Dansco vs Whitman

Which is preferred for circulated coins? I have the Dansco for Indian Head Cents, and I have the Whitman Blue Folder for Indian Head Cents. I understand the Whitman tends to have sulfur, which causes toning. Dansco has plastic strips, which can scratch coins. So... pros vs cons of each. Keep in mind, please, I don't collect MS coins, so I'm looking at the VF/XF grade pros and cons.

 

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Dansco......though I have a Whitman album that contains my original Franklins and nothing appears untoward.

 

My Indian Cent collection isn't very advanced (F to VF on most) and I've kept them in a Whitman folder for maybe 10 years. It hasn't been a problem, but I don't love it either. Coins which had some colorful toning on them have changed, coins with some reddish luster present have turned more brown.
Go with the Dansco.....BUT what I'm going to do soon enough is get a classic Wayte Raymond or Mehrig for a really classic look.

 

The Dansco plastic covers will only scratch coins if the person isn't careful.

When inserting a coin, leave the plastic strip covering the reverse in place and press the coin all the way against it. This leaves a gap so that the plastic strip covering the obverse can't touch the coin. Once the plastic strip is in place, then you can apply a little pressure on the reverse to center the coin in the slot.

Chris

 

Done it always........

 

I have heard this before, however, gravity is what it is, and time is what it is. If a coin should move because of various forces (sometimes the album is laid flat for viewing, or adding a coin), how would one prevent scratches on a coin AFTER it has been placed between the plastic?

 

The issue with the plastic slide scratching a coin is because the edges are sharp. The plastic is smooth on both sides, so how could it scratch it? The coins fit pretty snugly in each slot, so someone would have to treat the album fairly rough to cause the coins to shift in position. Even if they did, all you need to do is press (gently) against the slide to reposition a coin.

Chris

 

Love my Danscos. Got about 6 of them.

 

Fair enough, sir. Point received.

 

It's minute dirt, debris, particulates and cardboard bunnies that I fear when sliding the slides. Sure they're smooth but a small piece of debris that gets slide rolled over the coin with downward pressure from the small cavity can cause minor hairlines if one is not careful

 

Then maybe you should clean the Dansco thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner before ever using it.

Chris

 

Oops. Forgot to mention that I use a can of compressed air but the concern is valid

 

For circulated coins I would go with Whitman or even Littleton. I have my "from roll search" finds in a Littleton holder, it is made in the USA and is a nice folder. I'd put the higher grades in a Dansco album.

 

I have 4 of each and I have to say I love them equally...

 

Someone say Dansco?

 

What! No Morgan Dollars?

Chris

 

The Morgans (what few I have) are in the "Silver Dollar" Dansco (far right bottom shelf).

 

Most of my albums are Whitman, the bookshelf ones. I know the strips probably have PVC but the majority of my coins are circulated anyway. I do have some Dansco albums for Euro coins, Australia, and Ireland. I wish they made more albums for foreign coins.

 

I like both dansco and littelton. Dansco for protection / preservation and littelton for inducing toning on fresh silver like ase's etc. Whitmans are too junky imho. I do like the blue but usually when I buy old collections there's a ton of blue folders and albums and they are all worn past the ability for resale so I'm not confident of the quality in construction with them.

 

I thought the same, also no large cents. The large cents, for me, the most fun to collect.