I've recently purchased an intercept shield Lincoln cent coin album. I've noticed that it includes "proof only" issues. Is it a bad idea to put proof coins in a coin album? and if so, how do you handle "proof only" issues when collecting coins?
I dunno...I had to google those albums...Im not a fan of albums that tell you what goes where. I much prefer cardboard 2x2's in binders..allows you to write details on them, collect more than one example of any given coin..just allows more flexibility and an opportunity to personalize it in any way you want. I wouldnt dream of taking a proof coin out of its original packaging..I feel some things are best left alone.
If there is a hole for it in the album, I put a coin there..... There was a time when I felt the same way. Removing a proof from it's original holder was sacrilege. I got older (and I also got a lot more proof coins) and I don't feel that way anymore.....
I'm sort of in the same boat. I don't mind removing proofs anymore if I have a place in my collection for them.
Most of my modern type of Albums have slots for proof coins. For example the Lincoln Cent collection has slots for all proofs. At times I purchase some separately and at times I break open a proof set for the individual coins for my Albums. I use Whitman Classic Albums for all my coins and have well over 100 0f them. The necessity for a proof in such albums to me is nuts. Same with error coins. They just don't belong in an album for circulated coins. What I've done with some of my Albums is to order or purchase blank pages for the Albums. Sometimes even blank covers. Then with Whitman you can purchase those Gold type letters/number press on sheets. With those you can lable the blank pages and add dates, mint marks as you want, not what some manufacturer thinks you should collect. I've put together odd types of sets such as one with all Flying Eagle/Indian Head/Lincoln Cents in one Album. No proofs or error coins such as the 1922plain. No double dies, no large and small dates either. My Liberty Head Dime/Mercury Head Dime/Roosevet Dime Album too has no proofs or error coins. Of course I do have the standard Albums and do have to add those to fill the slots that some idiot in a company thinks I need. As to handling proofs, I just use the edges for placing in thier slots. If tight, I push them in with a cotton ball. Although at times I feel like using a hammer.
All of us are coached from Day One on a vitally important rule : Handle a coin only by it's edges; never touch the face. The vast majority of albums violate this rule. One must fat-finger the coin to push it into a hole. That's one thing for circulated coins, but another matter entirely for proofs. I think it's foolish to stick a big fat finger on the face of a proof. There are many proofs with fingerprints on the obverse because someone shoved it into an album. That act compromised the coin for the rest of eternity. If your album is different and avoids this problem, great. Perhaps someone has a technique which solves this problem; if so, please share. Beware ! Some problems don't show up for years. We think our idea is a winner, and it's not.
