protecting your collection???

i was wondering how people store their coins that arent slabbed? i dont want to keep my better coins in a jar or a box, i would like to keep them nice and as clean as possible. any suggestions?

thanks,
Greg
:kewl:

 

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Greg,

Great question. Just so you know there are a few ways of doing this. Some more expensive then others.

You can use the tried and true method of 2X2 squares, which are inexpensive and will protecy your coins. How ever you may also want tobuy binders and pages as well to place the 2X2's in. Again not terrible expensive but if you have a lot of coins can be time consuming and tale up some space....Yeah i have a lot of binders laying around...lol

Another method I am currently using is Dansco Albums. These go for about $20.00 - $30.00 dollars each. They store and protect your coins very nicely and do not take up alot of space as the binder will. They also have protective sleeves to put the binders in, there I have not purchased. Maybe another member has.

There are others which i am sure others will mention such as slab, whitman folders etc. The two i mentioned seem to be the cheapest, and seem to protect the coins best, IMHO.

Regards,
S

 

I use alot of clear NONE PVC flips and the 2 X 2 box's. Those witha label maker make life easy for me. But I also have the white staple type 2X2's flips NEVER USE PVC FLIPS for longer then a month if you can avoid them alltogether. But for some reason theres a lot of coins being stored in them still out there in the world.

 

Up to about 3 years ago I was in the same boat. I then decided to invest in Whitman Deluxe albums. I bought one or two books every few weeks. It was an expensive investment up front, but it paid off in the end. The next big jump is to get that climate controlled safe.

 

I use 2x2's for low priced coins and airtites for any coin where preservation of condition is important. However, all morgan and peace dollars go into Dansco albums because they are easier to view.

 

How do you tell if your plastic flips are PVC or not? I have a package of them that I bought before I was aware of the problem. It doesn't say anywhere on the package what they are made of. I'm not concerned because I don't use them to store coins, but I'm wondering if there's a way to tell.

 

Air-Tites. Exclusively. Just seems to work best for me.

 

is there a website to purchase either the air-tites or dansco products? or do u go thru your local shop?

 

Ampex sells them. Most coin shops sell them. Air-Tites have thier own web site.

 

If you buy them in quantity 100 or 250 from dealers such as J.P.'s corner, you can save a lot vs. individual prices.

 

Best I've ever been able to tell is by the flexibility of the flip. If it's very flexible, it's probably made with PVC, as it's a plastic softener. The stiffer the flip, the better.
Guy~

 

protection...

i too like air-tites. just curious though, do you put them in an album or a box or a cabinet of some sort? thanks.

steve

 

Thanks. Do you know of a brand that is reliably non-PVC? I bought mine off the shelf in a coin store and they didn't indicate what they were made of.

You'd think they would stop making PVC flips.
Lead had advantages in making house paint, but they stopped using it when it was realized that they were poisoning people.

 

Thanks. I checked and found that one of my recent shipments of Lincoln cents was mixed soft and brittle flips, so it was easy for me to see the difference. Doesn't seem to be any harm done to them. I hope this isn't a case where the damage can be delayed.

So why do they sell vinyl flips? At JP's Corner, they aren't any less expensive than the Saflips.

 

Places to buy Dansco and other supplies?
One of my favorites is valleycoin.com
They have a wide selection of coin storage products and good prices on Dansco albums and slipcases.
jeankay

 

when handling raw coins do most of you wear cotton gloves? Are powder free latex gloves safe for use?

 

Coin storage? Easy . . . you know those single unmatched socks? Tin can. Back yard. Need I say more??

Seriously, I don't know but I have yet to spend hundreds of dollars trying different things for the same coins - but I'm working on it. Air-tites seemed best so I started there. Really nice, especially with the ring inserts. But they're big.

I tried Kointains -WOW! they were really great with ASEs; fit like a glove, can't imagine a smaller container unless there's some kind of spray-on. For dollars (Morgans) they suck! Closing them over a coins seems impossible at times and, when finally successful,you end up with a flat bubble - will NOT stack upon one another and annoyingly pop as the fades are held and squeezed. (Can't get rid if the over the face(s) bubble.)

I'm settling in in 2x2 flips - the Saflips because I like the way they seal completely and, with the right diam. you can make them look like a plateau erupting from the flip's face (good for edge viewing.) These are then stored in three ring binders in plastic pages. Makes for heavy binders, though, and I tend to keep Dollar/Taler/Crown size coins in Airtites which are stored in long boxes made for storage of 2x2 flips.

Then there's the cigar box. Those damned slabs! and the presentation boxes and books, etc. There's no good way for them so a cigar box. I really hope I don't have to graduate to a shoe box.


I find storage frustrating. I'd like to have them all in a big can, or some such, so I can take them out and play with them once in a while. (That's why I tried the Kointains.) I know, it's sacrilege, but I didn't have blocks when I child (or something.) When looking at my coins I feel like I'm watching a slide show, there's a detachment, a removal. The whole point of a coin is to have it in your hand so you may make use of it. I may want to look, not spend them but that's still use. Best I can do is to buy some coins for the primary purpose of fulfilling my need to hold them, run my fingers through them, dive in and swim with them

.

 

Handling coins

About all I know is it is okay to handle the coins by the sides, but never on the obverse or reverse. If you happen to touch the coins surface do not try to rub off the fingerprint. The dealer told me a little mild soap and water and a very gentle cleaning will remove the oils.
When I am handling untouched coins I will be certain I have cleaned my hands properly and as I am working I use a little rubbing alcohol on my fingers to keep them from getting oily.
When I remove a coin from a flip or case to put it in my special album I will empty the coin onto a lens cleaning cloth and try very hard not to rub it as almost anything can cause minute scratches. Use the cloth for pushing the coin into its slot.
I find cotton gloves impossible to wear and still pick up small change. If this was the only choice for looking at coins I would have to give up the hobby.

Has anyone ever gone to a bead shop and bought a bead tray to lay their coins out to view? I have a few trays from my beading days and realized they are great for sorting and looking at coins. You can get dividers for the trays that you can use for separating mixed bulk coins. They shop will likely have the soft medium gray velvet pads, etc., that one can use. You have probably seen the black pads that coin dealers use when showing coins to you. These are about the same as those.
If you do not have a bead store nearby just get on the net and check out bead supply places. I think there is one called Fire Mountain in southern Oregon that has a myriad of products like this.

jeankay