All, First off let me thank each of you for the wonderful forum. I have been reading this for a long time but this is the first time that i have ever posted anything. Although i have seen many threads about this topic i wanted to post my specific situation and ask for advice. Background: My family has collected coins for 3 generations and fortunatly my daughter is no different and loves to work on this hobby with me. I currently have a large safe that i keep everything in but as time has went on it has gotten to the point to where i can hardly put anymore in it. I have organized and reorganized it many times and changed out coins many times into many different containers. Currently i have a lot of Tubes "the round plastic ones with caps on them" filled with coins. I have 2x2's in the long little red boxes, albums, folders, single plastic round coin "clip" holders, slabs, plastic flips, etc.. basically every type of storage you can think of i have it in some form. I would very much like to redo my collection and make it standard, i have a bit of OCD and this would greatly help me with making everything nice and neat. For the record i do not like the "press in" folders, i like as much protection as i can get. It has always bothered me that i have a huge amount of morgans and peace dollars in tubes.. but that was the easiest way to do it at the time. Should i seperate everything into 2x2's or is there a better way. I honestly do not know how large most peoples collections are but keep in mind whatever i come up with i will have to do for thousands of coins. Thanks in advance
It all depends on what you're looking for as far as storage. From what you've stated about most being in tubes, those are pretty good. You can also place them all in 2x2s, and then buy the 20 coin sheets for a 3 ring binder. I would have suggested the different coin albums, but you said you don't like those; however, Dansco albums are the most popular among collectors as they do offer some protection with a clear mylar sleeve that slips over the coins once you've pressed them into their spot on the album page. It's all on personal preference. Mine are in 2x2s, in a 20 coin page, placed into a label 3 ring binder.
Well, I'd say you either need a bigger safe or a second, and even a 3rd one. I say that because coin tubes are without a doubt the most efficient use of space there is when it comes to storing coins. In other words, any other method you use is going to take up a lot more space. It is also going to cost a considerable of amount of money given the number of holders, and boxes for those holders, that you will have to purchase. What might be the best idea for you would be to pick out the best of the best of your collection and sell the rest.
I agree with Doug...you need another safe. I've had to do this myself, even after thinning out my collection by selling any duplicated I had over the years. A new safe to handle some of the overflow will make it a lot more enjoyable as well when you go to look for something specific in your collection and you don't have to remove a few hundred pounds of stuff to find it. Guy
I have thought about the 3 ring binders and i like the fact that not only are they in a book inside of a plastic page but they are still contained in single coin protection inside that page. Would you use the carboard 2x2 or the plastic ones .. any preference on that? Also what brands of pages, holders would you use.. links would be great.
I have never sold a coin and dont think i could bring myself to do it. I dont really want to spend 1500 on another safe and honestly i dont think my wife would go that route. Do you guys think the tube offer enough protection? I didnt know how it would effect the coins touching one another in the tubes. That is deffinatly the easiest for me and as long as it is good protection for the coins then i would have no issue staying with that method.
Perhaps a combination approach would be best.. i could use the pages for the best coins and tube the rest until my safe burst
I use the cardboard ones that you staple closed. As far as the 20 coin sheets for a binder, you can get them from most coin dealers, or you can check out this place where I get supplies from time to time: http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/products/coin-pages/
The saflips "plastic ones" that have the 2x2 white incerts in them look nice. Has anyone used those and would they be better than the cardboard stable ones?
I would do what best suites you. I recently purchased two filing cabinets that lock with key. They're four drawers tall and with all the weight of the coins they are going to take atleast three to four dudes and a truck to move them. I was using tool chests without wheels but have been overjoyed with the filing cabinets. Most of my coins are in 2x2 except junk silver which I leave in tubes. I bought my cabinets for $150 a piece at sams club.
In my opinion tubes are fine, especially for lower grade common Morgans for example. You can also use them for common uncirculateds if you're careful how you put them in the tubes. Don't just drop them in one at a time but rather build a stack of them and then slide the tube down over top of them.
Most all of our options for storage have their drawbacks and downsides, some are worse than others. 2x2's for example have several problems, cardboard dust, staples, possible damage right thru the thin mylar, toning issues due to cardboard, little moisture protection etc. Tubes have issues because for one thing they allow the coins to rub against each other which can turn unc coins into AU coins in short period of time. They also cause more contact marks when putting the coins in or taking them out. Albums have all sorts of issues. Far and away the best method for storage is individual, hard plastic holders for each coin such as Air-Tites, Coin World slabs, or hard plastic 2x2's. Of course the downside with these is cost. But in the long run they are actually cheaper because of all the other possible damage to your coins that they avoid. It doesn't take much to happen to a coin to make it lose 50 cents in value - and that's all Air-Tites cost. So every time you buy a coin, spend 50 cents and get an Air-Tite for it as well. Or better yet keep an assortment of various sizes on hand. You'll never miss the 50 cents that way.
