Thing you will need: Cardboard Flips Flat Jaw Pliers PaperPro Stapler (and staples, of course) A 2x2 box. A Computer (by reading this, I assume you already have one) A PC Label Maker (Optional). Start by obtaining your flips. I find the cheapest site is called "collectons". 6.99 flat rate shipping, and only 1.99 for 100 2x2 flips. The "cadillac" of staplers is the PaperPro Model 151x. (Mine is 1513). They are not cheap, about $12, but it's the best stapler. It rarely jams, and it's effortless in operation. You don't have to buy expensive staples either. You could use a cheaper stapler, but with flips costing 2c each, it does add up for failed staplings. Once you have the flips stapled, you can label them. Some prefer to label before stapling, like me, or you might do it after. I find it's easier to do it before. The simplest way is to use the system I came up with, simply putting the year and denomination on the front. On the back, your 4 digit country code, coin number, and metal content letters. For example, GREA means Great Britain, CANA means Canada, and so on. Then put the number of the coin corresponding to that country. Lastly use a 1 to 2 letter code for the metal content. Such as S for silver, G for gold, B for brass, etc. As you can see, I'm using the proper way to label coins from Pre-Decimal Great Britain. 1s. looks better than having 1 Shilling on the flip. I recommend letting the flip dry for about 5-10 seconds. I find many flips will smear easily when the ink is still wet. Do not use a pencil, it comes right off. This may not make sense now, but it will later, keep reading... When your done, flatten your staples. This keeps the metal from scratching through the protective window, and scratching adjacent coins. It also makes for more room. My pliers are very old western germany pliers, but they are flat along the jaw. Using pliers with "teeth" will leave an impression in your flips. Now of course you will need a box to put your coins in. I find the cheap cardboard 2x2 single row holders work best. They accept a wide variety of sizes, and they label easily. Now I don't expect you to go out and spend $6o on a PC label maker. I only use mine because I got it for $8 new at a backyard sale. I use it for shipping labels as well. Cheap avery labels and a marker works just as great. As you can see, this adds a nice touch. I used a crown for Great Britain, for other countries I will use other images, such as a maple leaf for canada, and so on. I tried using the UK flag, but it's hard to do with black and white only. Now for the internet side. A site called "numismaster" provides a very nice, and most importantly, FREE way to organize your coins. Simply input as much data as you want to, you can even use a picture. The nice thing about this site is that it lets you know the total dollar value of your collection, and organize coins alphabetically by country. You can also make up groups to better organize your collection. I have two for world coins, and sometime I will include one for US coins as well. As you can see, you can put a wealth of information in. Here is a list of some of my coins. Now remember that wacky code I mentioned earlier? Well it comes in really handy. If you pick up any coin in your collection, you can simply enter that code into the search box, and find out all the information about the coin that you stored. Be sure to put that code in the 'comments' section. As you can see, this is the result from inputting the code found on the back of the flip I wrote on. You can click "view" and find all the information you inputted for that coin. As you can see from this guide I created, it doesn't take much money to have a well organized collection, and it's nice having a free resource to organize your collection online as well. Having your collection store online proves very valuable in the event of a fire, natural disaster, or robbery. You don't have to "guess" what coins you had, you don't have to read charred inventory papers or try to recover your burnt back up CD. Thanks for reading.
good info and useful I am sure.i used to keep track of what I had,but now I like going through my safes and it is like opening Christmas presents.
I've been enjoying the 2 days I had off. Well not really "enjoying" them, since I've had a bad sinus infection the whole time.
Hmm...software looks interesting but I hate 2x2s. Any coin I have that's worth more than an Air-Tite goes in one.
I myself prefer flips. Sometimes an airtite is IN a flip, but I find flips more convenient for myself, (non-pvc of course). Maybe you could have a discussion Tim of the other options besides 2x2's as well. I find manila envelops having a place in my organizing as well, especially if someone wishes to have a little color. My main problem organizing is with primitive, or proto money. I simply haven't found a consistent method of storing them, and probably never will.
I would love to have this myself but being somewhat having OCD, I would need every bit of the info, description & reference of the coin & it wont all fit. I have terrible handwriting so writing it teeny tiny isnt a option. And putting the info ticket within the envelop can cause scratches :/
How do you get an airtight to fit in a flip? You would think it would bulge out too much and break the mylar. I agree on the use of envelopes for color. I've been storing my ASE's in them. Maybe 20 years from now a few will turn out nice and I can submit them to have in my collection. I know a few people on here hate flips because they say the cardboard will cause damage to the coin. However I've seen blast white silver coins that have been stored in flips for over 40-50 years in their original collector's hands. I like airtites, but they are not cheap. They are worth it for more expensive coins, however I find they scratch easily. As far as oddly shaped money, have you thought about using the nimbus holders? I'm thinking about getting one to display one of my ASE's in.
I have horrible handwriting. I've wished for many years that a wealthy coin collector would spend the money for R and D to make a color printer for flips. Imagine printing anything you want on a flip. Imagine how professional dealers could make their flips look. They could print their business contact on them too, besides price.
Great to hear that you're still working. Saddened to hear that you are not feeling well. I hope the sinuses clear up soon.
Thanks. I hate having a cold in the summer, they seem to take longer to get rid off. I had pizza today, and could not taste it or smell it at all.
I use the label maker itself. I buy the smallest labels I can find for the label maker, size 7 font, two lines (one line for dollar sized flips or use crown-size flips). You can align centre, left or right, use bold or italics. I have several formats pre-saved and can make a flip label in seconds. I just then hit print and cut the labels to size by hand. Goes nicely on a 2x2 flip, or on the Lighthouse 2x2 hard holders for my errors that have rim fins, retained laminations or other things that might pierce the mylar flip.
I use a "flat stapler" and avoid the pliers altogether. Similar to this one, available at Wizard or other coin supply houses: http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/product/max-flat-clinch-stapler-full-size.html
Is this because of the odd shapes of ancients and that it allows a space to record the attribution, and other relevant information? This isn't true. The direct fit start at $0.51 and the ring type start at $0.61 when ordered from Air-Tites' website. Order in bulk and save on shipping. At my LCS they were $1.30 - $1.50 each, without tax. Seems to me for the small cost possible contamination from cardboard and greater surface protection are worth it. Also the black rings really make your coins look sharp.
Here is a glossary I made for the two-letter metal identification system. AL- Aluminum B- Brass BA- Brass Aluminum BR- Bronze C- Copper CN- Copper Nickel CS- Copper Plated Steel CZ- Copper Plated Zinc G- Gold I- Iron L- Lead P- Platinum S- Silver ST- Stainless Steel Z- Zinc ZS- Zinc Plated Steel I probably forgot a few.
