They take up to much space for one thing. If you have those Dansco type ones with slides, you'll risk damaging coins already there when you add a new one, might turn a MS-63 into an AU-58 with the friction of the slides. Regular old 2X2's in a box are better. They fit much better in a safe, also !
If you push the coin all the way down into an IS album and only slide out the top slide, you never rub across the surface when you put a new one in. I like them for displaying sets. Nothing looks better for a set. If you have a large enough safe (or safes), the size of them isn't an issue.
I'm doing this with my Seated Liberty Dime collection. 2x2's are great because you write on them....variety #'s, date purchased, etc.
Take something relatively cheap like silver dimes 1946-64 ( say you don't like clads), you could have that in high mintstate for not a fortune, not really generally slabbed. I'd say 2 X 2's are the way to go for this, even if you want to keep it up to date. Take a #7070 typeset in high grade ( like the seated and barber stuff in MS-63) maybe your IHC, SLQ, WLF are MS-66. Perhaps you dip to AU on some earlier stuff. It's all in PCGS/ NGC slabs.... You'd be nuts to crack them out and put them in an album, IMO. The value of such a set indicates a SDB should be used. Now if you do it fine-EF, I guess an album is cool, esp. if you want to show it to people. Chacun ses gouts !
I saw a 64/65 Liberty nickel in a capital holder, and I saw several high grade lincoln sets in albums. All a matter of taste and how you like to see your coins.
If I buy something in a slab, it stays in the slab. I haven't reached the point in my collector career where I'd be comfortable cracking them out. After all, I paid the price to have some other poor old devil get it graded for me. I want to keep that coin in it's holder. On the other hand, if I run into something (so called) "high end" raw? Gots no problemo inserting it into an album.....potential slide marks or not. I don'ts "slide" that much.
I have several albums for different coin types, i.e. Indian cents, Buffalo nickels, Liberty nickels, etc. I put coins up to AU in these albums. I keep mint state coins in 2 by 2s. That way I can write down the price I paid and any comments I have and can be assured that they don't get damaged due to being stored in the albums. I keep my 2 by 2s in a nice chest that I bought to store them and in several cigar boxes. I also have slabbed coins that I keep in the chest and cigar boxes.
I've cracked a few out for albums. Nothing I've regretted. It's not so bad if you crack out the label too and tape it into the album, behind where the coin is to keep it with it. The label is still relevant IMO.
My slabs fit better in the blue boxes. I will keep them there until someone else wants them more than me.
