Just came home from the dealer with a free whitman folder he gave me for my buffalo nickels. I got home and collected all my ACID DATED buffalo nickels but they wouldn't fit! I had to keep slamming my elbows on it before it fit. I'm getting really frustrated and dont know what to do. I'm scared of putting any key dates in. I've heard that the backs of these things can damage the coins.. What should I do? I would invest in a dansco album IF these weren't acid dated. What should I do? This is the folder he gave me. Isn't rare? It's copyright 1940 o.o
I am probably a little bias on my opinion. I've never had any luck with the Whitman folders. I always save them whenever I buy a collection with them. They are rather frustrating getting coins in and out of. Dusty
I think most Whitman folders are defective. I came into a ton of Kennedy's and bought two folders and also bought two Washington quarter folders and had the same problem as you in three folders out of the four. Only one quarter folder accepted the quarters without a struggle. Frustration also set in and the cure was a hammer (shock!). I did the best I could in getting the coins in the holes and then put the folder on top of a weekly Coin World which was located on the hardwood floor. On top of the coin I put the monthly Coin World that is about an inch thick and then used two delicate blows with the hammer. It did the trick with no adverse effect to the coins. I really don't see any other way in getting the coins completely in the hole.
Your worrying about damaging an acid dated nickel? Hate to tell you but its already damaged by the acid.
I agree with GDJMSP. It's not worth the frustration. Getyourself a binder and a few plastic pages to display the coins and you'll befar happier imo.
Or, instead of throwing away a folder that's old enough to be interesting and arguably a good match for an acid-dated set, you could: Use a sacrificial nickel -- something modern and damaged -- to "break in" each hole, pounding it in with a hammer if need be. Use a stylus, a metal rod, or even a screwdriver to "widen" each hole by pushing against its edges. Use a boring but protective set of notebook sleeves and 2x2 flips instead.
Yeah, I've experienced some frustration with Whitman folders. They don't seem to have the same precision as the Dansco albums. I've used a screwdriver or cutting tool sometimes to widen the holes. I've never resorted to a hammer, though! :dead-horse: I think if I had to use a hammer, I'd just destroy the album and get another one! Don't get frustrated. Not worth it. Just get another folder, maybe a modern one would be better. They're not expensive.
I use a hammer for putting coins in that type of folder as well. I just put the coin in the hole, then putt a couple sheets of paper over the coin. Then I put the face of the hammer on the coin and press down (Make sure the folder is on a solid surface) The holes are small because the sideways pressure of the cardboard is the only thing keeping the coin in the folder and they want to make sure it stays in. Trying to push them in with your thumb doesn't work well because your thumb is too soft. When you push down instead of pushing the coin down your thumb simply spreads sideways. Most of the force goes side to side instead of down. The face of the hammer doesn't give though so all of the force goes to pushing the coin into the hole.
Patience is virtue with Whitman folders. I have 10 of them and some of them may need some good force to put coin inside the circle. Conder101 was corrected to use the sideways pressure method as it worked. If you want to try push downward evenly, then more likely the circle will be damaged and coin will pop out by itself.
I only use Whitmans for modern circulated coins. The way I put em in is to pre-place them in diagonally with just the top not inside then I put a t-shirt over the coin and push the part sticking out with a closed sharpie, its rounded and big, they go in pretty well and don't get scratches, but we are talking about modern dimes, nickels and quarters out of pocket change. I have air-tites for anything of value, but filling in a Whitman with pocket change is pretty fun and seems similar to the feeling old-school collectors may have had in the fifties's or sixties finding silver in pocket change. For some reason I never find a 1992 d dime in pocket change that I need, it just doesn't show up.
