Hello CoinTalk! I am undergoing a project to put a lot of my foreign coins into 2x2 Saflips so that I can finally have a storage solution for these coins before I go to college. Every time I try to arrange them one way, I find out something has PVC in it. So, I want to fix this once and for all. I will put all of the flips into those red 2x2 boxes. I would much rather find a binder to view the coins in, but I can not find pages and a binder that do not contain PVC. Maybe I can switch to that at a later date. I want to make nice, neat labels to go in the back pocket of the Saflip (behind the coin). I would like to print these so that they are all uniform. It would also be much faster than trying to handwrite each label. Does anyone know if printer toner could affect the coins in any way? I do not know what it contains and do not want mistakenly harm the coins if the toner is any way volatile or has chemicals that will react with the coins. Thank you, SorenCoins
Most current toner is 60-70 % very , very finely ground plastic polymer ( non-PVC). Silica to keep from clumping, and some use fine ground metals. I suspect it would not harm coins as it adheres to the paper. To be very secure, google or look up the brand and model of the printer cartridge on the company page. Jim
I've never had an issue with printer toner. Also, I learned you can make 2x2 flip labels by creating a table in Word with square cells that are 1.7 x 1.7 inches (column width and row height). Print them out on card stock so when you cut out the square labels they'll be stiff enough to slide into the flip pockets. Just some pointers I learned in the trial and error process.
Just to be clear, in a flip with two pockets, you're talking about putting the coin in ONE pocket and the label in the OTHER, right? I don't think there's anything in toner that would migrate through two layers of plastic to the coin. However, the toner is likely to stick to the plastic of the flip. I've seen images of coins with negative images of letters in their toning. They had been in Whitman folders, with the sheet of paper that shows mintages resting against them. The paper contained chemicals that toned the coins, but the printing blocked those chemicals.
Good point. You should have no problem as long as the printed label is in a secondary pocket of the flip and not in the same pocket as the coin! I am assuming you are using double-pocket safety flips like most of us do. There are single-pocket flips out there, but one doesn't see them very often (thankfully).
Sounds like way too much work, but if you have the time, good luck. All but a few of my world coins are in "coin envelopes" with hand written notes on the outside, but then my world coin collection numbers in the thousands.
I think you're more than fine with non-PVC flips in the red storage boxes. When you have the budget I recommend Lighthouse albums - which I discovered here, from another member of course. They run $40-50 on sale per album - more with pages included - you can then buy the non-PVC Encap pages if you want to put slabbed coins in the three (or 5) ring binder album, or 2x2 pages if you want to put 2x2s in the album. The albums have slip covers too - pretty snazzy yet low key - they look like photo albums. I also bought the Littleton anti-corrosive little copper inserts for the albums. When Wizard Coin Supply has a sale I try and pick these up if I can (they also sell them on and through Amazon). The "Grande G" binder is the widest / most bang for your buck that I've found so far (holds the most pages).
Thank you all so much for all of the helpful pointers. I am indeed using the 2-pocket 2x2 non-PVC flips. I will look up the printer toner I use and then decide if I will print labels or handwrite them. It all gets very overwhelming, but I'm going to try to go through with it. I think I'm just worried about messing it all up and having to redo things. But maybe I should just stop worrying about it all since they are mostly inexpensive coins.
Does anyone have any suggestions about paper type for the labels? I know Saflip makes 2x2 inserts, but I am wondering if just anything would work. Although I suppose it should be acid-free. I don't know if any types of paper have PVC coatings or not.
I use Avery 5430 Labels 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch or Avery 5434 1 x 1-1/2 inch. I use them when I self slab, I also see no reason why you couldn't use them.
That looks great! I may switch to the Avery labels, I've been using archival card stock which I cut up for inserts and either print or write on. Like this stuff - https://www.amazon.com/Archival-Methods-Acid-Free-Card-Stock/dp/B082HF5YSM
FWIW, I use acid-free card stock where the coin and the card will share the same atmosphere, such as in the two-pocket flips discussed in this thread. I use the sticky Avery labels on TPG slabs because the Avery label does not really share the same atmosphere as the coin in the TPG slab. (I know the TPG slab is not really hermetic but it is much more so than a 2x2 flip). As for my homemade slabs where the homemade label is inside the slab with the coin, I use acid-free card stock and my inkjet printer (Epson). Haven't had any issues with coin degradation so far over about three years.
