Buy the Plastic, Not the Coin

The advent of third party grading in the 1980s has revolutionized the field of U.S. coin collecting, and the slabs themselves have become collectible. What is collecting if not preserving significant artifacts of the past? In this sense, these plastic holders have legitimately captured collectors' attention (and wallets), with recent eye-popping results. The latest issue of David Schwager's Sample Slab Newsletter comments on the earliest PCGS holders.

One can quibble with the valuations, but the market impact of these plastic containers is undeniable.

These early PCGS holders represent only a part of the slab collecting field, which includes hundreds of types from both current and long-forgotten certification services, in addition to special issues created to commemorate a wide variety of personalities, collections, and events. Collectors are served by Schwager's Sample Slab Newsletter in addition to a reference volume authored by Schwager and Burton Strauss.

Image: 1881-S Morgan, PCGS MS63, serial #1080017, sold by Great Collections August 10, 2025, realized $119,062.

Link to the Sample Slab Newsletter on NNP:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/514437

Link to order David Schwager and Burton Strauss's reference work on sample slabs:
https://sampleslabs.info/ordering2025.html