Hey guys, So I recently bought a slq for an au type set I'm placing in an album. The slq was as described but after seeing it in hand wasn't what I was look for. That coin was $30 and now I'm upping it up to around $50 in my search. Yet there is something about placing a coin of such value in my album given toning discoloration ect from being raw. And yes I know "limit" is relative in this case, but I'm curious what ya'lls cut off is for placing in an album vs something more secure?
I limit my copper coins to about $50, but I don't worry about any other coins in an album, no limit there.
Well if you want to spend the money on something nice, and want it to stay secure, then just buy a slabbed coin. I've seen BEAUTIFUL toning come from albums. So who knows, maybe your coin will tone nicely in the years to come.
That's a tough call, in my own case it's not really a price limit, it's more of a condition limit. Most of my albums are filled with "circulated" coins that i'm not really worried about "touching" however, my morgans and franklin halves are a mixed lot but because of their "mirror" finishes even a minor fingerprint could cause noticable damage so they get an album with the aceitate covers to protect their finishes. The best example i can give is with pennys, my Indianheads and flying eagles are in the classic cardboard fold albums open to the air while my 1975-current book is all BU's and i have added an aceitate cover sheet to each page to protect their finish. Finaly I have many ASE's and rounds that get put in airtights or at minimum into 2x2 flips. So at least in my case it is not a matter of what coins cost that decides the storage method but the actual condition of the coin itself and it's need to be protected. On a final note any coin i really want to keep "safe" gets sent off to be slabbed for ultimate protection.
The grading company's and dealers really like the idea of putting slabbed coins into albums. Guaranteeing a continuing revenue stream in the further.
I'm working on a 7070 so my limit is much higher. Most of the coins in there are over $100. Not counting the gold page where the coins range from $120 for a dollar coin to $1200 for a double eagle.
While they are eminently popular albums and folders have probably been the single biggest cause, either directly or indirectly, of damage or harm to coins that there has ever been. And no that is not an opinion.
Agreed! I'm not the expert many here are, but here's my advice: Use albums wisely, and cautiously. Even the best albums, made of 'forever/safe' materials still have intrinsic problems, most notably the slide scratching the surfaces, and the wear on the edges. My best coins are slabbed, or in the queue to be slabbed (in flips now). This includes MS, Proof, Key and Semi-Key dates, old stuff, or just really nice, unique coins. By value, most of my collection. By quantity, most of my collections is as follows (only because I rarely sell[hoarder]): My second-tier, or circulated, very-common modern coins are in albums, because they're just so cool to flip through, but you can get a LOT of scratching from the slides. Essentially, these are coins that are nice enough to look at, but not nice enough to sell. They're extras - period. (so there are holes for the key dates or where I don't have dup's of my nicest coins). I also use those whitman folders for junk wheaties and circulated pennies to give them as gifts - better than some other small gift crap items, and it gets people interested collecting. My junk coins are in tubes. This is obviously an over simplification. Where you do choose - strategically and wisely - to use albums, here's a link to a review I did a year or so ago. http://www.cointalk.com/t199783/ Also remember, if your stuff is in OLD plastic (flips, pages, albums with slides) that may contain PVC - address that asap, and store your coins and paper separately (paper has chemicals that can corode (if in contact) or oddly tone your coins. Hope that helps.
That's me, too. I have a few low-grade Barbers that are worth $100 or more, and I've put them into albums without a qualm. On the other hand, I won't put a nice cameo proof into an album unless it's already damaged or impaired, even if it's only worth a few bucks.
If I buy a coin raw it goes either into an album (if I'm collecting a raw set for which there is an album) OR in 2x2's if no album exists. But my better coins are bought in slabs and that's where they stay. A few sets are composed of both slabbed and raw coins so the album will show empty spots; my Lincoln cents are such a set. And finally, if a coin goes up in value enough to merit slabbing it gets removed from an album and is slabbed.
For me any of them at my point in life I want to leave the kids fewer coins and hope they all are slabbed by the time it is lights out.
