Can't wait to see what you all think of this...

Airtites are made in every size mm. They are more commonly marketed in sizes made to fit general US coins, but they can be had to fit about anything. My collection is stored completely in a combination between airtites and cardboard 2x2s. I think the plastic flips are dangerous, even when chemically safe, because they have too much slide room, and it causes rub wear over time. I use a 15 dollar differential, myself - that's just my personal border. 15 and over goes in an air tite, if it's under that, it's in a cardboard 2x2.

I guess I just don't want to put a 5 dollar coin in a 90 cent holder. It's not that I can't understand why others would, but I have far too many coins to undertake that sort of project.

 

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I've read several times on coin forums that zip-locks that are sold for containing food are PVC-free. I don't know that for a fact, but you could search various coin websites.

Speedy:

I've got a catalog from these folks:

Air-Tite Holders, Inc.

They're not the cheapest Air-Tite vendor, but they have the best selection of album pages. Their catalog is great, but I can't get them to send me one newer than the one I already have (last year's).

Back on topic: the ring-type Air-Tites come from this vendor with the following inside diameters (coin outside diameters): 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40mm. If you have a coin with a different size than these, you might be out of luck, but chances are you can get an Air-Tite for your non-US coins, unless they're bigger than an ASE at 40mm.

 

I'd suggest Kointains, but I doubt if they go down that small, and I doubt if they'd be cheap.

 

Oh jeez what did I do this time

[unprofessional_opinion]
I just wanted the sticky goo off my coins, none of them were scrubbed with anything but a 6" flow of hot water over the surface with a bit of soap. I know never to polish, rub, abrase, scrape, chemically cleanse, or otherwise mess with the beautiful tarnish. However, I do prefer to mess with goop that arrives on my coins after I get them.
[/unprofessional_opinion]

 

Thanks Rick...didn't know that---

Speedy

 

Bad stuff - leaves residue which attracts more dirt, and virtually impossible to completely remove without rubbing/brushing or otherwise messing with the surface.

Most folks believe that an acetone dip is the best way to get rid of PVC goop, although it won't do anything for a coin that has a PVC-damaged surface. Luckily, it takes the green goop a while to work its way into the coin, and very often removing it prevents permanent damage.

A search on "acetone" will bring up several threads describing its use, so this is just a summary:

• Only use pure acetone from the hardware or paint store, not the kind sold as nail polish remover, which has various additives.
• Use acetone in a very well ventilated area.
• It's usually best to dip briefly in fresh acetone, then rinse in distilled water, and repeat a couple of times, to get rid of any residue and avoid cross-contamination from one coin to the next.
• A hair dryer on the lowest setting, with the coin(s) resting on a soft cloth, is a relatively safe best way to dry off the water after rinsing.

 

For each of them? No... probably not. But that was not the point. If I'd have known then what I know now, I'd have gotten the right storage from the very beginning. Gradually... not had to shell out a big wad all at once this late in the game.

That's what I meant by expensive. Not that it wasn't worth it. Just that 50 cents x every coin I have improperly stored at the moment (which is, seemingly, all of them...) =