A new... old album for my ancient coins

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by ambr0zie, Oct 16, 2021.

  1. ambr0zie

    ambr0zie Dacian Taraboste

    Inspired by @DonnaML's thread, showing her trays with RR coins (beautiful!) I want to see how CT members store their collections.
    I have recently received a surprise gift from my numismatic mentor - an old album manufactured by Krause (not sure if they are related to Krause-Mishler?!) It has a locking mechanism, good vintage look and in excellent condition so I decided to move my ancient coins collection. Previously I was using some pocket albums, 96 coins each, but I wasn't 100% happy with them.
    I had to improvise as most of the original sheets had 8 coins/page which would look silly if you put 8 small Greek fractions. I say improvise because the album was using some custom sheets and the rings don't have the distance suitable for the sheets you can find today.
    So I bough 20 Leuchtturm Optima sheets (24 coins/sheet, maximum diameter 33 mm) and using a hole puncher I modified them to fit in the album.
    Although I was not expecting nice results, since my patience and skills with manual tasks are not great, I am very happy.
    upload_2021-10-16_14-47-53.png

    upload_2021-10-16_14-48-52.png

    upload_2021-10-16_14-50-2.png
    upload_2021-10-16_14-50-36.png

    I would like to see the homes for your ancient coins!
     
    Broucheion, octavius, DonnaML and 9 others like this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. JayAg47

    JayAg47 Well-Known Member

    I too have mine in albums, with a small label containing the details. Although they’re a little messy. EF34A0C5-0478-4313-BEAA-5258E5219C45.jpeg 4BA6F41F-0A36-4339-82A6-FC5350B49116.jpeg
     
    Broucheion, octavius, DonnaML and 8 others like this.
  4. gsimonel

    gsimonel Well-Known Member

    I use something similar--plastic 2x2 slide-holder pages kept in 3-ring binders.

    I'm a little concerned seeing your silver coins kept in these soft plastic pages without any protection. Under the right conditions, the silver can react with the plastic and damage the coin. You should consider getting some Mylar Flips or Mylar/Cardboard Holders for your silver coins. They will still be able to fit into the plastics pages even if they are in flips or holders.

    I don't think this is a problem with bronze coins, although other CT members probably know a lot more about this than I do.
     
    Silphium Addict, ambr0zie and sand like this.
  5. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    Right now the FF collection (mostly) resides in binders with pocket pages. Each 2x2 flip has the coin ID and, if there is anything from the previous owner, other information on where it came from.
    IMG-4200.JPG

    They are sorted in the binder by Roman Imperial, Roman Provincial, Greek, Near East, and Chinese. Each grouping has a cover page as well. Roman Coins Cover Page.jpg Byzantine Coins Cover Page.jpg

    I have been trying to come up with a system to designate where each coin is in the binder so they can be found easier. Something like 1C4 (page 1, row C, 4th coin) but that hasn't been done yet and it doesn't account for adding new coins. I'm kind of stuck in that area.
     
  6. sand

    sand Well-Known Member

    If I remember correctly, both silver and bronze coins, will eventually be damaged, if they are contained in PVC soft plastic. PVC is Poly Vinyl Chloride. The "chloride" part, breaks down over time, and combines with hydrogen, from water in the air (H2O), creating hydrochloric acid (HCl), which damages the coins, and creates a light green substance, sometimes sticky, on the surface of the coins. It may start, as a clear, sticky substance, which people sometimes don't notice, because it's clear. As time goes on, it eventually turns green. I think, what I just said, is true, if I remember correctly. Someone please correct me, if this is incorrect.
    I don't know, if the plastic sleeves, in the first 2 posts in this thread, are soft PVC, or stiff non-PVC.
    Stiff non-PVC plastic flips (the SAFLIPS brand is supposed to be the best of these) are supposed to be a lot better than soft PVC. But I don't really trust those either, for long term storage of coins. I've heard some people say, that some of the supposedly non-PVC flips, aren't safe either.
    For my coins, I use Abafil cases and trays, for long term storage and display.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2021
  7. Orielensis

    Orielensis Well-Known Member

    I'm using Beba trays. They certainly don't look as fancy as Abafil cases or vintage coin cabinets, but they also don't need as much space. I can stack my whole collection right next to my desk:

    IMG_4482 2.jpg

    What I like about trays as opposed to albums or Saflips is that I can easily pull out a substantial part of my collection and look at it at the same time:
    IMG_4483.jpg

    IMG_4484.jpg

    On the downside, you have to be really careful not to drop a tray. Also, carrying all the trays to the safe deposit box for times when I'm travelling is substantially harder than just taking a cardboard box full of 2x2 flips to the bank vault.
     
  8. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

  9. ambr0zie

    ambr0zie Dacian Taraboste

    This is the actual sheet.
    upload_2021-10-16_16-48-54.png

    Separated in 2 sets of 12 compartments. Very stiff - a thick coin could make it snap if putting it without being careful.

    I am aware that soft plastic is a no-no and also I'm slightly concerned if these sheets are 100% safe but I have a similar album from the same manufacturer where I keep some modern coins, silver, copper, for 7 years and nothing happened. Of course I will monitor.
    This is one of the reasons I didn't use the old album sheets, as I am not convinced they are non PVC, they are a little soft.

    As for arranging - I also considered this a few times and I chose the easiest way for me. I just added them in chronological order of my purchases. For every auction I create a Word document with the coins I got, I add the attributions and I also created an Excel file with my entire collection. The position of coins in the album matches the Excel position.

    upload_2021-10-16_17-13-34.png
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2021
    octavius, Orielensis and furryfrog02 like this.
  10. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    I use excel as well, but my coins are listed in chronological order of date minted. I also have columns showing where I purchased and how much I paid for the coins.
     
  11. ambr0zie

    ambr0zie Dacian Taraboste

    Me too. Columns include where I bought it from ((house, auction number) date of purchase and price.
    When I did the total my actual reaction was
    upload_2021-10-16_17-37-22.png
     
    DonnaML and furryfrog02 like this.
  12. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

  13. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    As shown previously, Abafil all the way for me. Here's a sample, I couldn't display everything on just one pic :D

    P1070159s.JPG

    Q
     
  14. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    So many big purdy coins :wideyed:
     
    Cucumbor likes this.
  15. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    I'm a tray man....But now I'm actually in the process of purchasing a glass cabinet and will use that lovely idea @DonnaML had with vertical coin trays mixed with fossils I've encountered whilst metal detecting, usually just sitting on the surface!
    IMG_7079.JPG 1-IMG_6399.JPG
     
    Broucheion, octavius, DonnaML and 9 others like this.
  16. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    Two 5'x3' Sanctuary 2 way alarmed safes, registered. Sad thing is "If they want it, one way or another, they will get it."
     
    ambr0zie likes this.
  17. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    I have my bronze guys free-ballin on these plastic racks


    Denarii and antoniniani are kept in capsules, while everything else is kept in a Numis binder.
    11DF819B-C389-4579-994A-E7774803C8F5.jpeg
     
  18. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    Why are all the booze bottles empty tho.
     
  19. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    Haha, I collect gin bottles as they're the prettiest ones in my opinion. I started off my collection adding one bottle every couple months, but then quarantine hit and I needed to buy a second bookshelf for the bottles. lol
     
    Orange Julius likes this.
  20. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    I also "collected" beer bottles during lockdown, then the wife made me throw them away. Thus making room for more... ahem... items.
     
    Orielensis and hotwheelsearl like this.
  21. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    I like those racks. Where'd you get them?
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page