I have found them to be a good choice for some but not all coins. I started using them over 30 years ago. I'm wondering what others have found to be good and bad about using them for long term storage. What coins toned in a good or bad way? Did any coins gain spots over the years? How did UNC and Proof coins do? When the time comes to bust up the albums, what is your plan?
I have several collections in Dansco's. Have had a medium quality Franklin book done since the 1990's. Last time I looked at the book, I hadn't noted any spotting or toning that had taken place. Same with my Ike books..... The interesting books I assembled are the Presidential dollars. I assembled these books with the highest quality dollars I could get as well as the proofs. I was very careful when I assembled them. No fingers touched any of the coins... And those coins are going dark on me. Mostly the proofs. I don't know if that is due to the coin composition or the Dansco's though.
I originally had my presidential dollar proofs in an album from Littleton. I stopped collecting before I finished the collection. I think I was missing the last three years and have since obtained them. The ones that had been in my album are all darker. I have now in capsules as are virtually all my raw coins. The albums did't do bullion ASEs any favors. I noticed the coins on the outer edges of the first page got some toning. These albums were also sleeved, My Peace Dollar collection got no toning.
I have my complete MS set of Kennedy Halves in a Dansco. Many of them have toned, some quite attractively.
I sure do have a lot of these mostly for US. I use them with the slip covers and have not had any issues with toning. I like their generic albums as well for art bars, silver rounds, and coin flips. I wish they had made more world albums, their Mexico Type album is one of my favorites, but the late 1960s Whitman albums are also great.
I have generally good opinions on Danscos. I have 8 or so Danscos, some I've been using for 10+ years. One in particular for 20 years. Many coins have toned attractively. Many others have not toned at all. Both silver and clad, seems random. As for spots, some coins do show them. They are from tiny cardboard particles. I should have removed all the slides and blew or shook the albums out before putting coins in them.
Well… Fact I, I live in the Deep South so high humidity is just part of life. They do stay in a safe inside that is seldom opened. But there’s no getting around the humidity down this was in the summer months.
These little things help a LOT! If you don't have one, I would check them out. Brings my storage area down from room humidity which is around 50+ to 35
I've got 18 Dansco albums and 1 Official U.S. Mint" album (made by H.E. Harris). None of my proof coins are in Dansco's (I think). Haven't seen any toning on any of the coins, but then again, a majority of the coins aren't MS. U.S. Presidential Dollars (2007-2016, P, D, plus undated holes for Ford/Carter/Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush and 10 blank holes) Sacagawea Dollars (2000-2023, P, D) to which I added a blank small dollar page that I put my SBA dollars in. I'm out of holes, so no more small dollars (i.e. native american) will be collected by me. Silver Dollars with 4 blank pages for my Peace Dollars and my Ike Dollars. Half Dollars with 5 blank pages for Kennedys (enough holes for 1977-2026, P, D) Franklin Half Dollars (with 1 blank page added for Kennedy's 1964-1976, P, D) Liberty Walking Half Dollars Washington ATB Park Quarters State Quarters (H.E. Harris album) Washington Quarters (1932-1998, P, D) Roosevelt Dimes Mercury Dimes Jefferson Nickels (2006-to date, P, D) Jefferson Nickels (1938-2005, P, D) Buffalo Nickels Lincoln Shield Cents Lincoln Memorial Cents Lincoln Cents (wheat) Indian Head Cents (with holes for Flying Eagle Cents) And an empty 7070 U. S. Typeset (I keep all of my Type coins in airtites which are kept in airtite tubes). A collector's item all in itself. Most of the series are complete. Most of the holes are filled and there isn't room for many more new coins, except maybe dimes and nickels.
My results have been much like what others have posted. These are the details of my results. Brown circulated cents did not change. Red UNC cents turned to RB and RB turned to brown. Modern proofs did not do well. Some gained spots from the cardboard dust. Most gained a bit of haze. Circulated nickel did not change but UNC nickels now have yellow toning that is a bit darker around the rims. Modern proofs did not do well. Some gained spots from the cardboard dust. Most gained a bit of haze. Circulated silver did not change at all. Some UNC silver gained some yellow toning around the rims. None gained any toning that I would call pretty toning. Some proofs gained haze and spots. Most clad coins have a light yellow tone. That could be fixed but not worth the time. Proofs gained a tiny amount of yellow haze but nothing pretty. Clad silver coins look like they did when put in the albums. Proofs are all over the place. The mirror fields look darker and have spots on some. It's going to be a long process when the time comes to sell.
A slightly off topic question. I have all my coins stored in Whitman albums (both plastic slide cover and open faced), but I notice that people always seem to like Dansco much better. Most of my albums I bought just because they were easier to find or available when Danscos weren't. So, are there significant upsides to using Dansco or is it just a Ford vs. Chevy type preference? Are there more toning issues with Whitman's or something?
My humble cent collection was started in a 1960’s era Whitman. My Mercury dime Whitman is even older…… The Dansco’s I will say are better built. My old Whitman’s are held together with a prayer. My old Dansco’s still look like the day they were made….. I think though that cardboard is cardboard and one will affect your coins no differently than the other.
These toned in a Dansco over about 20 years. I recently sent them in. I guess the attractiveness of the toning is debatable, but I like them all.
My experience is much like Randy's. My early albums were all Whitman, bought when I was a kid or young adult. When I got back into collecting later in life I used Dansco and InterceptShield. The Whitmans didn't hold up very well. Of course, back then I moved around a lot and didn't actively collect, so they spent time neglected in closets and cardboard boxes, so that probably didn't help. Recently, I put my ATB quarters in Whitmans and those are nice.
I think they have their place for some coins in specific conditions. If you have MS coins you don't want to tone, it would seem the Intercept shield albums would be a better option and I have used those. They work. I like the outside cover to slide the album into as well for additional protection.
