Question Regarding 2X2 Snaplock Holders???

Hello All,
I am new to coin collecting and have started building a small collection so far and trying different coin collecting supplies for storage, but have a question I hope someone can answer.
I want to know if the 2x2 snaplock holders will fit in a BCW vinyl page made to hold 2x2's? I know the vinyl pages will hold the cardboard and vinyl flips, but I am currently using the Lighthouse Grande Encap Pages for the 2x2 snaplock Quadrum Intercept coin holders. The only proplem with these pages is that they are rigid, thick and the album will only hold 4 pages which gives me storage for only 80 coins per album!
If the regular vinyl 2x2 20 slot pages wont hold the snaplock holders I may have to start using the vinyl flips instead.
I couldn't find an answer to this question on the Internet and figured that someone here would know if this combination will work or not.
Thank You!

 

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The BCW are pretty thin/flimsy. I use them since they are cheap, though I have had several instances where my 2x2 cardboard flips will rip the sides when I put them in/take them out. I highly doubt they would be able to accommodate a 2x2 snaplock holder.

 

Well, if the BCW 2x2 slot pages are that flimsy then I may have to ditch this idea I had and stick with what I'm using now!
Thanks for your helpful input!

 

I understand the desire to put your coins in an album (been there; done that).
Albums make it easy to view your collection.
But as time goes by and your collection increases in size you'll find yourself running out of storage space for the albums.
Get 2x2 storage boxes, particularly double row ones.
You can get upwards of 75 coins in one.
And the stack nicely plus take up less room.

 

That is a great idea . I had a double row 2x2 storage box but returned it because I want to be able to view my coins easily and the album makes for a nice presentation too. I may be going back to the storage boxes because you are correct on the point made regarding storage space. The albums do take up more space!
Thanks for your advice!

 

The box of sheets say that they are PVC free. That's why I went with them.

 

I will definitely steer clear of any materials containing PVC! I should have worded the description on the pages as Mylar and not vinyl. I have been reading up and researching about the damage PVC can do to a coin, so if I decide to use storage containers for my 2x2 snaplocks I will use the Lighthouse Intercept box which is made of inert materials.

 

So are we saying that pages being made of Mylar are PCV free? My concern has been the difficulty in getting 2x2s in and out of the pockets, and my friend uses the BCW pages that seem to let them easy to remove and insert.

 

What type of 2x2s are you and your friend using in the pages that are easy to insert and remove?
Thanks!

 

I am using the regular 2x2s sold everywhere, and the BCW pages let me slip coins in and out pretty easily. A lot easier than the old ones I had been using. I'm thinking of pulling all of my cois out of my old pages and use only the BCW ones.

 

Good points made!

 

So if I read this correctly, even using PVC - free flips, for example, wont protect if the pages contain PVC?

 

PVC is a type of plastic (polyvinyl chloride), it does not get released from the pages. If the pages are PVC it contains a plasticizer to make the plastic soft and flexible. It is this plasticizer that leaches out of the plastic and forms the oily residue on the coins. It leaches out as a liquid not a gas. What causes the damage is as PVC ages it does outgas, it outgasses HCl hydrogen chloride. The plasticizer absorbs the HCl. It also absorbs water vapor from the air. When the water and HCl combine it creates Hydrochloric acid. That acid, in the plasticizer, reacts with the metal in the coin. When it reacts with copper in the alloy it creates copper chloride which give the "PVC residue" the green color.

 

Okay, very good. I thought that was true, but it's always good to hear from an expert!

Now is it true that all freezer bags made to hold food are also non-PVC? I heard that in passing here in the forums but I'm still hesitant about using sandwich baggies for holding coins.

 

Most dealers sell 2x2 sheets in any quantity from one up. I easily stretch most 2x2s to fit loose wood dollars so it may fit a snap tight 2x2. Buy a single sheet and try it out before you order in quantity. It may be that you can't do a row of four and only get every other slot to hold what you want.

 

I’ve tried using exclusively the plastic 2x2’s experimenting with different brands and pages and I’m pretty sure they won’t fit into the vinyl sheet pages. I must have thrown my vinyl test sheet away because I can’t find it to check it right now. But if it would have fit I’m pretty sure I would have kept it.

I have the quadrum sheets by lighthouse so I feel your pain of them being extra thick. If you are going to use snaplock plastic 2x2’s your options are somewhat limited simply due to size and thickness of the plastic 2x2’s.

Plastic 2x2’s have a lot of advantages, but storage is mainly in 2x2 boxes, lighthouse pages, and eagle pages. The album pages also become less clear from scratching if you leave them loose outside of binders. Same with plastic 2x2’s.

I personally don’t like the cardboard 2x2’s themselves because I just have a lot of trouble with cardboard particles somehow finding their way onto coins. I have considered using those little plastic flips as surrogate 2x2’s, but they won’t fit into the vinyl pages either.

Years ago when I was a newbie I made the mistake of stapling 2x2’s and keeping them together with rubber bands. Bad idea on all counts. The rubber bands tone terribly, and the staples punctured the plastic film and scratched coins.

As far as vinyl goes, I’m not terribly sure if vinyl and pvc are the same. Mylar is a brand name that I *believe* was discontinued by Dupont, which is why it’s hard to find supplies called Mylar, and that companies save money by using generic equivalents and avoiding copyrighted brand names. I think the latest iteration is something called melinex, but that’s a brand name too so they call the generic stuff poly or polyester or some such thing. I’ve sort of concluded is that if the plastic is rigid it’s good. The more pliable vinyls I never could figure out. There’s a whole set of topics on what to use for inert plastics and what is the equivalent generic term for brand names. That topic eventually you’ll find yourself looking up archival quality conversations related to acid free paper, preservation of postage stamps, etc, and specs. Way beyond this question.

Anyway, I ended up solving the problem of both storage and display and keeping the universality of 2x2’s and albums by buying direct fit kointains and cardboard 2x2’s. I put the coins into the rigid Mylar kointains, and fit them into a cardboard 2x2 that was bigger than I needed so I could see the edge. Even if the coin moves around, the kointain is tight on the coin. For nickels, I used a staple type quarter 2x2. I used staple 2x2’s rather than self adhesive because staple type 2x2’s have the plastic on the inside keeping the coin away from the cardboard, while the adhesive 2x2’s have a gum inside contacting the coin with the plastic film on the outside of the cardboard.

Also, if you’re looking for supplies, sometimes you can score good deals on “used coin supplies” on eBay. People have tons of stuff there and you can save some money.

Hth

 

Thanks so much for the well written response to my questions. It was very helpful and gave me some ideas to think about.