Lincoln Cent Folders?

Your best deal would be to try any coin or hobby store and if possible, even a used one. If there are any coin shows in your area, you might find some there for a dollar or so.
As to what brand? If you go to the http://www.whitmanbooks.com web site, request a catalog. In it you would find that Whitman is now owned by Harris. And they also sell a brand called United States Mint products which in reality has nothing to do with the US Mint. Just a brand name.
Almost all Folders are basically similar as to construction and materials. Whitman Folders are possibly the most common you would find anywhere.
Always remember though that any Folder should never be used for long term storage of coins.

kevro- I would love to see a picture of your collection of folders....

I was finally able to compare the Harris, Whitman (blue), and Littleton folders in person (although they were for different coin series than the cents). Surprisingly to me, the Littleton folders just seemed more sturdy and all around nicer than the other two. I like the feel of the cover and the neutral color surrounding the coins.

I liked the feel so much, I think I'm going to order the following online at an average price of $3.79 each, shipped:

- Cents 1909-1929
- Cents 1930-1958
- Cents 1959-1998
- Cents 1999-Date
- Statehood Quarters 1999-2009
- National Park Quarters 2010-2021
- Presidential dollars 2007-2016

Any reason I *shouldn't* consider the Littleton folders for housing these collections?

If you recall another of my topics here, I was looking for full albums for my Statehood/ATB/Presidential Dollars. After much thought I decided to go the cheaper route for these and just make sure everyone keeps their grubby fingerprints off them. Plus, I'd be able to have a nice row of uniform-looking folders on my shelf and save my album money for whenever that danged 7070-revised comes out!

I have one Littleton folder. It is for the Statehood Quarters and was a gift from my Grandmother. She had filled it in with my late Grandfather, so it has a strong sentimental value.

I have to say, it is very sturdy compared to the Whitman folders I started with as a kid (which I still have). It most definitely has a better build quality.

Please remember a few things about any Folders.
1. You can not see the reverse of the coins
2. You or anyone can touch the face of any of the coins in the Folders.
3. Worn coins have a tendancy to fall out since the slots are intended for newer coins.
4. Most manufacturers of any Folders use mass production methods which include plastering glue on a sheets of paper and then the slotted cardboard is placed on that sheet.
This means that some of lots of the glue is seen in the slots. Moisture can activate that glue and corrode the reverse of coins
5. Leaving any coin Folders or Albums on a shelf in plain view is not smart. They could have a tendancy to vanish
6. As to the Quality of Folders, always check for how old they are. Some of the older ones of any company could be made worse of better than modern ones by the same company.
7. Folders also allow excessive moisture from your breath each time you open one.
8. Even a sneeze or cough while looking at your coins could allow something to hit those coins.

I well know coin Albums are excessive in cost but if you check around, many coin stores have used Albums for sale.
And that Wizard company on line has those rather cheap priced ones but their shipping is a real problem in cost.

You're correct, jbuck. I'm leaning toward folders to continue encouraging my daughter with the hobby.

Regarding the concerns listed above (caveat, I'm not talking about coins of any significant monetary value here):


The folders I've looked at tend to have an open slot to display the opposite side of one representative coin. I don't need to see the wheats of every cent we own, nor the identical obverse of every state/ATB quarter.



My wheat & memorial cents have been sitting in tin cans for years (or even decades in the case of a bunch recently gifted to us from my uncle) after many prior years of circulation. I'm not afraid of fingerprinting a well-circulated penny.

For the statehood/ATB quarters and Presidential dollars, my 5 year-old can understand "don't touch".


This may become a concern for some of the older cents I guess, but my quarters & Presidential dollars are all close enough to new that they should snap in, methinks.
I can always use some Elmer's glue on any loose cents (I kid, I kid).



For the relative value of the coins I'm talking about here (most of which aren't worth much more than face or 2x face at best), I say "meh". I'll save my money to buy a safer solution for the coins with real value like our type collection, silver, etc.



...and they have a tendency to be in a dark isolated location and never enjoyed by myself or my daughter if I pack them away. I want to be able to pull these out and talk about them with my kids from time to time. Point taken, though, I shouldn't put them on a bookshelf outside my front door or something.



My hands-on experience tells me the current Littleton or Harris are pretty nice & sturdy enough for my needs.



See my reply to #2. I don't even want to know the environment exposure these cents have been in over the years. A breath or cough is probably pretty minor, relatively speaking!

Here is a pic of the shelf in my library where I keep my numismatic stuff. I have two Dansco albums (7070 & 7172) on a separate shelf. I've got 19 Littletons, and two small blue 2x2 books that I keep colonials and ancients in. Also is the first page of my Lincoln Cent folder, and my IHC and Franklin folders as well. I know I may catch some flack for keeping my key dates in these folders but that's how I like to keep them so I can enjoy them. Now that I've shared mine, let's see some other collection pics (or point me in the way of a previous thread on that if there is one..). Thanks.