Dansco Vs. CAPS Vs. ? For Proof/Mint Set Storage

I feel for you. What I want to do is get some thin plexi.

I want a cover sheet and a back sheet. Between it I want to get sheets of the same material used in plastic capsules to cut the appropriately spaced holes in and sandwich this between the two sheets of plexi.

The bottom sheet of plexi actually would be extended to the left a bit so I could either make holes for a three ring binder type holder or even a modified Dansco-like looking system to hold them in.

I want to use my labelmaker for customized labeling which I print backwards to stick to the inside of the top plexi sheet.

I do believe overall I can make it look really nice and also the cost would be less than marketed items.

My drawbacks would be not being able to access one coin at a time. But, then again, the ones I want to put in these are my permanent sets anyway.

I am trying to come up with an easy way I can cuth the uniform holes in the sheet of material. I don't have a laser cutter.


I could just use three sheets of thin plexi and drill holes in the middle one. But I like the idea of not having to take the time to drill all the holes.

Batboy - I have no personal experience with Danscos toning coins as I have not had my Danscos long enough. The information I gave is gleaned from reading this forum for a few years when the subject has come up.

I also have had other non-Dansco albums not just start to tone coins, but the coins also lose some of their their luster. THis is why I want to try to get everything I have out of contact with any material than can absorb atmospheric moisture.

I admit I can readily see how it would happen. Cardboard absorbs moisture from the atmosphere in small amounts - especially in humid climates. The cardboard is in contact with the coins - and so is the moisture.

You may want to start a new thread for people with hands-on experience with Danscos to verify it.

My oldest Dansco albums just turned 32 years old. No problems, no complaints.

Early Dansco albums had the cardboard containing a sulfur content. This was corrected around 1990 or so. The older albums caused minor toning on the edges, more noticeably on larger silver coins. Current day Dansco albums are fine for most collectors. The albums will absorb moisture if not properly stored. This may cause spots on copper coins. I was a dealer for many years, and have seen many collections in Dansco albums. They might be the best albums made today.

I also appreciate people following up on this. I hail from the PA shore of Lake Erie, so not having humid air was a very rare thing indeed. This is likely why I gad so much trouble in the past even when I thought things were stored airtight.

For better or worse, and I hope for the safety of my coins, better, I have decided to go with
Air-Tites in a CAPS album. Protection and a great looking display for my coins seems like a
winner in my book. The ability to customize the CAPS album is another great selling point.

Yep.. I decided to go the CAPS route as well.
Definitely much more expensive and bulky then some of the other album systems, but it seems to be the best for long-term protection and flexibility. Only other option I am looking at are the Lighthouse Encap pages that whole capsules, but there doesn't seem to be any way to add any labeling or writing to those pages. I am getting a few to see if I can figure something out, but hard to beat the pre-made pages for the CAPS albums. And because they are standard 3-ring binder albums, I can add in a page or two at the end to hold some of my key-date coins in their "slabs". Will probably just put a little picture or some sort of placeholder in the slot where the coin should be and reference that it is in a slab.
(Although, I plan to take most coins out of their Slabs to put them into the Air-tites unless they are something VERY special or valuable).
Working on a Presidential dollar and a Roosevelt dimes CAPS album now to get myself 'Started', and then will work-up to more valuable albums. Will post some photos when finished.
Michael

Yes, please post photos when you have some. I have the CAPS ASE albums and am very happy with them for both protection and display.

If you are interested there are some photos and further CAPS discussion here and here and here.