To free a coin from a slab or not?

What is your guys opinion on this regarding semi-scarce coins?

I, like many collectors prefer my coins out of slabs, however it seems like a bit of a waste down the line, especially with commonly counterfeited coins. What would you do? I have a beautiful Rouble for example that I want to get my hands on but can't as it's in a damned slab.

I wouldn't break only the MS grades.

Quote: "druzhynets"​I wouldn't break only the MS grades.
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Only 1 is MS grade. The the rest are XF-AU

My rule of the thumb is not to break anything with MS63 or higher. If I really like the coin very much and it's AU, I don't hesitate to break the slab.

I have a bias in favour of NGC slabs, of which I have 3 and have never broken; I did break the slab of my 1854 US 1 Dollar (PCGS). I guess I just fancy the aesthetic and layout of the NGC slabs more than the PCGS ones which look more like just cheap ugly plastic to me.

And of course I break "slabs" from any other minor third party "grading companies" that I get, such as the one that had my Queen Anne halfcrown.

My rule of thumb is slightly different.
If it was slabbed, the person who had it done, had it done for a very good reason, so I would leave it as it is, irrespective of the grade given.

I have never bought a slabbed coin but I imagine I would break it out no matter what as I find them extremely obnoxious and space consuming.

Unless it really pains you might as well keep It if it most protects the coin

I just can't stand organizing my collection by categories of holders rather than by numismatic category. I actually would rather buy a lower grade coin (say, AU-55 instead of MS-63) if I knew the idea of breaking the slab would bother me for a particular coin. Canadian coins often come in ICCS holders which are easy to cut with scissors.

There were many discussions about slabs in Numista. Here is my own take with a lot of good feedback from the Numista community: Breaking open an NGC holder

And this one started by druzhynets: Show your graded (slabbed) coins.

May be we should try to do a list of all the posts on this topic because the same slab-related questions keep on popping up.

Reminds me of this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_W_oY3Rhxk

I would not...
- pay to have a coin graded
- pay extra for a graded coin
- break a coin from a slab. Someone already paid to have it slabbed/graded and while it does not add any value in my eyes, it provides better protection than a 2x2 and might add value in the eyes of a perspective buyer when it's time to sell

Do it under a full moon, wearing only a bearskin loincloth. Right out there on the front lawn. You'll need a sword.

"What is good in life Oggy?"

"Crush the slabs, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the beta male, commemorative collecting cucks."

Real men like it raw, be it coins or meat.

lol Phil

The problem is that I might want to sell them after 6 months or so, and they are the kind of coins that if you see on ebay you'd immediately think 'fakeeeeeeeee'

I wanted to wait with my pictures for this months additions till after the CNG and DNW auctions lol, but these are the ones I'm considering breaking. I adore the Zodiac crown (120 Grana) so I'm 100% sure I want to keep one in my collection, but if I can get a better one I'll sell this one. The Weimar one I'll probably break because I can't see myself getting rid, but the hawaii one I may get bored of, and the Nurnberg one I'll sell if and when can find a better unslabbed one as they aren't rare.
The roubles I can see both sides. I don't think I'll upgrade, but my Russian collection is small, and if I sell it off those are so often faked the slabs probably add value.

Quote: "Numismatist uk"​Reminds me of this...
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​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_W_oY3Rhxk

​Interesting video... I'm so happy that I don't care about the MS-62 to MS-70 business since I collect coins for their historical value, not as investment. All those coins in the video, so far as I am concerned, have gained selling value for having been graded, indeed, but a coin in a nice cabinet tray looks so much nicer than in those ugly holders.



I know -- this one is a little crowded, for now.

Quote: "Camerinvs"​
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​I know -- this one is a little crowded, for now.

​looks 100x better than a stack of slabs!

Its quite simple to me and you pretty much lined it out already, if you have slabs you should sell them and buy the same version of the coin for much cheaper. Take the extra money you now have and apply it to your coin budget.

Quote: "Camerinvs"​

Quote: "Numismatist uk"​Reminds me of this...
​​
​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_W_oY3Rhxk

​​Interesting video... I'm so happy that I don't care about the MS-62 to MS-70 business since I collect coins for their historical value, not as investment. All those coins in the video, so far as I am concerned, have gained selling value for having been graded, indeed, but a coin in a nice cabinet tray looks so much nicer than in those ugly holders.
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​I know -- this one is a little crowded, for now.

Personally I may have not taken them out,
although I must admit they look amazing the way they are​ now.

Happy to see that you like it guys! In this tray there is actually no graded coins but in the other Newfoundland tray, there are some which, some may remember, I cut open in another post to do a grading game. They were in ICCS holders which are, of course, much easier to cut open than slabs.
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Quote: "redsmithstudios"​Its quite simple to me and you pretty much lined it out already, if you have slabs you should sell them and buy the same version of the coin for much cheaper. Take the extra money you now have and apply it to your coin budget.

+1