I'm at the point now I want to keep all the coins, mostly. If someone is willing... whats the best way to organize the coins? I have jars and a tackle box but I'd like to label them better. I bought the 2x2 white squares but I'd like to stop reopening them when I get new info. Not the end of the world question, just asking for more experienced ideas. This group is pretty smart and I like it. A question like this for you is easy, for me it's research.
If I'm not putting coins in a Dansco album, I use the 2x2 Saflip (PVC free) holders that you can order with paper inserts from JP's Corner. Each Saflip has two compartments (like a saddlebag) so you can use one for the coin and one for the paper insert. http://www.jpscorner.com/coin-flips.html Chris
I agree with Chris . The big issue with the cardboard ones is, the staples that hold them together, can scratch your coins ...
Everyone has a different approach to this hobby and mine has changed drastically over time. This has also affected the holders I use. I used to hoard just about any coin I could grasp, even pocket change. Gradually, this overwhelmed me and I soon realized that I couldn't even remember what I had in my collection apart from some "prized" coins I had picked up. I then decided to focus purely on the coins that "stuck out" and gave me that warm fuzzy feeling when I thought of them rather than trying to simply get more and more and more. This not only saved me money, space and time, it simplified what types of holders I purchased. Since I now tend to buy only coins that I really really want I put them all into AirTites, which protects them from dropping, which I've done, and from over-handling, which I would do were these coins not in protective holders. Others have different ways of collecting of course and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not claiming that anyone is doing anything incorrectly, because hobbies rarely have a "right" and "wrong." But I've personally found that having fewer and more meaningful pieces in my collection brings me vastly more pleasure than piling up coin after coin into mostly anonymous boxes.
I have mine in a combination of albums, airtight holders, and 2 x 2's (some of the common stuff is actually loose in zip locks, bad I know). It really depends on a personal choice. 2 x 2's I find are useful. Just make sure the staples are removed before extracting the coin. They are also useful for storage. Do what works best for you.
Just a suggestion for those using the cardboard and mylar "huggers" that might make them more practical for some people to use: find a pair of pliers with the right sort of parallel opening between the jaws and make sure you clench the staples and flatten them, particularly on the back of the hugger, where the stapler has curved the ends. It's the bits of staple sticking up from the surface of the hugger that pose the worst danger to adjacent coins in storage boxes. With a pair of pliers it's easy to clench the staples down so they do not project above the cardboard surface at all. Also watch out for stacking coins with a smaller "hole" ("dime size") next to those with with larger holes ("crown size") in a storage box - the mylar is a poor protection against staple-scratching and the staples in the smaller-hole hugger are likely to be within the circle of mylar on the larger-hole huggers. If you have a small-pointed knife - like a dulled scalpel - it's easy to get under the clenched ends of the staples on the back without trashing the hugger. Pry the clenched ends up to 90º. That will facilitate pulling them out from the "top" (front). If you do a careful job, you can re-use and re-staple the same huggers many times. I don't much use huggers, except for modern world coins and US where there isn't a lot of additional information which needs to be written down beyond the date and a comment if there is anything unusual to note + a catalog number for world pieces. For ancient and medieval coins - which are more of a specialty for me - I almost always use un-plasticized 2"x2", 2-pocket, clear flips. I have a template in Word which allows me to cram a lot of information onto the fliptags/"tickets" that I print-out. Then, if I am adding photos of the pieces in question to my website/gallery, I can copy and paste the text I typed for the fliptags into the caption fields in the gallery (and vice-versa - perhaps with a little abbreviation and editing so it can all squeeze onto the ticket.) It's a great time-saver.
I have started to migrate mine to 2x2 coin envelopes. I take a picture of each before it disappears into the envelope. That way I don't need to handle it any more but I really need to there is no remove staples. I find it easier to write on the envelopes than to use an insert inside a flip.
The 2x2 Saflips are probably the best, but when storing LOTS of coins, they can get pricey...the cardboard and Mylar 2x2's are good, and this works for "economy" coins that are still interesting. Put the coins in cardboard 2x2's and instead of stapling the holders, put them into those 2x2 holder pages. The coin won't come out unless you remove it from the page and if you don't like the coin any more, you can reuse the holder.
A flat-cinch stapler works best with paperboard 2x2's, and they aren't expensive. I think you have missed the OP's point because he would like to add info about the coin. How could you reuse the 2x2 if it had data from another coin? Chris
