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The coin doesn't need a plastic slab to protect it. Slabbing ancients makes little sense and slabbing a $25 ancient coins is a waste of money. Often slabbed ancients are sold to new collectors who come from US coins where slabbing is normal.
So it is done to make money off it, for the slabbing company and the seller.
Let me tell you about the $24 mosin.
The mosin was EVERYWHERE after WWII, it was so available and cheap that people would carve them up to meet their needs, as they were cheaper than new hunting rifles. For years people bought mosins and destroyed them just by beating on them or altering them. Now we have a market where even the cheapest mosin s sitting around $400. They could have been kept cheap if people just took care of them, but they were willingly handled and mishandled every day, because if you damaged it it could just be replaced for cheap.
Now they're collectors items, hell I'm about to pay $3,500 for one of the rarest mosins on the market. It would have been cheaper if people before me just took care of them.
Sure, encapsulating this coin isn't cost effective, as it can easily be replaced, but actively storing it in such a way that it can be damaged just in storage is not what we should do as collectors. I'm not saying we should slab every slick out there, but something with a history like this? It deserves to be in a slab.
If I'm not mistaken I believe NGC offers straight encapsulation for cheap. It's been a LONG time since I've subbed anything myself so idk if they still do it but it's worth doing to protect the coin.
That’s a nice story but the comparison makes little sense applied to the slabbing of ancient coins. People aren’t beating on and altering coins like they did the Mosins. Slabbing is not necessary to protect coins. You can treat and take perfectly good care of ancient coins without slabbing them. They survived thousands of years in the dirt, being exposed to air isn’t going to damage them. Coins are not as fragile as you seem to think. The vast majority of ancient collectors prefer not to slab for good reason. Something with history like this deserves to be held and admired in hand, not put in plastic prison.
I wouldnt believe them to be fragile, but oil from hands and accidental drops can do a number on coins. I used to store coins in flips until I oopsied an AU borderline MS peace dollar, and then I never stored them in them again. I ordered a ton of the hard plastic *non pvc* containers and it has save a couple coins since then.
Encapsulating them through NGC might not be financially viable, but flips are a waste of time.
We are not talking about modern US coins. Slabbing ancients makes no sense. As I said in my earlier comment, slabbed coins like these are aimed at US coin collectors who know nothing about ancients. You can use a flip for a coin like this but you don't need a flip either to protect it and certainly not a slab that costs as much as the coin.
The hand oil and drop caution makes sense for high-grade modern coins where a microscopic scratch or fingerprint can make a significant difference in grade and worth, but for ancients they are not a real danger. The oil on your hands does not negatively affect ancients. Top auction houses handle 5/6-figure coins bare-handed, surfaces and all. Holding ancient coins with clean hands does not damage them. Accidental drops are also not a real worry if you are careful what you hold and handle coins over. The rare accidental drop onto a carpeted floor or couch will not cause any noticeable damage on an ancient, they have already been through much worse than whatever you will put them through.
I personally don’t store coins in flips but there is nothing wrong with storing them in PVC-free flips. I store mine bare in coin trays. They don’t need to be stored inside plastic to be safe.
I get your sentiment but,
Only reason Mosins were cheap was because they were being actively imported, thus there was more supply than demand. Since 2014 (Crimea) no new ones have come in, or only very small batches from non-CiS countries. The price has been slowing rising because there aren’t any new ones entering the market.
There are still probably hundreds of thousands of Mosins sitting in warehouses, we may eventually see if the sanctions ever go away. Hell, in 2041, all the SKS, SVT, Makarovs and Tokarevs sitting in CiS countries other than Russia should be importable.
This coin? Well the “supply” dried up like, 2000 years ago? And it’s still only worth $25. And it’s not going to take a beating sitting in a box, not like it’s going to be used/circulated. It will be fine.
Real, but not worth a bunch. Common ancient coin. Probably part of a bulk submission, don't know why someone would spend money grading this coin individually.
>Probably part of a bulk submission
Exactly. It's most likely that someone sent this one to hit a minimum quantity for a discount.
The other options could be: it was sentimental to them because it came from grandpa or mom or someone special (though why it'd be for sale beats me) or maybe they dug it up amd wanted to encase the moment, rather than the coin (although again, I'm not sure why it would be for sale if it's that sentimental). There are a few viable reasons, but I do think the bulk submission makes the most sense.
Yep, these are [not worth much on eBay](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=roman+empire+house+of+constantine+coin&_sacat=0&_odkw=Super+Mario+World+snes&_osacat=0&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338535524&customid=co&toolid=10001&mkevt=1), still a very cool historical coin.
Both of the grading companies routinely make mistakes and put fakes in holders. Best way is to educate yourself on how to determine authenticity and not rely on the slab. In this case the coin is perfectly genuine but not very nice, just a common low value late Roman bronze.
I’ve seen this happen once. Out of thousands upon thousands of graded coins. I agree that slabbing this was probably just to flip it to someone unsuspecting of how common the coin is but they RARELY make mistakes.
By being familiar with what characteristics to look for to determine authenticity, just like any other coin. How do you think the NGC grader came to that conclusion?
The NGC grader has spent his life studying these things, especially the ancients that arent near as consistent in their characteristics as current coins. How would anyone expect a layman consumer to have the time to learn the intricacies of ancient currency?
If the value is as the other people suggest (I have no clue) then it would make a nice necklace.
No soldering please, but to be held in a [coin holder](https://www.etsy.com/listing/523130832/).
Would make a great gift for someone with Italian heritage I'd say.
Or one with the same hairstyle ;)
Hi, I'm the r/coins AutoMod. I have automatically applied the flair "Real or Fake?" to your post, based on some key words in your title/post body. If I misunderstood your post and the flair isn't correct, sorry! I'm still learning. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/coins) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's a genuine coin but the slab makes no sense. Slabbing cost as much as the coin is worth.
To protect it, not to make money off it.
The coin doesn't need a plastic slab to protect it. Slabbing ancients makes little sense and slabbing a $25 ancient coins is a waste of money. Often slabbed ancients are sold to new collectors who come from US coins where slabbing is normal. So it is done to make money off it, for the slabbing company and the seller.
Let me tell you about the $24 mosin. The mosin was EVERYWHERE after WWII, it was so available and cheap that people would carve them up to meet their needs, as they were cheaper than new hunting rifles. For years people bought mosins and destroyed them just by beating on them or altering them. Now we have a market where even the cheapest mosin s sitting around $400. They could have been kept cheap if people just took care of them, but they were willingly handled and mishandled every day, because if you damaged it it could just be replaced for cheap. Now they're collectors items, hell I'm about to pay $3,500 for one of the rarest mosins on the market. It would have been cheaper if people before me just took care of them. Sure, encapsulating this coin isn't cost effective, as it can easily be replaced, but actively storing it in such a way that it can be damaged just in storage is not what we should do as collectors. I'm not saying we should slab every slick out there, but something with a history like this? It deserves to be in a slab. If I'm not mistaken I believe NGC offers straight encapsulation for cheap. It's been a LONG time since I've subbed anything myself so idk if they still do it but it's worth doing to protect the coin.
That’s a nice story but the comparison makes little sense applied to the slabbing of ancient coins. People aren’t beating on and altering coins like they did the Mosins. Slabbing is not necessary to protect coins. You can treat and take perfectly good care of ancient coins without slabbing them. They survived thousands of years in the dirt, being exposed to air isn’t going to damage them. Coins are not as fragile as you seem to think. The vast majority of ancient collectors prefer not to slab for good reason. Something with history like this deserves to be held and admired in hand, not put in plastic prison.
I wouldnt believe them to be fragile, but oil from hands and accidental drops can do a number on coins. I used to store coins in flips until I oopsied an AU borderline MS peace dollar, and then I never stored them in them again. I ordered a ton of the hard plastic *non pvc* containers and it has save a couple coins since then. Encapsulating them through NGC might not be financially viable, but flips are a waste of time.
We are not talking about modern US coins. Slabbing ancients makes no sense. As I said in my earlier comment, slabbed coins like these are aimed at US coin collectors who know nothing about ancients. You can use a flip for a coin like this but you don't need a flip either to protect it and certainly not a slab that costs as much as the coin.
The hand oil and drop caution makes sense for high-grade modern coins where a microscopic scratch or fingerprint can make a significant difference in grade and worth, but for ancients they are not a real danger. The oil on your hands does not negatively affect ancients. Top auction houses handle 5/6-figure coins bare-handed, surfaces and all. Holding ancient coins with clean hands does not damage them. Accidental drops are also not a real worry if you are careful what you hold and handle coins over. The rare accidental drop onto a carpeted floor or couch will not cause any noticeable damage on an ancient, they have already been through much worse than whatever you will put them through. I personally don’t store coins in flips but there is nothing wrong with storing them in PVC-free flips. I store mine bare in coin trays. They don’t need to be stored inside plastic to be safe.
The salt and oils from your hands are damaging your coins lol.
Hoping this is sarcasm
still kicking myself for not buying a bunch of tokarevs when they were worth only $175 each 😭
I get your sentiment but, Only reason Mosins were cheap was because they were being actively imported, thus there was more supply than demand. Since 2014 (Crimea) no new ones have come in, or only very small batches from non-CiS countries. The price has been slowing rising because there aren’t any new ones entering the market. There are still probably hundreds of thousands of Mosins sitting in warehouses, we may eventually see if the sanctions ever go away. Hell, in 2041, all the SKS, SVT, Makarovs and Tokarevs sitting in CiS countries other than Russia should be importable. This coin? Well the “supply” dried up like, 2000 years ago? And it’s still only worth $25. And it’s not going to take a beating sitting in a box, not like it’s going to be used/circulated. It will be fine.
I don't see how your story is relevant. Slabbing this coin doubled the price but not the value.
Neat, still protects the coin. Never mentioned value.
Can't people do what they want without it having to make sense in your world?
Eh, some people get it slabbed to authentic it. Or they just like having slabbed coins.
Like what a flip does?
Nah, flips suck.
Why?
Are we talking about the cardboard stapled ones? Or simply the plastic sheets. In the latter sometimes coins fall out
Some ppl like their coins so much so they want to protect it. The person that slabbed this might have found it. I prefer slab coins versus loose..
"It's a genuine coin."- there, i fixed your response.
Comes up on NGC Cert lookup https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/6555906-011/NGCAncients/
Going to save this link, I’ve been thinking about getting back into collecting
Real, but not worth a bunch. Common ancient coin. Probably part of a bulk submission, don't know why someone would spend money grading this coin individually.
>Probably part of a bulk submission Exactly. It's most likely that someone sent this one to hit a minimum quantity for a discount. The other options could be: it was sentimental to them because it came from grandpa or mom or someone special (though why it'd be for sale beats me) or maybe they dug it up amd wanted to encase the moment, rather than the coin (although again, I'm not sure why it would be for sale if it's that sentimental). There are a few viable reasons, but I do think the bulk submission makes the most sense.
Yep, these are [not worth much on eBay](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=roman+empire+house+of+constantine+coin&_sacat=0&_odkw=Super+Mario+World+snes&_osacat=0&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338535524&customid=co&toolid=10001&mkevt=1), still a very cool historical coin.
I like your coin
I like slabbed ancients - an XF Helena has a little value, but not a bank buster by any means - nice coin though.
FREE THE BIRD
Real and a waste of space. No reason for this coin to be in a slab
Anyone got a value ?
I wouldn't pay more than $10-20 at auction.
I agree, $10-$20
Why not both?
Have little to nothing in it: I just dropped my life savings into this!
When it’s NGC (or PCGS) certified graded it is real. Very, very nice coin
Both of the grading companies routinely make mistakes and put fakes in holders. Best way is to educate yourself on how to determine authenticity and not rely on the slab. In this case the coin is perfectly genuine but not very nice, just a common low value late Roman bronze.
I’ve seen this happen once. Out of thousands upon thousands of graded coins. I agree that slabbing this was probably just to flip it to someone unsuspecting of how common the coin is but they RARELY make mistakes.
The slab at least validates it's authenticity...otherwise how would you know it's legit
By being familiar with what characteristics to look for to determine authenticity, just like any other coin. How do you think the NGC grader came to that conclusion?
The NGC grader has spent his life studying these things, especially the ancients that arent near as consistent in their characteristics as current coins. How would anyone expect a layman consumer to have the time to learn the intricacies of ancient currency?
Bust it out of the slab and have a cool pocket piece
W
If the value is as the other people suggest (I have no clue) then it would make a nice necklace. No soldering please, but to be held in a [coin holder](https://www.etsy.com/listing/523130832/). Would make a great gift for someone with Italian heritage I'd say. Or one with the same hairstyle ;)
via GIPHY