lovers and collectors of them could perhaps post pictures of them for help? I have 3 very close ones I'd love help with. Also. I have a slabbed Athena Tet. It shows authentic. However I've never in my life seen one like this. Full crest. And perfectly placed. It looks authentic but I am wondering if this looks to anyone else like. Special engraving was done and careful striking. I mean the obverse is nothing like any I've seen personally of Athena. I'd love to see a video that may go over special dye engravers of popular coins or if when like a tournament was on Athens if they struck special ones for the contestants or something. I've been told by local dealers that the Athens Tet I have was possibly engraved by someone special. I'd be so grateful for help on any of these questions. Thank you again chat for your patience and again Classical Numismatics. You really are special and the time it must take you to do these videos is not lost on me I have my own RUclips channel (not this account) I dont like using my channel to post in comments and take away from the creator that I'm visiting. It's also an EDC channel and even though I carry a coin with me daily as a pocket piece and at least one day a week it is an ancient coin. I still would not like to post that name here now anyways thank all of you god bless and I'd love to hear your thoughts on a good site and the distinction between engravers.
Excellent! I would only add: slabbing also makes impossible close examination that would allow you or an expert to jugdge the authenticity of the coin; you cannot, for instance, check the edge. Although they are now including the weight, they do not include other physical data (such as diamater, thickness, etc.) which may be important if you are conducting a study. Finally, slabbed coins are difficult to compare when you are making a die link study, which is essential specially in Greek coins.
Unfortunately slabbing is no proof of authenticity of any coin. Generally there is no advantage of slabbing coins for serious collectors, the only profit have firms providing it.
They have Machines that can at lest tell you if is Gold or silver, Through the slabbed plastic. That will not tell you the Complete picture of a coin and it's eccentrically differences.
i am a beginner collector with no source of income (still 17) so as of now, I prefer cheap ancient coins, worn and torn, within my budget I just wanna hold a piece of history in my hands, look at its features, frequently touch it with my hands (carefully of course!), so in conclusion I would prefer unslabbed coins, probably in the future too, when i would be able to buy iconic coins i just want to touch them physically, if i wanted it inside a plastic container, from which i can't remove the coin, why would i buy it in the first place?
Being 72 years old, i remember when a VF was NOT called an XF and a XF was not hiked to AU by either dealers or Grading Services. Today we are told it’s a matter of opinion…..BS….. it’s a matter of greed!
I fully agree with the final statement given in the video. I love to interact with my coins - feel, smell, breath it. So I would never cover them with plastic. Again congrats for the great video!
Lol... smell the coins.. not always a fun thing. I have thousands of asian cast coins (the coins with square holes in the middle), and while smell is supposed to be useful in authentication of asian cast coins, many of them do not have a pleasant smell. I dunno if it is the soil in which they were found or the chemical compounds that formed the patinas, but they have a distinct odor that I tolerate but would rather not smell.
Another option is also DIY Slabs like Lighthouse QuickSlabs and other brands too. They have a nicer black background and you can reopen the cases anytime you like. Also a good option if you want to display your coins too.
@@samu0450 No thick holders for thick tetradrachm type coins but I have improvised by combining 2 inserts together and using 2 of the back cases of the holders and some artist tape with good results.
@@samu0450 It's basically 2 of the back pieces of each (any) lighthouse holder and sandwiches both back pieces together for maximum inside space and literally pieced both back pieces together with masking/artist tape. I also glued 2 holders together that fit my Athena/Owl tetradrachm. Also good thing to note, if your coin is 19mm, use a 18mm coin holder so the coin will actually stay put.
Excellent video. A word that might help newer collectors - I have selectively had several coins graded and slabbed, mostly to help my kids figure out what they are. Although they all graded as CVF or higher with good surfaces and strikes, most also had comments “brushed” to which I would say “no shit.” Even the nicest hoard coins have been cleaned and conserved to some extent, so such comments on a nice piece are often meaningless. On these particular pieces the cleaning was done in the past and enhances the overall piece. If it’s a sound coin and you like it, that’s probably the most important thing. YMMV.
excellent points. Can never understand imprisoning beautiful coins in a slab. I guess it comes to whether you look at coins as an investment or an emotion. :)
Excellent video. This was a much needed explanation outside of coin collecting forums. I personally don't like handling coins but I favor DIY Slabs which you can reopen whenever you want and I love displaying them that way. Plus the black background is better than the white background of NGC slabs. I have tray holders that fit 6 slabs each tray and it's been a real joy so far.
Yes, DIY slabs are alright. And Magic Capsules are really nice for odd shaped and thick coins. I love the way that my Athens owl tetradrachm looks in a magic capsule.
Very much prefer countermarks and ancient damage.. that is your coolest coin. This video is excellent, can't wait to share it with all my slabber friends!!!
I have bought many NGC coins and have unslabbed all of them. I appreciate the additional opinion on the authenticity but do not always agreed with the attribution (ancient coins). The unslabbing is for the reason others have expressed here - I like the physical connection with the past. So if you are collecting to invest, keep the slab, otherwise enjoy the experience
I like buying from my dealer because he puts them into custom slabs where they can stay protected, has a tag with a description but they are also easy to remove and handle if you wanted too.
I often recommend this types of "slabs" for collectors looking for an alternative to NGC slabs. These are indeed quite practical. They offer good protection, and as you said, you can actually open them and enjoy the coin!
here is my opinion. i own both slabbed and raw coins (us and ancients, 80% ancients are raw). i believe that with slabbing ancients, it is fine however they should include more information on the labels and guarantee it for sure like david sear does (sear certfies coins without slabbing them, very trusted in the community). i own slabbed ancients bc i transitioned from 10 yeaes plus of US Coin collecting (i still do). most of my ngc slabs are of valuable coins; i love to hold and own my coins when i can, i 100% agree with you that there is nothing else like holding an ancient. however for people like me who have a skin condition (eczema/certain allergies, makes it hard to always carry coins raw) & people converting from US, slabs are not bad at all. Only issue with slabs are the lack of authentic guarantees & lack of info. also some scrupulous individuals price slabs much higher than they should be, but not many do this in my opinion. i have found several good deals on nice slabbed ancients & have paid high too. if they started doing all this, would you buy coins slabbed? ill continue to buy both lol! keep in mind this is only a summary of the slab problem, so i haven't addressed everything. u/savixe, if you ever wanna talk/see some of my slabbed ancients or raws, hit me up on my reddit. cheers!
I would never buy a slabbed coin, unless it's so beautiful that I want it, to free it at home (not to manipulate it frequently, but to see it on an elegant medal showcase). Anyway, I really don't need a third party (nor even a first, actually I only trust myself to evaluate if I find a coin beautiful or not). I collect coins I like and I can afford, simple as that.
Personally, I hate those coin prisons that prevent me from appreciating them to their full extent. However, I find a great success those capsules that can be opened and closed easily and safely, and that incorporate a material designed to protect the coins.
I think this topic is very interesting, because it makes me realize the gap between modern coin collectors and ancient coin collectors. Slabbed coins are pretty much widely accepted and most often preferred with modern coins, and that is how I started collecting. I’m used to the price guides and standard grading scale that come with slabbed coins. With ancient coins, it’s obvious to me that the community leans towards raw coins. As I’m new to the ancient hobby and learning more, I’ll be buying slabbed coins for now, but in the future I’d love to own some raw ancient coins that I can display on a tray and can hold and examine up close. Until that gap is bridged though, I think I’ll be buying slabbed coins.
Love this channel, and the discussions in the Comments. When i collected MS and PF Morgans and Lincolns, i used Intercept Shield albums and wore gloves. But since this channel lead me to ancient and early modern coins, it's the used character of my coins that I love, next to the artistry of their designs. Im currently using round capsules to hold and protect my coins, but may switch to Lighthouse for the black background. When I want to hold or view my coin under my microscope, i simply pop the cap, and now i gave unimpeded access to the coin. Does NGC offer authentication and documentation services WITHOUT encapsulation?? I would definitely consider that! Thanks all, and enjoy your coins!
The slabs themselves are the smallest of my problems, what I dislike the most is the fact the offer just an "opinion" on authenticity, and have absolutely ZERO skin in the game.
I like slabbed coins for several reasons: I love high end coins. I think it's irresponsible to drag your thumb across the face of a high end coin. You may not notice any issues in your lifetime but the next steward who ushers your coin into the next generation may notice the damage. Secondly, I like the organization. They are easy to keep in order and organized without bumping around. Finally, my job as a collector is to pass it on to the next generation in the same state that I got it in. People think their hands and fingers don't wear coins....but they do. Just carry a pocket coin for 1 year and see what happens to it. Unfortunately, people can't look beyond their lifetimes or past their "property" and want to fondle and sniff their coins. They are, quite simply, poor stewards. There are plenty of lower grade or common coins you can stick in whatever hole you want to without damaging important pieces of history. It's the same reason you aren't supposed to touch things in museums. I've been a coin collector for 32 years. Thanks for the great videos.
Love Grading coins, I get wanting to touch them but for me the most important part is storage and keeping them safe. It also makes it very easy to display them, and anyone who wants to see one of my coins can instantly know what it is off a very clean and simple label
Slabing is only good if you want to sell your coins because people blindly waste more money on a slab. But trully I don't see any more benefit, the grades are very arbitrary and depend on how much of a good day is the coin grader is having, you can grade your coins multiple times and almost always get different gradrs for the same coin. The only reason why it is popular rigth now is because a lot of people make their bussineses whith their PCGS or NGC subcriptions... And in all that you loose the ability to see your coin in detail and handle it... You loose a lot of the experience of collecting coins. Not worth it.
As a new collector to ancients, Knowing some history on the slab helps, But for now prefer raw coins, being able to get some gloves on and handling them.
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Hopefully people dont see this as a rant of some sort, but as a personal opinion based on facts that will help them come up with a decision to slab or not.
I understand and respect the choice for slabbing ancient coins. I personally wouldn't slab even my most precious as a museum piece. I want to be able to hold it as it's been for millennia
Personally, I don’t particularly care for slab Coins because with ancient coins you’re missing the other half of coin collecting enjoyment that deals with being able to feel what the Ancient people felt while handling the coin.
I have a mix of slabbed and unslabbed, mostly based upon the value of the coin. I just don't feel comfortable with a coin that costs $1000 or more loose, or not authenticated by a third party. That said, I like handling coins just as much as anyone, so I have many lower valued coins that I can touch to my heart's content. I do think its important to be able to touch them, especially if you're showing them to someone who might be new to collecting coins. That touching of history is important. I just don't think every coin needs to be laying loose in a tray. I'm not going to criticize anyone, though, for either choice they make. Now if you decide to carve your initials in that tetra....
I keep my coins in little plastic containers in columns because trays aren't cheap. If you have a tray recommendation I'd like to hear it. For now though they are in very easy to open plastic capsules that let people I don't trust handle them, and people I do trust take them out.
for me id only slab coins that are essentially mint and would get damaged from the slightest tray rubbing or scratching or look worse for finger prints etc. in ancient coins thats a very very small number of coins imo that i would bother with. There are plenty of great looking coins from F- EF or countermarked coins that i feel do not really need to be slabbed and tbh dont see any demand for it either
While slabbing may be the right thing to do for preservation and makes sale easier and safer *but* it deprives you of the best thing of accident coins. To hold them in your hands. I personally don’t Slab ancient coins
From a beginner perspective, I would want that extra security having it in a slab. However I'm in China now and I've found many fake coin dealers with fake slabs on them. After watching this video, it confirms my suspicion that I'm missing out the tactile sense and being able to see it from different angles.
Yes, and those fakes are coming across the ocean and showing up on ebay all the time. Slabs don't guarantee authenticity because the slabs themselves are faked. It's becoming an art to authenticate the actual slabs these days. Looking up certificate numbers isn't good enough anymore because counterfeits are made to match the actual certificate numbers. On the upside, this means that some speculators are getting burned. Maybe some of them will leave the market because of it.
The only area I see slabbing as beneficial is for extremely rare and expensive coins ie > $10,000. These coins are too expensive for most collectors and are frequently bought by speculators. Many of these folks won't pull the trigger unless the coin is slabbed. Slabbing of lower value coins is a waste of time and money as well as spoiling the handling factor.
Thats a valid argument, I can understand your logic behind it. Although, imagine what an incredible experience would it be to handle a Syracuse Dekadrachm!
@@ClassicalNumismatics Thank you for the validation! I have never held a Dekadrachm. I imagine it would be amazing especially if signed by famous die maker! But imagine getting an extra 10-20K on the sale because it is slabbed and speculators are fighting over it!
Slabbing will ruin the ancient market if it becomes the rule. I've had dealers, yes plural, tell me that my NGC slabbed coin was over graded. So slabbing is no guarantee of anything.
I have a nice Hadrian Sestertius that has a nice thick crust on the edge all around while both sides of the coin are VF. That coin I'll take out and even smell once in a while (I know im a freak but I sware I can smell history) but each time I move it, it loses some of that ancient crust
I personally just stated collecting ancients. For me, I don’t mind if I can hold the coin or not. I come from moderns, where as you said, slabbing is pretty common place. I feel that at least having some slabs will give me a reference in how to properly grade my ancients, by having a reference.
I'm new to coins, I started getting into them right before Covid. I do have a couple decades experience with other collectibles (it's different, but there's some cross-over mindset). Right now I'm only going after slabbed coins because I know enough to know I don't know enough right now. I want to know the grade, specifics of the coin and be authenticated. I'm willing to pay a premium for that.
I only slab expensive ones because the holder offers extra security for the coin and it makes things a lot easier when you decide to resell especially on online platforms like eBay. I definitely agree that slabbing ancient coins have pros and cons, the label affects the value of the coin a lot, sometimes buyers can get confused if they're not familiar with NGC's grading standards, I've seen many ugly off-center coins with poor die quality slabbed with 5/5 on strike or surface quality, and many gorgeous ones with great eye appeal only slabbed with 2/5 or 3/5 score, some new collectors automatically assume those numbers represent the condition of the coin, but they often don't, take "die shift" for an example, double striking is not exactly a condition term since it has nothing to do with wears and marks, but with a "die shift" remark it will most likely bring the score down to 3/5 on surface and 4/5 on strike on most coins these days, the one in the video at 2:50 is rather unusual because NGC don't give 5/5 surface on "die shift" coins anymore. So yeah, their grading standards can be very confusing sometimes and what I'm trying to say is collectors needs to consider all the factors when submitting their coins for slabbing, one of those factors is you might get a low grade or low detail scores than what you expected, in that case, it can be a disappointing outcome and it can get harder to resell the slabbed coin than the raw coin itself
The polymer composition of slabs will degrade in a few decades, requiring future owners to discard them. The slab surfaces are often scratched, making viewing of the coin difficult.
Most of my coins are slabbed, although I do miss the physical connection to them. My new coins I buy slabbed to preserve the MS70 designation for my kids, and my important ancients I buy slabbed to guarantee authenticity (as best as possible) and preserve them. I also keep my important silver stored in a box with desiccant packets to prevent tarnish. Perhaps I'm being too careful, but I still get the thrill of holding history through a slab.
I only have special coins slabbed. And I believe that those few ancient coins I would get slab only because I would be afraid that it would be a fake. I put a little bit more faith than I guess others do that degrading company values their reputation and would only, mark a genuine if it were in fact, genuine.
@@arimoreno6521 I’m referring to ancient coins. People do make fake slabs and put fake coins in them, so I just don’t trust purchasing any slabbed coins except from a reputable auction house.
@@arimoreno6521 how do I not make sense? Auction houses are reputable and guarantee authenticity. But if I see a coin in a slab on ebay, I lose interest.
Handling coins is the most important part of collecting, at least for me
Agreed 100%!
Even if all ancient coins were ugly, the sheer age gives them some sort of majesty
I agree
@@ClassicalNumismatics I 100% agree with you guys!.
I also agree!!!!!!
That's what makes it more intimate then just going to a museum
Excellent topic. I’m 63 and have been collecting since I was five. Out of the thousands of coins I have in my collection, only four are slabbed. It is incredibly satisfying putting on a pair of gloves and holding a coin in your hand that someone else held all those years ago. Being able to examine the coin from all sides is important to me. In a slab the coin becomes just an object in a piece of plastic. It loses that sense of history and wonder of who hands it has passed through before getting to me. When I watch RUclips videos of people sending out coins to be slabbed, they rarely say they are doing it to protect the coin but talk about how much more money they can get for the coin if it gets the grade they want. To me slabbed coins are more for people that are just flipping coins to make a quick profit.
I'm not a coin guy, I just have a passing interest, but I collect interesting and historical firearms and I feel very similarly. Not only do private collectors often take better care and do a better job at documenting and cataloguing important historical firearms, they also often actually use these items. They keep them running, if possible. It really is something extraordinary to use a relatively complex mechanical machine in the exact same fashion it's original owner did 180 or 200 years ago, and in the same exact fashion many others have between that time and now. The sense of connection, to me at least, is unparalleled.
I heartily agree
Agree 100%. I get angry when youtube throws a video at me from people like Acousha Collectible because I absolutely get this awful feeling with that guy's videos. It's the dark side of coin the hobby -- so-called 'investors' who don't actually spend their money on something that could actually grow and produce something (i.e. actual investment).. they put their money into things just hoping to flip. Buy slabbed coins, picking through people's older slabs to look for more conservatively graded coins so they can try to get a CAC sticker on the slab and put up the coin for a higher price. It's a big nasty scheme that takes all the fun out of coin collecting. I'm like you; I have a total of 3 slabbed coins. Those 3 coins are steel cents (one from each mint). I bought them because they are steel and I wanted something that would most likely keep them from rusting in the future and thus keep looking nice. We knew the whole "slab everything" idea is a monetization scheme the moment the grading companies started posting their own price guides.
I agree but at the same time I can have slippery hands and messy work areas and slabs help keep them safe. What I do is I keep some slab free so I can get my "touchy fix" Haha. Usually my favorites that I know I'll keep forever and coins that are mint or I'll resale, I'll slab. I'll also slab to get information on coins I don't know much about.
Currently I'm debating whether I should slab a Ptolemy coin that I recently found from the Svornos collection. The rainbow patina is amazing and it feels so heavy and good in the hand but it looks like it has been slabbed prior due to 4 little "holder" marks on the coin . I found it in a box at a numismatic shop in the corner with a price of $120. It looks ChXF at the worst. This place treats ancients like a red headed step child for some reason. I also found aMS Tiberius tribute penny there as well for 80$
I bet you have an amazing collection.
Hello chat. I am an american and have been collecting coins for 20 years. This has become one of my favorite channels. If I may, I've been all around my Country to coin shows. I've made some big scores and I've made some purchases that I dont like. Graded coins have always been a "plus" for me, but in today's times I find that I dont agree with much of NGC's grades. Furthermore, on ancient coins you need to know quite a bit about the coin when you send it in, otherwise they not grade it anyways and charge you. This wasnt a big issue before. But they haveost many of their good ancient graders. Retirement, PCGS, etc. I will say that as an american ancient coins are so scary to many of us. There are so many fakes, and horror stories. So on big purchases I have bought from a slabbed seller. But I've since cracked many of them open. I will shorten this some. I want to thank Classical Numismatics. I love your passion. The correct way to pronounce Latin and other languages on these coins. You also gave a teaching style that is fun and very informative. I've become more confident on purchases of late. I will ask for us that do most of their purchasing on eBay. Sending coins in that I'm not sure kf can take months. By the time I get an answer that ebay seller may be gone or may not care since the 60 day guarantee is up. Is there a website for ancient coins where the lovers and collectors of them could perhaps post pictures of them for help? I have 3 very close ones I'd love help with. Also. I have a slabbed Athena Tet. It shows authentic. However I've never in my life seen one like this. Full crest. And perfectly placed. It looks authentic but I am wondering if this looks to anyone else like. Special engraving was done and careful striking. I mean the obverse is nothing like any I've seen personally of Athena. I'd love to see a video that may go over special dye engravers of popular coins or if when like a tournament was on Athens if they struck special ones for the contestants or something. I've been told by local dealers that the Athens Tet I have was possibly engraved by someone special. I'd be so grateful for help on any of these questions. Thank you again chat for your patience and again Classical Numismatics. You really are special and the time it must take you to do these videos is not lost on me I have my own RUclips channel (not this account) I dont like using my channel to post in comments and take away from the creator that I'm visiting. It's also an EDC channel and even though I carry a coin with me daily as a pocket piece and at least one day a week it is an ancient coin. I still would not like to post that name here now anyways thank all of you god bless and I'd love to hear your thoughts on a good site and the distinction between engravers.
Excellent! I would only add: slabbing also makes impossible close examination that would allow you or an expert to jugdge the authenticity of the coin; you cannot, for instance, check the edge. Although they are now including the weight, they do not include other physical data (such as diamater, thickness, etc.) which may be important if you are conducting a study. Finally, slabbed coins are difficult to compare when you are making a die link study, which is essential specially in Greek coins.
Unfortunately slabbing is no proof of authenticity of any coin. Generally there is no advantage of slabbing coins for serious collectors, the only profit have firms providing it.
They have Machines that can at lest tell you if is Gold or silver, Through the slabbed plastic. That will not tell you the Complete picture of a coin and it's eccentrically differences.
This really is a fantastic channel.
Thanks! Im glad you like it :)
i am a beginner collector with no source of income (still 17) so as of now, I prefer cheap ancient coins, worn and torn, within my budget I just wanna hold a piece of history in my hands, look at its features, frequently touch it with my hands (carefully of course!), so in conclusion I would prefer unslabbed coins, probably in the future too, when i would be able to buy iconic coins i just want to touch them physically, if i wanted it inside a plastic container, from which i can't remove the coin, why would i buy it in the first place?
Being 72 years old, i remember when a VF was NOT called an XF and a XF was not hiked to AU by either dealers or Grading Services. Today we are told it’s a matter of opinion…..BS….. it’s a matter of greed!
I fully agree with the final statement given in the video. I love to interact with my coins - feel, smell, breath it. So I would never cover them with plastic. Again congrats for the great video!
Lol... smell the coins.. not always a fun thing. I have thousands of asian cast coins (the coins with square holes in the middle), and while smell is supposed to be useful in authentication of asian cast coins, many of them do not have a pleasant smell. I dunno if it is the soil in which they were found or the chemical compounds that formed the patinas, but they have a distinct odor that I tolerate but would rather not smell.
@@kotto7877, when I get off a plane in Asia, often I can tell I’m in Asia just by the smell. 😊
Another option is also DIY Slabs like Lighthouse QuickSlabs and other brands too. They have a nicer black background and you can reopen the cases anytime you like. Also a good option if you want to display your coins too.
But I don't think they make thick holders.
@@samu0450
No thick holders for thick tetradrachm type coins but I have improvised by combining 2 inserts together and using 2 of the back cases of the holders and some artist tape with good results.
@@BopWalk very nice! I am looking at getting some lighthouse holders as well. Do you have a pic of the thick holder you made?
@@samu0450
It's basically 2 of the back pieces of each (any) lighthouse holder and sandwiches both back pieces together for maximum inside space and literally pieced both back pieces together with masking/artist tape. I also glued 2 holders together that fit my Athena/Owl tetradrachm.
Also good thing to note, if your coin is 19mm, use a 18mm coin holder so the coin will actually stay put.
@@samu0450 Yeah, but now Lighthouse makes Magic Capsules, which are great for holding thicker coins. I love 'em.
Excellent video. A word that might help newer collectors -
I have selectively had several coins graded and slabbed, mostly to help my kids figure out what they are. Although they all graded as CVF or higher with good surfaces and strikes, most also had comments “brushed” to which I would say “no shit.” Even the nicest hoard coins have been cleaned and conserved to some extent, so such comments on a nice piece are often meaningless. On these particular pieces the cleaning was done in the past and enhances the overall piece. If it’s a sound coin and you like it, that’s probably the most important thing.
YMMV.
excellent points. Can never understand imprisoning beautiful coins in a slab. I guess it comes to whether you look at coins as an investment or an emotion. :)
Excellent video. This was a much needed explanation outside of coin collecting forums.
I personally don't like handling coins but I favor DIY Slabs which you can reopen whenever you want and I love displaying them that way. Plus the black background is better than the white background of NGC slabs. I have tray holders that fit 6 slabs each tray and it's been a real joy so far.
Yes, DIY slabs are alright. And Magic Capsules are really nice for odd shaped and thick coins. I love the way that my Athens owl tetradrachm looks in a magic capsule.
@@kotto7877
Really?? I never heard of Magic Slabs, if you say they have holders for very thick coins I'm a happy man!
Very much prefer countermarks and ancient damage.. that is your coolest coin.
This video is excellent, can't wait to share it with all my slabber friends!!!
I have bought many NGC coins and have unslabbed all of them. I appreciate the additional opinion on the authenticity but do not always agreed with the attribution (ancient coins). The unslabbing is for the reason others have expressed here - I like the physical connection with the past. So if you are collecting to invest, keep the slab, otherwise enjoy the experience
It's hard to imagine anyone buying ancient coins, only as an investment, without having so much of an interest or ever developing an interest!
I like buying from my dealer because he puts them into custom slabs where they can stay protected, has a tag with a description but they are also easy to remove and handle if you wanted too.
I often recommend this types of "slabs" for collectors looking for an alternative to NGC slabs. These are indeed quite practical. They offer good protection, and as you said, you can actually open them and enjoy the coin!
@@ClassicalNumismatics I love them
here is my opinion.
i own both slabbed and raw coins (us and ancients, 80% ancients are raw). i believe that with slabbing ancients, it is fine however they should include more information on the labels and guarantee it for sure like david sear does (sear certfies coins without slabbing them, very trusted in the community).
i own slabbed ancients bc i transitioned from 10 yeaes plus of US Coin collecting (i still do). most of my ngc slabs are of valuable coins; i love to hold and own my coins when i can, i 100% agree with you that there is nothing else like holding an ancient. however for people like me who have a skin condition (eczema/certain allergies, makes it hard to always carry coins raw) & people converting from US, slabs are not bad at all.
Only issue with slabs are the lack of authentic guarantees & lack of info. also some scrupulous individuals price slabs much higher than they should be, but not many do this in my opinion. i have found several good deals on nice slabbed ancients & have paid high too.
if they started doing all this, would you buy coins slabbed? ill continue to buy both lol!
keep in mind this is only a summary of the slab problem, so i haven't addressed everything.
u/savixe, if you ever wanna talk/see some of my slabbed ancients or raws, hit me up on my reddit.
cheers!
I would never buy a slabbed coin, unless it's so beautiful that I want it, to free it at home (not to manipulate it frequently, but to see it on an elegant medal showcase). Anyway, I really don't need a third party (nor even a first, actually I only trust myself to evaluate if I find a coin beautiful or not). I collect coins I like and I can afford, simple as that.
I could never slab my coins. I have to handle them with my bare hands. If I wasn’t able to do that, I wouldn’t want to collect them.
Personally, I hate those coin prisons that prevent me from appreciating them to their full extent. However, I find a great success those capsules that can be opened and closed easily and safely, and that incorporate a material designed to protect the coins.
Those counter marks are the best part, I agree completely. Natural coins are amazing to handle without plastic.
I have some slabbed and some raw. I like having some that I can actually hold in my hand and feel the history.
never
Beautiful daric
You have to hold ancients in your hands, just like the ancients.
I can understand why people would slab some extremely expensive or rare coins, but I own no slabbed ancient coins myself.
a very good video. I like both ways and will buy a coin raw or slabbed if it's a coin I want and enjoy keeping them and looking at them either way.
I think this topic is very interesting, because it makes me realize the gap between modern coin collectors and ancient coin collectors.
Slabbed coins are pretty much widely accepted and most often preferred with modern coins, and that is how I started collecting. I’m used to the price guides and standard grading scale that come with slabbed coins. With ancient coins, it’s obvious to me that the community leans towards raw coins. As I’m new to the ancient hobby and learning more, I’ll be buying slabbed coins for now, but in the future I’d love to own some raw ancient coins that I can display on a tray and can hold and examine up close. Until that gap is bridged though, I think I’ll be buying slabbed coins.
Never understood slabbing. There's nothing better than handling an ancient coin with care
Love this channel, and the discussions in the Comments. When i collected MS and PF Morgans and Lincolns, i used Intercept Shield albums and wore gloves. But since this channel lead me to ancient and early modern coins, it's the used character of my coins that I love, next to the artistry of their designs.
Im currently using round capsules to hold and protect my coins, but may switch to Lighthouse for the black background. When I want to hold or view my coin under my microscope, i simply pop the cap, and now i gave unimpeded access to the coin.
Does NGC offer authentication and documentation services WITHOUT encapsulation?? I would definitely consider that! Thanks all, and enjoy your coins!
The slabs themselves are the smallest of my problems, what I dislike the most is the fact the offer just an "opinion" on authenticity, and have absolutely ZERO skin in the game.
I like slabbed coins for several reasons: I love high end coins. I think it's irresponsible to drag your thumb across the face of a high end coin. You may not notice any issues in your lifetime but the next steward who ushers your coin into the next generation may notice the damage. Secondly, I like the organization. They are easy to keep in order and organized without bumping around. Finally, my job as a collector is to pass it on to the next generation in the same state that I got it in. People think their hands and fingers don't wear coins....but they do. Just carry a pocket coin for 1 year and see what happens to it. Unfortunately, people can't look beyond their lifetimes or past their "property" and want to fondle and sniff their coins. They are, quite simply, poor stewards. There are plenty of lower grade or common coins you can stick in whatever hole you want to without damaging important pieces of history. It's the same reason you aren't supposed to touch things in museums.
I've been a coin collector for 32 years.
Thanks for the great videos.
My Roman coins are in lighthouse coin books! I love to take them out and hold history in my hand.
Lovely stuff! Im glad you enjoy them so much
If you slab your coins, you can’t hold them in your hands. If the coin is “mint state” and touching the coin would lower the value, then sure.
Also, putting a coin in a blender would be the owner's choice too... and it's legal. But I still have a problem with it ;)
Very good explanation. Personally I prefer to touch the coins myself but would not mind to have a few valuable and in XF condition graded and slabbed.
Love Grading coins, I get wanting to touch them but for me the most important part is storage and keeping them safe. It also makes it very easy to display them, and anyone who wants to see one of my coins can instantly know what it is off a very clean and simple label
you could always...you know... white it down or tell people what they are.
Hello, very interesting video, thank you dear 👍
Slabing is only good if you want to sell your coins because people blindly waste more money on a slab. But trully I don't see any more benefit, the grades are very arbitrary and depend on how much of a good day is the coin grader is having, you can grade your coins multiple times and almost always get different gradrs for the same coin. The only reason why it is popular rigth now is because a lot of people make their bussineses whith their PCGS or NGC subcriptions... And in all that you loose the ability to see your coin in detail and handle it... You loose a lot of the experience of collecting coins. Not worth it.
As far as I know, museums wouldnt slab their coins. So if they don't slab ancients then I won't.
As a new collector to ancients, Knowing some history on the slab helps, But for now prefer raw coins, being able to get some gloves on and handling them.
Very helpful video. Thank you.
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Hopefully people dont see this as a rant of some sort, but as a personal opinion based on facts that will help them come up with a decision to slab or not.
I get why people slab their coins, but I don’t want to look at my coin through a scratched, reflective plastic window.
Same
I understand and respect the choice for slabbing ancient coins. I personally wouldn't slab even my most precious as a museum piece. I want to be able to hold it as it's been for millennia
How many of the Ancient coins where shaved to scam the value of the coins before ridging on modern coins?.
This is more of a medieval phenomena. Ancient coins were quite thick, and hard to clip, while medieval pieces were very thin
Personally, I don’t particularly care for slab Coins because with ancient coins you’re missing the other half of coin collecting enjoyment that deals with being able to feel what the Ancient people felt while handling the coin.
I have a mix of slabbed and unslabbed, mostly based upon the value of the coin. I just don't feel comfortable with a coin that costs $1000 or more loose, or not authenticated by a third party. That said, I like handling coins just as much as anyone, so I have many lower valued coins that I can touch to my heart's content. I do think its important to be able to touch them, especially if you're showing them to someone who might be new to collecting coins. That touching of history is important. I just don't think every coin needs to be laying loose in a tray. I'm not going to criticize anyone, though, for either choice they make. Now if you decide to carve your initials in that tetra....
Very sensible and logical decision from you!
And yes, absolutely NO sharp objects get near any of the coins 😂
Exactly
Imagine owning an ancient coin and never being able to hold it. Wear gloves, wash your hands..whatever, just hold the coin and appreciate it!
I keep my coins in little plastic containers in columns because trays aren't cheap. If you have a tray recommendation I'd like to hear it. For now though they are in very easy to open plastic capsules that let people I don't trust handle them, and people I do trust take them out.
for me id only slab coins that are essentially mint and would get damaged from the slightest tray rubbing or scratching or look worse for finger prints etc.
in ancient coins thats a very very small number of coins imo that i would bother with. There are plenty of great looking coins from F- EF or countermarked coins that i feel do not really need to be slabbed and tbh dont see any demand for it either
Great videos! Thank you! I have only one slabbed coin. It spent 175 years under the sea, only to be encapsulated in plastic.
While slabbing may be the right thing to do for preservation and makes sale easier and safer *but* it deprives you of the best thing of accident coins. To hold them in your hands. I personally don’t Slab ancient coins
Some slab companies only grade ancient coins without authenticating them. The ancient coin market is rife with European and chinese counterfeits.
You mean Eastern Europe; and the Middle East surely; and also China?
Hey i have been watching your videos for i while now, and i was wondering around how much do you think your collection is worth?
This is an information I will keep to myself :)
It would be of interest 2 see a comparison. Of modern western coin design 2 the ancients that inspired them.
I have a video comparing the morgan dollar with ancient coins, have a look at my channel page!
Personally I enjoy savoring the taste of the patina under my tongue.
Slabbing is a racket imho
From a beginner perspective, I would want that extra security having it in a slab. However I'm in China now and I've found many fake coin dealers with fake slabs on them.
After watching this video, it confirms my suspicion that I'm missing out the tactile sense and being able to see it from different angles.
Yes, and those fakes are coming across the ocean and showing up on ebay all the time. Slabs don't guarantee authenticity because the slabs themselves are faked. It's becoming an art to authenticate the actual slabs these days. Looking up certificate numbers isn't good enough anymore because counterfeits are made to match the actual certificate numbers. On the upside, this means that some speculators are getting burned. Maybe some of them will leave the market because of it.
The only area I see slabbing as beneficial is for extremely rare and expensive coins ie > $10,000. These coins are too expensive for most collectors and are frequently bought by speculators. Many of these folks won't pull the trigger unless the coin is slabbed. Slabbing of lower value coins is a waste of time and money as well as spoiling the handling factor.
Thats a valid argument, I can understand your logic behind it.
Although, imagine what an incredible experience would it be to handle a Syracuse Dekadrachm!
@@ClassicalNumismatics Thank you for the validation! I have never held a Dekadrachm. I imagine it would be amazing especially if signed by famous die maker! But imagine getting an extra 10-20K on the sale because it is slabbed and speculators are fighting over it!
That's the right word for these people -- speculators. They are not investors.
Slabbing will ruin the ancient market if it becomes the rule. I've had dealers, yes plural, tell me that my NGC slabbed coin was over graded. So slabbing is no guarantee of anything.
Slabbing is just greed by this point
Hoping he shows how to unslab a coin.
I have a nice Hadrian Sestertius that has a nice thick crust on the edge all around while both sides of the coin are VF. That coin I'll take out and even smell once in a while (I know im a freak but I sware I can smell history) but each time I move it, it loses some of that ancient crust
great video, I am buying slabbed coins at the moment and may buy raw silver ancients in the future.
I personally just stated collecting ancients. For me, I don’t mind if I can hold the coin or not. I come from moderns, where as you said, slabbing is pretty common place. I feel that at least having some slabs will give me a reference in how to properly grade my ancients, by having a reference.
Where can I buy ancient coins from?
I have tons of videos for beginners explaining the process, I recommend you head to my page and check it out :)
vcoins and ma-shops
I'm new to coins, I started getting into them right before Covid. I do have a couple decades experience with other collectibles (it's different, but there's some cross-over mindset). Right now I'm only going after slabbed coins because I know enough to know I don't know enough right now. I want to know the grade, specifics of the coin and be authenticated. I'm willing to pay a premium for that.
I only slab expensive ones because the holder offers extra security for the coin and it makes things a lot easier when you decide to resell especially on online platforms like eBay. I definitely agree that slabbing ancient coins have pros and cons, the label affects the value of the coin a lot, sometimes buyers can get confused if they're not familiar with NGC's grading standards, I've seen many ugly off-center coins with poor die quality slabbed with 5/5 on strike or surface quality, and many gorgeous ones with great eye appeal only slabbed with 2/5 or 3/5 score, some new collectors automatically assume those numbers represent the condition of the coin, but they often don't, take "die shift" for an example, double striking is not exactly a condition term since it has nothing to do with wears and marks, but with a "die shift" remark it will most likely bring the score down to 3/5 on surface and 4/5 on strike on most coins these days, the one in the video at 2:50 is rather unusual because NGC don't give 5/5 surface on "die shift" coins anymore. So yeah, their grading standards can be very confusing sometimes and what I'm trying to say is collectors needs to consider all the factors when submitting their coins for slabbing, one of those factors is you might get a low grade or low detail scores than what you expected, in that case, it can be a disappointing outcome and it can get harder to resell the slabbed coin than the raw coin itself
The polymer composition of slabs will degrade in a few decades, requiring future owners to discard them. The slab surfaces are often scratched, making viewing of the coin difficult.
100% right! And they have the audacity of putting on their website "Protection for the Ages!"
Most of my coins are slabbed, although I do miss the physical connection to them. My new coins I buy slabbed to preserve the MS70 designation for my kids, and my important ancients I buy slabbed to guarantee authenticity (as best as possible) and preserve them. I also keep my important silver stored in a box with desiccant packets to prevent tarnish.
Perhaps I'm being too careful, but I still get the thrill of holding history through a slab.
the slab is a guarantee of authenticity for me, im much more likely to cough up a bit more cash for slabbed coins
Totally your prerogative, but remember it is currently NOT a guarantee of authenticity for the service provider itself, only a well informed opinion.
Slabs themselves are counterfeited. Be careful that you don't buy fakes. Don't blindly trust slabbed coins to be real.
As someone relatively new to the hobby. I like purchasing stabbed coins for the security, & then breaking them out
I only have special coins slabbed. And I believe that those few ancient coins I would get slab only because I would be afraid that it would be a fake. I put a little bit more faith than I guess others do that degrading company values their reputation and would only, mark a genuine if it were in fact, genuine.
I also like alcoves, but I'm a collector, so I often buy slabs. I was worried that it might be a fake.😢
I slab ancient coin in order to give the buyer a sound mind when buying
That just makes me wonder if the coin is fake.
@@wormius7350 so you think Morgan dollar are fake when in a ngc slab???
@@arimoreno6521 I’m referring to ancient coins. People do make fake slabs and put fake coins in them, so I just don’t trust purchasing any slabbed coins except from a reputable auction house.
@@wormius7350 you make no sense
@@arimoreno6521 how do I not make sense? Auction houses are reputable and guarantee authenticity. But if I see a coin in a slab on ebay, I lose interest.
If I had a perfect coin I might consider getting it slabbed.
"Ayo let me get my Hammer real quick!"