I've been looking at some 2x2 plastic holders made by Whitman and by Intercept shield. I like the looks of the holders, but does anyone out there know if any albums are made these holders would fit into? I would like to have my coins more accessible than storing them in a 2x2 box allows.
I have sheets that have squares big enough to hold the 2X2's. It is snug for peace and morgans tho..... I think they are slide holders from back in the day when people had slide shows of family vacation. They fit very nicely into a 3-ring binder however. I have some higher end (au55 if I am lucky) and some bulk coins form local auctions in my binders, and then I do my collections in danscos. ' I think I spend as much time in the three ring binders as I do my danscos
The holders I am looking at are made of hard plastic, similar to what a certified coin slab is made of. I don't think they will fit into a normal 2x2 folder page. I am hoping to find an album something like used for airtites, but haven't had any luck as of yet. I may just end up getting some of the PCGS type holders & labeling software I've seen offered by a few coin suppliers. (the type all the home-made grading companies are using) I'm collecting world bullion silver dollars. While they are often beautiful coins, they just aren't worth the expense of certification. I would like to find a good way of preserving them, and putting them on display. Any suggestions are welcome.
All the coin supply houses sell vinyl notebook pages with 20 pockets for 2x2s. Archival versions are available, and there is no real PVC danger when the 2x2s are securely sealed. Links to Jakes, JP's Corner and Brent-Kreuger, among others, can be found by searching on their names either through the Search box at the top of every page, or through Google.
I try to use the best of all worlds... First, I use Intercept Shield 2x2's and I print the date, MM, and circulation figure on an Avery label (small kind, 80 per page) that will go on the outside of this 2X2. Second, these 2x2 Intercept Shields go in a Eagle Page holder that can hold these 2x2's. They even have pages to hold slabs (pictured below). Third, the pages go in a Century archive full clam shell album that you can pick up from a photo store (or order online). It is important that you use acid-free materials (which these have) which is essential for preserving your coins as they are! Fourth, they are stored in a safe at room temperature with silica gel packets all about to address any moisture that may be hanging around It looks something like this:
You're right, the Whitman hard 2x2's won't fit in the 20 slot pages for cardboard 2x2's. I tried and the pages rip, but the 12 slot pages for 2-1/2 x 2-1/2 would probably work nicely. The Eagle stuff that Midas pointed out looks nice too, you can get the whole setup for different sets from them though Brent Krueger, though it gets a bit costly. SEE Here
Thanks for all the info everyone! Midas, do you have any favorite sources for the Eagle pages? I think I will go with the Intercept shield holders. Looks like you put together a very nice display.:bow:
I believe I ordered them through the same link in skm06's post. Years ago, I was searching the best of coin storage and display and this is what I came up with. Actually, the hardest part was finding a decent clam-shell 3-ring binder (3") that was designed for archive storage, and hence the reason I use these special photo albums WITH the Intercept Shield 2x2's displayed on the Eagle Coin page holder. I have many early RED Lincoln Wheaties and I want to keep them RED. It is more expensive than other albums, but when you consider the LOSS if one of your early Lincolns goes from a RED to RED BROWN, I would be foolish not to store my coins this way.
As far as the labels and software being sold on some coin suppliy sites, I would avoid the software. They charge you $5 for the software and $15 for the labels. The software is nothing special and the labels are 75 count labels with a glossy finish. I found they caused my ink jet printer to smear the printing. I now use the Avery 80 count labels designed specifically for ink jet printers and it works much better. Plus Avery has free softare available that works with all the MS Office products (and more) for data entry or extracting data from existing spreadsheets or Access databases.
I too use those plastic pages that hold 20 of the 2x2's. However, there are many different types of these pages and many types of 2x2's. I've go a 4" 3 ring binder with about 10 different types of those pages. I recently noticed some 2x2's fit and some don't fit easily. When comparing 2x2's I've noticed some are slightly wider, some are slightly thicker than others. Must be a lot of manufacturers out there somewhere. At a coin show today I putchases 200 of the 2x2's for Cents/Dimes. One of the piles of 100 was about 1/3 thicker than the other pile of 100. I asked my friendly dealer why and he said two different manufacturers and the thicker ones are what his customers are requesting. The thinner ones were $2.50/100 and the thicker ones were $3.00/100. The thicker ones are also a hair wider. That dealer said he to has had several different types over the years. Same with the pages that hold them. Many dealers are now using the 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 size and they have plastic pages for them from somewhere.
Thank you everyone for the input!:bow: Enough ideas here for me to put together a nice display. I'll put some photos on when I start getting things together.
