New Trend of Collection habits among Collectors.

A bit of deviatrion form the trade dollars to discuss on market place...

NGC and PCGS coin grading have been around for decades. In the old days, usually only better grades and rarer coins are being slabbed for authentification purpose and also for preservation.I would say it all started with the mania on China Silver coins in the past 2-3  years, where authentification is the prime concern at that time. Many sellers have problems letting go their unslabbed coins and have to settle for a lower dealing price for such coins. From there, the demand for slabbing service picks up locally.

As a result of that a few dealers have started having runners sending coins for slabbing to Singapore (Mavin or Monetorium) or Hong Kong (PCGS) for grading service and a new chapter of events unfolds.

An overview of a grading process can be read at my friend and sifu blog post at: Slabbing Coins with NGC

The new chapter of events unfolding locally are:

For new generation of collectors who are more affluent, they prefer these slabbed coins.  They are less burdened by preserving the coins and they are willing to pay a price for the authentification process. It is in opinion that these coins are easier to sell later on, be it over the coin dealers or internet base platform like ebay, facebook etc.

For more senior coin collectors who have been collecting for many many years, they started to realized that these coins may deteriorate, and over the years some of their collections have become scarce. As such, slabbing these coin is cost effective and a reasonable thing to do. For example, they may have bought some coins for RM 80. But now the price has risen say to RM 600 in the catalogue. By slabbing the coin, it may added a cost of RM200 per coin in the process; but they will be able to sell it easier at the catalogue price of RM600. There will be a lot of argument if these coins are not slabbed, and they may only be able to sell it around RM 400-500 after bargaining process.

A walk in Times Square KL yesterday, I also find lots of new dealers coming into the market. A simple chat with them also revealed their preference for dealing with slabbed coins. To them, it save them the hassles of arguing the grading process with the prospective customers. In addition, the beautifully high grade slabbed coins also added prestige to their newly started shops - be it in presence, or virtually on the internet.

These sellers are extremely friendly and helpful, do visit them if you drop by in Kuala Lumpur. However, over weekends, they are still stationed in Amcorp Mall.

As for you and I...
Are we going to send our coins for slabbing?
Are we going to buy these slabbed coins at higher price?
Are you going to be like some collectors who are only after MS 65-67 coins or you wound settle for MS 62-64 like most seasoned collectors??
What are you going to do with the AU details, UNC details coins - sell them as fast as possible like the MS maniacs, or have the comfort of saying "they are genuine coins, so it is fine" ??

What are you saying on this???

My take it...
We must have the knowledge to deal with these scenarios and coin.
It is the knowledge that will prevent us from buying an overpriced coin.

The old saying from a property investor still hold true... if you are buying for investment
"You make the profit at the point of buying, not when you sell"

Memorable Trip Down Memory Lane

Going to flea market is one of my favourite past time and one of the ways to get coins for collection. The famous flea markets in the country include Lorong Kulit in Penang, Memory Lane in Ipoh, Amcorp Mall etc.
(Melawat ke flea markt merupakan salah satu kegemaran saya dan cara untuk mendapatkan koin. Antara flea market yang terkemuka di Malaysia termasuk Lorong Kulit, Memory Lane Ipoh dan Amcorp Mall dsb.)

I first knew this place when I was posted to work in Ipoh Town and it always ranked my favourite flea market. I like this flea market simply is because of its variety of items available here. On top of that, the road is quite spacious and despite the crowd, you will not feel the heat as much.
(Saya mengetahui memory lane ini semasa saya bekerja di Ipoh dulu, dan ia merupakan flea market yang paling saya gemari. Sebab selain kepelbagaian barangan di sini, laluan di flea market ini amat lebar dan ia tidak rasa panas meskipun sesak dengan pengunjung.) 

If you are antique collectors, Memory Lane offers the most varieties here especially the copper antiques.
(Sekiranya anda pengemar barangan antik, Memory Lane menawarkan banyak barangan gangsa. )

Besides that, there are usual items like electrical, appliances, used clothes and even a mini aquarium stall.
(Di samping itu, barangan yang biasa dijumpai termasuklah peralatan elektrik terpakai, baju terpakai dan akuarium mini pun terdapat di sini)

There are 2 -3 main coin and bank note sellers in memory street, while loose items can be found in most of the stores selling junk items. These uncles do not own any shop and only do business on Sunday here. It is good to ask the seller what item you are looking for, if they have it elsewhere, they may ask you to come back the following weekend.
Tips: Recommended to get their phone and call them one day ahead as reminder and as confirmation before you make the trip the following week if you are from outstation.
(Terdapat 2-3 peniaga koin dan wang kertas khusus di memory Lane. Namun peniaga-peniaga lain juga ada menjual koin koin dalam kuantiti kecil. Peniaga di sini kebanyakan tidak mempunyai kedai sendiri dan hanya datang ke sini pada Hari minggu. Pelanggan pada lazimnya akan memberitahu peniaga di sini apa yang dikehendaki dan sekiranya mereka ada stok, pelanggan akan diminta datang semula pada minggu depan.
Tips: Dapatkan nombor telefon peniaga dan hubungi mereka sebelum anda datang semula para minggu depan, khususnya pengunjung dari luar negeri)

I have since left Ipoh town after posted to KL, this visit refreshes my memory and my love for this flea market. I stayed overnight after a wedding dinner at Tune Hotel, Ipoh on Saturday, so that the flea market is right at my doorstep the next morning after waking up.
(Saya telah berhijrah ke Kuala Lumpur sekian lama, namun lawatan hari ini tetap menarik. Saya sengaja tumpang semalaman di Tune Hotel selepas menghadiri satu majlis perkahwinan kawan di Ipoh, agar keesokkan harinya, flea market ini berada di depan hotel penginapan saya.)

And my luck is good this time round, as i managed to pick up a good set of fantasy (some people prefers to call them counterfeit) straits settlements coins of 1/2 cent, 1/3 cent, 1/4 cent and 3/4 cent which is hard to come by nowadays.
(Rezeki saya agak baik kali ini, sebab berjaya mendapatkan koin fantasi (sesetengah orang lebih gemar panggil koin ini palsu) Straits Settlement 1/2 sen, 1/3 sen., 1/4 sen dan 3/4 sen. pada harga yang berpatutan dan makin sukar ditemui.)

I also saw quite a number of Duit Yasin offered for sales at a very reasonable price of RM30-50 per piece.
(Saya turut jumpa duit yasin di sini untuk jualan pada harga yang amat berpatutan di sekitar RM30-50 se keping)

I enjoyed the journey, and hope to make the trip in the future. Two hours drive from KL for a visit to Memory Lane and for a nice local meal here is well worth the effort.
(Saya amat menikmati lawatan ke memory lane dan bercadang untuk melawat lagi pada masa akan datang. Perjalanan 2 jam dengan kereta dari KL untuk melawat ke Memory Lane serta bersantap makanan Ipoh pada Hari Minggu ini  kira berbaloi bagi saya.)