Lighthouse or Air-tites?

I can't remember how a new toothbrush taste. I do remember the taste that I had before I used it though.

 

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As I noted above, I checked the ring air-tites I have had for several years and found no evidence of fouling. In fact, I checked all five of my tubes full of ASEs using rings, although some of these are less than 2 years old.

 

What brand of polymer holders, if any, do you use for your coins?

 

I use Lighthouse holders. They are acrylic, which also has almost no mold residue.

 

It doesn’t matter, as your coins should be worth it. Lighthouse is the original brand, some of the others companies are merely copycats. Their products are absolutely inert, free of PVC/softeners/etc. and of very high quality.

 

Of course you are right, but when there are many coins involved those small unit differences add up. There is that, and then there's that the Guardhouse are more widely available, and there's probably little to no differences in the quality.

 

The Lighthouse square capsules are great for presentation and organization inside of 12-pocket pages. The Air-Tites offer a more superior seal, but I found them to rotate in the pages. I use the Lighthouse ones.

 

If you have a problem with rattling, just cut a strip about 1mm wide from a mylar flip (not pvc... ever!) and feed it between the edge of the coin and the holder. It will hold the coin in place and will be virtually invisible because it is so thin and made of clear plastic. A little trick I learned from a dealer.

 

Are the Lighthouses any easier to reopen than the Air-Tites which I find a sledge hammer would be useful for?

 

Hmm. That changes things a bit for me. I like "cheaper" (Lighthouse), but I also want to protect the coins. Decisions, decisions...

In my limited experience, yes.

 

That's my experience also. Another advantage with the ring type is that you can buy the actual rings separately from the capsules, so a bulk purchase of capsules and smaller purchases of various ring sizes you'll need. This eBay seller makes it easy for you to select all sizes on a single page:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Count-o...var=640948195984&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

Definitely. And I agree with the sledgehammer comment...

 

Lighthouses are far easier to open. There are notches at the corner to open them.

Whereas, if you squeeze Air-Tites shut, they are a pain to take out.

 

I prefer AirTites for my Lincolns. They are cheap in bulk and do an excellent job. You can't beat the bang-for-the-buck with AirTites IMO. They also fit very well into my binder pages:

 

Those are some nice Lincolns.

 

I find a place along the edge of my Air-Tites to insert an X-acto knife, toggle it gently to create enough of an opening to slip a thumbnail into, then they open easily. Takes about 5 seconds.

 

Are the Lighthouse ones actually archival (or airtight) so to speak? Being easier to pop open would be a plus, but not at the expense of a less tight seal.

Also, do they hold thicker coins such as a piedfort?

 

I tried that with a pocket knife once and sliced my finger up.

 

What is the best place to buy either Air-tites or Lighthouse capsules?

 

There are several dedicated coin supplies sellers on eBay who offer prompt shipping and reasonable prices. There aren't (m)any that I know of that carry both Lighthouse and Air-Tite, though, the Guardhouse brand is more ubiquitous.