Slab
A slab is the sealed, tamper-evident plastic holder a grading service encapsulates a coin in, with a label showing the coin's identification and grade.
A slab is the sealed, tamper-evident plastic holder that a third-party grading service encapsulates a coin in after grading it. Inside the holder is a printed label with the coin's date, mint mark, denomination, grade, and a unique certification number.
- NGC
- PCGS
The slab does three jobs. It protects the surfaces, which matters most on proof American Eagles and high-grade pre-1933 gold where a fingerprint is permanent. It keeps the grade attached to the coin, so the assessment travels with it. And it makes the coin verifiable, since the certification number can be looked up in the grading service's online database and checked against the coin in hand.
Slab is everyday shop language rather than a technical term. NGC and PCGS both call their product a holder, and each has its own case design and label conventions. Buyers often come to prefer one, though a certified coin from either service is widely traded.
Breaking a coin out of its holder is called cracking out. It removes the grade guarantee and the protection, and it is rarely a good idea for anything of consequence. If a slab is cracked, scratched, or looks like it has been opened, treat the grade on the label with caution.
Ask a Texas Bullion Exchange specialist if you want a graded holder verified before you buy or sell.