Numismatic and History Discussion Forums > Coin Photography, Conservation and Storage

Cataloging Estimated Dimensions of Slabbed Coins

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PMah:
I would "subtract 100%" of the weight of the slab by freeing the coin.  (I use a dremel motor tool and a vise...)
   That's if the slab isn't adding much utility or value, both topics of dispute.  You can keep the info label if that helps re-sale, if resale is a priority.  I find slabs to be a high negative in most respects, including storing only 20 coins in space that would hold 100-150 and bearing nearly useless labeling that needs a taped-on tag for collection control, references and almost all other information I find useful.
   For the person with an unreliable scale, I suggest getting a calibration kit, which are not expensive and will remain useful if you decide to upgrade your scale in the future.  But you may find, with calibration,  your unreliable scale isn't so bad.

Virgil H:
Obviously, this is only an issue for people who like slabs. For my freed up slabbed coins, I did keep the NCG tag. I have no idea if that will help when I or my heirs sell them. I also find the info on their tags to be completely lacking to the point it is absurd. I get that some people like slabbed coins and that is a personal choice. I always think in my head that a slabbed coin is overpriced immediately because slabbing coins is not inexpensive, so I don't look for them. I have one coin that I got at auction that the slab had to have cost close to what I paid for the coin. Someone lost money on that one. And also made almost nothing on my other slabbed coin.

On the scales, I know the "unreliable" scales are generally fine. Calibration kits are not calibrated, so I don't hold much store in them, but mine came with a 10 gram "calibration" weight that seems to tell me my scale can weigh 10 grams accurately. And I know for my purposes, it is accurate enough. I was so programmed in the Army with everything needing to be so precision. We had second level resistance standards in a temp controlled oil bath that was checked four times a year against the national standards and we sweated doing those quarterly measurements and only certain people got to do them. And all scales were calibrated then and, yes, we could adjust them to make them read correctly if necessary, which could be a PITA to get consistency across a wide range that was always within tolerance. There is literally no way that a doctor's office scale measures completely accurately for everyone from small kids to obese adults. But, that probably doesn't matter as the accuracy is probably within reason.

The biggest problem with an unreliable scale is that most people don't know it is unreliable, which was kind of my point. It really depends on just how unreliable it may be. I fully realize that this is what we have today and I trust my gram scale enough for my coins, as well as my dog's medicine when I have to cut her pills that never cut cleanly, or measuring pink salt for curing meats. My kitchen scale is fine for cooking and weighing packages and my 60 year old analog postage scale is still pretty accurate from the tests I have done on it. Sorry, went on a big tangent here.

Cheers,
Virgil

Ken W2:

Lol Paul. I am not a fan of slabbed coins either and was simply seeking a way to make  somewhat traditional attributions by including dimensions. I’ve broken a few coins out, but the higher value the coin the more value a third party authentication may have. I’ll never sell any of  my coins, but my children probably will and for better or worse they will likely find a more ready market at fair prices with third party authentication.  I also get some measure of confidence when buying slabbed coins of higher values. To be sure, third party authentication is not a guarantee of authenticity but it does provide an incremental measure of protection.  While we could break out all slabbed coins, save the packaging, and have a photographic record thereof, that is just that much more stuff for my kids to find, understand, and keep up with, in a subject matter they know little or nothing about. 
Thanks for responding. 

Ron C2:
Slabbing ancient coins, for me, is just a way of getting a rather reliable opinion on authenticity. Every coin I ever had slabbed, got deslabbed upon return. I do keep the info slip with the coin.

There are different tiers of slabbing services and the cheaper tiers preserve less info on the slab slip.

Virgil H:
Ron, just curious, can't you get the service and not have them slab it? Paying for an opinion about a certain coin(s) I can see. Slabbing I do not want. But, an expert opinion is another thing.

Virgil

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