Coin Collection Storage – Part 2 After a home-brew accident (see post Coin Collection Storage – Part 1) I had to completely rebuild the storage for my collection. I decided albums would play a key role, and decided to consider them all. Here are my notes – I hope they’re helpful if you’re considering albums. Albums considered/pre-purchase thoughts: Dansco – proclaimed as the ‘best’ and the ‘benchmark’. Seemed a bit expensive, but had an extensive inventory – an album for almost everything. Good internet resources (pics, specs). Nice, timeless brown. Definitely try. Intercept – proclaimed as ‘museum quality’ and even more expensive than Dansco. Limited retailers, online information (few pics, specs) and not that deep of an inventory. Classic banker green – nice. Littleton – I do not like the mail-order company, so assumed the albums would be lower quality – something to send to schmucks. Only album with binders – all others are posts. About the same price as Dansco, all things considered. Whitman – because the cheap folders are so prolific, I thought of these as the Yugo of albums. The blue color isn’t nearly as classic and timeless as the Dansco or Intercept. The price was a shocker – more than the others? Post-purchase review: note, I purchased these slowly over months, from about 5 different retailers, making my sample and evaluation a little more 'valid' statistically speaking. Dansco – nice brown, but leatherette, not leather. The newer Danscos (my dad has an older one) are definitely cheaper than the older ones. The shipping was good, and they’re relatively easy to use. No thumb notches for the plastic slips, so getting that out requires a fingerprint, then cleaning of the slip. Posts make turning pages easy, but make removing pages difficult. Semi-rigid pages are okay. They look like a book on the bookshelf - a pro and con. I have a lot of these now, by coincidence mostly, as I like to have the same album for a given denomination. The biggest problem is the ‘hair’ or the paper shavings from the holes. It’s difficult to remove, being small and due to static, and wiping the holes creates more. Given the reason to have an album is to display, this excessive ‘hair’ is a problem for me. (FYI, older albums didn’t have this problem) B- (ok, but won’t recommend) Intercept – I have two, purchased at different retailers. As this was the most stately looking, I purchased these for my dollars. I thought the green pages would contrast more with silver coins, but don’t really offer any advantage over Dansco. The cost is a bit more, but they come with a slipcover, and when you add that to the Dansco, the price is comparable. But if you don’t want the slipcase, they’re more. The big problem with these is the plastic slips for the coins – they were shipped scratched, and seemed to scratch more just inserting/removing them. They are flimsy and as a result are hard to use. If you think about it, the plastic is the whole album – the reason you can see the front and back and how you access our coins. The scratches are a real problem, because they make my Proofs look like VG circulated coins. This is on top of some ‘hair’ – not as bad as the Dansco, but enough. D (won’t buy, caution against) Littleton – the only one with a 3-ring binder, versus posts. And the only one with truly rigid pages. And no ‘hair’. The green albums look better on the shelf than I thought – nicer than the Intercept, and the light pages aren’t as bad as I thought – my nickels look great! Flipping the pages is a pain, as the rigid pages get snagged on the binders when turning – but I compensate by removing the pages easily. This makes inserting coins easy, and showing friends easy. I like these way more than I thought I would. Given that my goal is to upgrade and display, these do a great job. Surprise: A- (recommend, will buy again) Whitman – the most expensive of the bunch. Really? Yes. Worth it? Yes? The blue I thought would look cheap on the shelf looks better than the brown or green. The blue pages contrast better than the white, green or brown. The pages turn easily, and removing the slips is easy with thumb-notches (no smudges, less wear from wiping. Almost no ‘hair’, and no scratches on the (relatively) sturdy plastic slips. I purchased these last, and wish I would have purchased them first. One problem, the site says the materials are “soil resistant” but that doesn’t mean archival safe (free of PVC and chemicals in the paper which interact). I couldn’t find anything on their website. Without confirmation of archival quality materials: D (won’t buy, won’t recommend, caution against) With confirmation of archival quality materials: A (highly recommend, will buy again) I’d love to hear your comments, and to know if anyone can confirm the materials in Whitman albums. I hope you find this helpful, as it’s cost me hundreds. I wish someone had posted this before I purchased. Happy coin collecting!
The Coin Collector albums are a lot nicer than their prices imply. However, I would have liked to see mintage or historical data included on the flaps of the albums (so I'm going to select a fine quality paper and include it in the albums with such information). For the price, an outstanding bang for the buck. For folders, I like the Littleton pieces. Coins fit better and the folder is more attractive than the Whitman or Harris. I have a mix of Coin Collector, Dansco, Littleton albums. Dansco wasn't up to the level I was expecting, but it's nice. The Littleton album/binder is very nice. The Dansco had a lot of "hairs" in it. The Coin Collector albums didn't, but I wish they didn't use such dark colors for the albums, maybe something to bring out the coins' colors better, like the Littleton.
I don't like the Whitman albums for the mere fact they are made in CHINA. Also of major concern is there's no mention of archival/acid free status. The Danscos: Before inserting any coins use canned air to blow the hairs out.
I've used them all. Personally, since my inventory has changed to higher end stuff, no doubt intercept is my preferred product. I use Dansco pretty regularly for my VF-XF graded coins. And Whitman was my preferred product when I just broke into the hobby as a kid, they are widely available. Anybody have a review for H.E. Harris products? I know they do folders but not sure about the binder albums.
I like Littleton for supplies, not coins. I have 2 of their albums, and am very pleased. I also have several of their folders for low value coins, and I think they are much better than other folders I've tried. They seem to have figured out a way to make a folder that you dont need a blunt object to hammer the coins in with
im looking for albums for nickles Roosevelt dimes and wheat pennies ect what would be the best company and if any one has any there not using pm i have a trade post in the sale section
I guess that my major complaint with all the coin album companies (and I have many albums of all the ones listed) is that it is really hard to push them into the slots. The nicer the coin, the harder the fit. I almost need to damage them to make them fit. Despite this problem, I'm still pushing with all my might. I must have issues.
i have a mercury dime one from littleton and a old dark brown ihc one that says harco on the inside back cover. the one thats says harco is all individual plastic sleave you pull out the insert and drop the coin in like a 3 ring binder album paige. the littleton is a push type where you pull out the top insert and push the coin in. you have to put one edge of the coin in first then press on the other edge of the coin and it goes right in very easy i have a harder time using the cardboard folders. got them at coin club for $3 bucks a piece. i have a wheat cardboard folder but i dont want to put unc coins in it so i need a album for them. i also have a folder called 20th century type coins. is there a album like this thats not the 70/70 i dont need one that has that many different coins init
Personally I'm switching to the Lighthouse Quadrum system - http://www.lighthouse.us - for storing my "good" coins. It uses their plastic 2x2 holders (I'm waiting on my first order of pages to see if my BCW-brand 2x2's fit as they're cheaper), and you can fit 4 or 6 pages of 20 in one of their albums (80 or 120 coins total). They make binder pages for certified slabs (9 per sheet), and again either 4 or 6 pages per album. The 4-page albums are great for my slabbed Ike collections. This way you can have a coin-agnostic album, and store anything mix-and-match style instead of having to do a dedicated nickel/dime/quarter album. Plus, the coins are well protected in the plastic 2x2's and it's all clear so you can see through the pages fine and you can take out and re-organize coins easily without worry of fingerprints or scratches. BTW, their binders are nice but you don't need to buy them as they are a little pricey for just a binder, but their pages are standard-holed and will fit into any 3- or 4-ring binder.
i have a 3 ring zip up binder that i started with i just use the bcw 20 2x2 pages thats where the better coins are (not high priced coins i dont have any of them) but im moving them out into albums that look better and are for types ill keep my foreign silver in the binder
i have all Danscos but one Littleton album for Kookaburras as they are they only ones i know that make that one, but since have discontinued it i believe.
i kinda like the Harris ones, with the pictures of the coins on the outside, they seem very well made and they are more interesting than just the plain color one, BUT i REALLY like the green Littleton ones (even though i don't really like the company) but sometimes when i look at them in the stores, the lettering on the outside or "spine" i guess it could be considered is sometimes off center and even almost so far off the edge it is on the back of it.. they also kinda seem like they rip easily.. they do look more professional though
I was hoping someone else noticed that! I have a concern that they really can't monitor the complete manufacturing process in a factory 6,000+ miles away. I have also noticed their prices haven't dropped since they found a cheaper way to build their product. I have since switched to Dansco, with no complaints thus far.
Thank-you for that fantastic analysis Marid3--I may have considered it before trading in for a Littleton. I had more than a dozen Whitman books for various coins when I was a kid, but I always coveted Morgans. 50 years later, plus thousands to replace the ones that seemed to disappear, I traded in my 3 Whitman Morgan books for 2 Littleton (classier look I thought). I also bought 3 separate dollar pages. 2 of the Littleton dollar pages were bent, one glued totally shut on one side. But the biggest problem was all the clear slides had what looked like hair overspray. Soap and water, and then Naptha took it off eventually, with predictable results. The albums slides were better, but not as clear as my Whitmans. In fact, my Whitman slides look crystal clear after 60 years. Sadly, they're a little short (and wide), otherwise I'd use them in the Littleton albums. I living with it--for the moment
Might be bringing up an old thread but I have to wonder - when was the last time album manufactures were brave enough to make a new product for the niche market? It just seems that as the general public is used to cheap prices, there is little incentive for manufactures to make new products. Imagine updated Mexico type set, Canada type set, UK type set, Brazil type set etc.
