Harco Coin Album ?

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Originally posted by Jim Biggs

I have an old coin album that came with some coins I purchased, a Harco Coinmaster Album. It is a slide insert type and seems like a very good album. I have never heard of it before, is it a good set and do they still make it? It was made in Chicago, Illinois.
Jim

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Jim,
How old is the album I ask because some of the old albums might have PVC slides .
BRUCE.

Jim. Bruce and grovey are probably correct. If you think it might be even more than 5 years old I would get those coins into something safer. The new Gardmaster albums still have the same look but contain no PVC. If you like that album (I do, I have the ones for the Canadian cents and nickels and love them) then here is where I buy mine.

http://www.brent-krueger.com/gardmaster.html

The prices are reasonable and they ship pretty quick.

If the coins are not toned, corroded, etc by now don't worry about it. Don't waste money on a new album just yet. PVC is only harmful for a short period of time. Check the slides and if they are rather stiff or even hard, there is no longer a problem if in fact they are really PVC. The reason PVC is harmful is not the PVC itself. That is a stable plastic that will not even melt until it reaches 413.6F or 212C. It was actually the additives added to PVC to make it flexable that caused the problems back in the old days. This additive slowly leaked out of the material causing damage to many metals in their presence. After a period of time there is very little to no leakage due to very little left. You just can not get more of a product out of a product than was put in originally. So if our coins are ok now, don't waste time and money replacing the album unless you just don't like that brand.