funny you say that... i have some blocks stored in them. until someone says otherwise that it is harmful to stamps, they will stay there. if i should ever decide to store them differently, i can, and that is something a plastic tomb cannot offer.
I hate to see this!! I personally believe this helped destroy the sportscard hobby. People start trying to sell items for what they think it could be worth if it was graded high, and more fake grading companies are introduced
I thought so! Someone should make a similar plastic container for stamps. (Just a smaller size.) As for false grading and permanent encasings, what's the point? I mean, I think anything collectible should be able to be removed and re-encased at any time (for grading or even just showing off). It just seems odd to keep any collectible permanently encased.
This is an old discussion I'm reviving out of curiosity Common from a museum background, encapsulation is a good thing, a method used to enclose and protect paper documents. However, it seems its not popular in stamping. I get the feeling there is a legit. issue here, but I fail to grasp what it is...could someone enlighten me?? please
I think that the encapsulation of coins has brought about a standard bid/ask market for coins that has taken the subjective haggling that used to be the norm at coin shows out of the equation. This is the fear about encapsulation of stamps. There are lots of other aspects of either coins or stamps that are not taken into consideration in the grading of encapsulated collectibles. On the other hand how does a person mount an encapsulated stamp into their album? Many regular collectors see the purchaser of encapsulated collectibles as "investors" and not true collectors and potentially ruining the hobby. I see both side of the argument and understand the need for both. As a collector of both coins and stamps, I have purchased graded coins, but would never buy a slabbed stamp.
Thanks, Hochstrasee. I"m beginning to see the issue. Are these stamps permanently 'slabbed' then? In museums every, including encapsulation, is impermanent and reversible But if a stamp is encased permanently, then yes...I can see the issues with that. I wondered if there was a concern that encapsulated stamps were hiding something. For example, a fake stamp permanently encased you'd be unable to find tell that the paper's weight was wrong.
It is possible to bust out a stamp that has been encapsulated, but a person doing this is destroying "some" value inherent in the slabbing. Like the "Coin Dealer Newsletter" that comes out with wholesale prices on coins a slabbed stamp has some value that is a recognized standard that comes with the grade. Without the grading the stamp becomes a more capricious valuation by anyone who may be a potential buyer. As such this is both a benefit and a curse to the hobby of stamp collecting.
