For the record, I do not own any "slabbed" collectibles. I do not and have not sold any "slabbed" collectible. But I do not deny their existence!

If you think it's possible to turn back the tide of inexperienced speculators from the casino chip hobby you'd better look at the attached link.

Who would have thought it possible that an item that you would NEVER be able to examine fully "slabbed" would have succeeded? But it has.

At least with stamps, trading cards, coins, and (yes) casino chips you can view the item completely through the mylar plastic. But other than the front and back cover, a comic book is completely sheilded from viewing once "slabbed".

If you talk with longtime collectors of all the hobbies which have slabbing you'll find the majority HATE the idea. It's not like everyone said "Yeah! Let's put our hobby so high up on a pedestal that it would be unthinkable to even touch an object ever again!"

Collectors are an odd bunch. How many of you purchase new casino chip releases and immediately put them in protective holders? How many of you would cringe if a casino employee dropped a new chip you were purchasing from a foot above the hard countertop? How many of you closely examine a casino chip before placing it into your personal collection? And yet these same people are adamant against novices accepting a short-cut even though they pay a hefty premium for the privilege!

Just to help ease your worries, the majority of collectors in larger hobbies don't have everything they own "slabbed". It is still not the norm and never will be. BUT... speculators and newbies DO seek out and pay much more for older issues which are hard to come by.

The ugly fact of "slabbing" is if you want HUGE amounts of money for your near perfect "Holiday Queen" 1973 $5 Las Vegas casino chip, you'd be better off having it independently graded by an unbiased third party and then locked into that grade by "slabbing" it. Otherwise, in the future, you'll probably get 20% or less than you would have when you sell it. This is not a "it could happened" or "what if...", but more of a "it WILL happen" subject. How are you going to roll with the punch and adapt?

KINGDINOSAUR

KINGDINOSAUR