Suggestions, Please - Marking Slabs

My US collections is in slabs.
Mostly PCGS and NGC with (maybe) an ANACS or ICG kicking around.
I'm trying to make it simple to confirm that I have a slab accounted for in my inventory.
Since my slabs are stored vertically in boxes I'm thinking of placing a small mark of some sort on the top edge of the slab to confirm that a coin is in my inventory.
That way a quick look will confirm whether a slab is accounted for.
And a slab won't get stored until it is marked.

1. Does that method seem reasonable OR do you have something better?
Slab albums take up too much room so they are not under consideration.

2. If you agree with my marking process, what would make a good marking medium?
-- White out? (probably not; it would chip off too easily)
-- A bit of tape? (probably not; too labor intensive)
-- Indelible marker? (No. I want it removable)
-- Fingernail polish? (My best thought so far. Could even employ color codes. Should adhere well but chip off (I think) if I wanted it removed [wouldn't use acetone to remove a mark; plastic and acetone don't like each other])
-- Other marking methods?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

You organized guys make me feel guilty……. Of course you want to use something removable for obvious reasons. I was thinking that the little colored tabs that get stuck to places where contracts need to be signed. Little colored tabs that are very inexpensive at the office supply store maybe? They come in various colors so you could easily employ a color coding system. Just a thought.

 

What sort of box do you use for slab storage? Are these like the cardboard shipping boxes that NGC uses to ship slabs to the customer? These are quite handy because it doesn't matter which slab it may be.....NGC, PCGS, ANACS, ICG or even generic. Single-row boxes hold 20 slabs; double-row boxes hold 50 slabs.

And (!), if you have more boxes than slabs, you can use the dividers to identify each slab. Turn the divider sideways, fold the slotted ends at a 90 degree angle facing the same direction so they become tabs and write the info for each slab on the tab (sort of like the newer ANACS slab inserts) so it is visible to you. These can be easily moved as your collection grows, and if you eliminate a slab, you can use the divider up to four times by flipping the divider and/or folding the tab over to the blank side.

 

I was going to suggest painter's tape (easy to see, easy to apply, easy to remove), but I think @Randy Abercrombie has the best idea.

 

I use a product by Avery, their number 6736. It's a box of sheets. Each sheet contains 25 peel-off 1/2" x 3/4" white labels. Each has an adhesive back, can be written on, and can be easily removed from your slab when needed but they stick to the slab pretty well and for a long time and don't leave any residue that cannot be removed with Goo Gone. I use them on my slabs to identify die marriage and rarity. The could easily be used in the manner you intend on the upper edge of the slab by simply folding the edges down over the front and back of the slab by a bit.

These are really cheap. They come in a package of 525 and you can get them off Amazon, Target, Staples et. al.

 

You might also consider using small post-it notes! Cheap, lots of colors, you can make notes on them, and they're easy to remove!!!

 

I have 8-10 two-row cardboard boxes, generally close to full.
That's why I need to mark the slabs on the top edge so that I can see that I have accounted for them.
If I recall correctly my Early Commemoratives set alone takes 2 of those boxes.

 

If those are the same as the shipping boxes that NGC uses, I have a bunch of the dividers like those I described in Post #3 that you can have. If you want them, PM me your name & address.

 

Just put your newps in a bin and don't put them into your permanent collection until you catalog them.

 

I would just go through every box and double check everything then mark the box that theyre accounted for. After that like mentioned anything new just put it in your inventory as you are putting it away for storage

 

You're insane. You must be a coin collector.

FWIW, the ANACS slabs allow you to view the lables from the top of the slab, so you can see them all when they are stacked.

 

You truly like to fling insulting labels at people with no justification. You've got issues.

And as for viewing the labels from the top? That has no relevance to the question posed by @kanga . He's attempting to account for the pieces he's recorded in his inventory without having to do any cross referencing. He wants the ease of sight to identify those he's accounted for. Reading is fundamental. I guess reading comprehension, not so much.

 

You conveniently didn't underline the following few words from the original poster explaining the reason for him wanting the identifying tabs.

 

"What's a sticker." I use multi colored stickers, easy to use, easy to remove. Good question, thank you.

 

A bit confusing to me. If you say you don't store anything until marked...and if marked it's in your inventory...then all coins stored in the boxes are in your inventory...you don't need to mark any, seems to me. But maybe missed something.

 

I keep all my slabs in TPG boxes and leave slots for coins I am missing. I then use a label and either type the coins missing and stick it to the top of the revelent box allowing me to check the box when I get a new coin to see where it goes. In My coin inventory program I also fill in the space alloted for the coin with red xxx's so at a glance I can see what is missing. JMO
Semper Fi

 

post it type indexing/sticky tabs I'd supose would work, can put them on the tops of the slabs and when you open the case they will be sticking up where you could read them, in the worst case a bit of rubbing alcohol would remove any adhesive residue if it appears on the slab but it's a a decent product and shouldn't leave adhesive behind.

 

I use the common slab boxes. Each slab box is labelled by type or sub type. I also keep a spreadsheet with the coin name and the certification number along with other information on the coin. If I want to verify my collection, I can just grab a box and check the certification numbers against my spreadsheet data. My main goal was to organize the collection not just for me, but for whoever survives me.