Collecting
Slab / encapsulation
Encapsulado
Encapsulation — a slab or holder — is the rigid polymer case in which a grading service seals a note or coin after assigning a grade. PMG and PCGS Banknote use it for paper; NGC, mainly for coin. The label carries the Sheldon grade (1–70) or a Details designation, the certificate number, and often originality comments: EPQ, Hole Punch Cancelled, Edge Filing. A slab is not a price or a resale guarantee; it is a shared language of condition and of identity, because the certificate identifies that specific object.
Not every example in this collection is slabbed. Many are shown in a rigid sleeve, without a holder: the 1945 1 peso oro, the 1994 Emberá 10,000s, the Malaysian RM5. Slabbing does not improve the paper; it documents a grade reading on a date. An NGC Details grade flags a problem (cleaning, edge filing) and is not a full Sheldon number. A PMG EPQ comment affirms paper originality, not the absence of circulation folds: the Victory 20-peso note is slabbed PMG 55 EPQ, About Uncirculated, certificate 8083882-032.
The 1881 Banco Hipotecario proofs are in PMG 61 Uncirculated, serial Y 00000. The 1983 2,000 pesos oro specimen is in PCGS 64 Very Choice New, certificate 59068295, with hole-punch and mounting-remnant notes. The 1761 Utrecht ducat holds NGC AU Details · Edge Filing, certificate 4685927-012. Each certificate is as unique as a serial: a record is not duplicated by citing the same number again. Notofilia’s search groups those services under the slabbed filter.
Examples in the collection
See also: PMG / PCGS , NGC , Appraised