Community Voice Responses (July 25, 2017)

From the June 30 Numismatic News E-Newsletter:

Will celebrity autographed slabs make the coins in them more valuable?

Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers to Editor Dave Harper.

Depending on how important the celebrity is and the number of slabs signed, the signature could make the slabs significantly more valuable. This is because the coin collecting hobby will be merged with the autograph collecting hobby; more hobbyist demand may translate into greater value.

On the other hand, if too many celebrities sign too many slabs, the value of the celebrity signing will be diminished. Therefore, investing in celebrity slabs could be risky for anyone but an insider involved in producing the slabs.

If you see George Washington’s signature on a slab, don’t buy it!

Bruce R Frohman
Modesto, Calif.

I guess we’ll see how valuable celebrity signed slabs are when some guy in Vegas walks into the pawn shop and tries to sell the Rick Harrison-signed coins to Rick himself.

Ross MacCallum
Dumfries, Va.

Please no! This is another ready made product (that is made for non-collectors; collectors despise these issues). And collectors are already sick of all the issues. Something that is happening here in Europe with the euro, and if I am not mistaken, the same thing with the issues of the U.S. Mint.

Erik van Gemst
Gorinchem, The Netherlands

The value is in the coin itself. I don’t care who autographs the label.

Ginger Rapsus
Chicago, Ill.

For those wrapped up in the foolish celebrity culture, I guess they would be willing to pay extra. The problem is that all people are fallible and if that celebrity ends up in prison – you might be left with nothing but a coin cracked out of the slab and the cost for re-submission.

I will save my hard-earned dollars and buy slabbed coins that are not signed.

Mike Budzynski
Loveland, Ohio

It probably will but not to the experienced collector. I think having the signature is just another way to make artificial profits. It is similar to the exorbitant prices asked for slabbed MS-69 and MS-70 modern commemoratives that are, in fact, marketed to uninformed consumers.

Lawrence N. Husbands
Middlesex, N.J.

My opinion is that celebrity signatures don’t really add much value to slabbed coins. The times I have bought a slabbed coin, it was the coin itself that persuaded me to buy it. If the autograph was someone really connected to the numismatic community, that would just be an added bonus but would not be a factor in buying the coin or not.

Ernesto Aguilar
North Hollywood, Calif.

Yes. The increase will be small, but there are a lot of “collectors” who cross-collect.

William Stewart Lane
Ferrisburg, Vt.

I am not sure if a celebrity autograph makes a slabbed coin more valuable, but if the consensus is that it does, please let me know. I have a French and a U.S. silver eagle, slabbed and autographed by Lance Armstrong.

Ralph Holloway
Jacksonville, Fla.

Not to me. The value is in the coin.

Wesley Ellis
Portland, Ore.

I’ve had a problem with all the grading labels from all the grading companies for a long time. With the proliferation of numerous things they do, and add, to try to take away more money from collectors, and in my opinion, kind of cheapen the hobby.

I don’t collect labels, I collect coins! Signatures mean nothing to me, no matter who they are from. Collecting signatures and autographs is a completely separate hobby and should be left as such. It’s bad enough they bombard us with all the pluses, stars, first strike, early strike, first release, early release and all the other nonsense we all are aware of, that it seems many have forgotten the coins and are collecting labels.

All I want is a label that gives me the pertinent information about the coin with a correct grade.

No pluses stars, or names and nonsense. Just straightforward information and a correct grade.

What does all this nonsense show and teach the younger generation, who seem to not have an interest in a hobby many of us love? Then we add the Mint, grading companies, unscrupulous dealers and TV show rip-offs to all this nonsense, and all the problems the hobby has now, and they want to add more ways to cheapen the hobby, and bluntly, steal our money. I think we’d all be better off if all of us passed the ANA Grading Course, trusted ourselves first and only do business with a grading company when absolutely necessary, and not purchase any more of this stuff. And that’s what it is: stuff! It’s time we the collecting community tell the Mint and grading companies what we want, not what they push on us, and definitely spend time teaching the younger generation and new collectors how to grade on their own, first and foremost, and leave the labels behind. Thank you for asking for an opinion and taking the time to read mine.

Name withheld

Wow, it just makes me giddy. What’s next? Donald Duck? Mickey Mouse? The possibilities are endless.

From my point of view, the only information of note on the slab is the condition of the coin. Fancy labels and “celebrity” signatures add nothing.

Hank Colman
Cheyenne, Wyo.

Absolutely not. What a bad joke!

Robert Matitia
Address withheld

Not for me. No, no, no.

Name withheld

This is a terrible idea. This is not what our hobby is about.

I would not buy any coin that has been signed by a “Sellebrity.”

Name withheld

Not for me it won’t. I would pay no more than NN’s 'Coin Market' price.

Name withheld

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