| Author |
 Replies: 35 / Views: 5,198 |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Hey all,
I'm in the position of my collection being about to overflow the shoebox I keep it in, and I have a couple of questions about further storage.
Right now, my coins go into 2x2s (Ikes and halves go into those little thick-plastic coin baggies that you can fold and staple). To have a storage place instead of leaving a bunch of flips laying loose, I cut the edges off the 2x2 packaging, cover them with tape, and then stack the flips vertically inside and hold the whole thing shut with a ribbon of tape. Stuff that's in rolls stays in rolls, LWCs and 2009s go in "museum rolls" which are labeled and stacked vertically; my silver certificates/older-than-dirt bills are in a little sandwich baggie; world coins are in a larger Ziploc baggie.
I have room for one more 2x2 "box" before the shoebox becomes impractical. I think at least part of this problem would be solved by getting boxes or something actually made for flips, since then I could stack them two high and buy myself another 8-10 months. But where would I find such a thing? My basic supplies (staples, flips, museum rolls, bags) come from Hobby Lobby, which does not carry coin boxes.
And on a related note . . . given that everything is sealed in plastic (or in the case of my rolls of nickels, in, well, roll paper), am I potentially destroying my coins forever by keeping them in a shoebox? Do I need something else?
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
863 Posts |
the sad thing is that there really are no good hobby stores that carry good coin collecting items. hobby lobby only has a small selection. there are many sizes of memory boxes that may do the trick.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
1227 Posts |
Silvercoinrn, my big concern with memory boxes is the paint used in them. Several years ago I had to make a card box for my mother's wedding and picked up a white-painted box from A.C. Moore, thinking it looked all glossy and pretty. Turned out the inside was never properly finished--when she and my stepdad pulled out their cards, they were covered in white dust and stains. If that's what six hours can do to card stock, I can only imagine what six months would do to flip cardboard.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Go to http://www.whitmanbooks.com Order a catalog. Or go to their web stie. If you get their catalog, on page 53 there are several different types of boxes made just for the storage of 2x2's. The either black or red two row boxes hold about 100 2x2's and are made for that purpose. There is always a bad for every good. In the catalog, they are listed for $5.99 At most coin stores they will be probably a bit less. At coin shows I've seen them for $4.00 I keep all my 2x2's in those. I keep many more than the 100 they recommend in mine since I sort of jam them in. Edited by just carl
05/25/2012 11:55 am
|
|
Valued Member
Pakistan
207 Posts |
That link doesn't work for me. Neither does whitman.com Is it just me? I typed it into google, and tried opening the cached version, but that didn't open either. I'm curious because I want to buy some soon... EDIT: Turns out it IS just me. What an odd website to consistently time out?  Edited by Babar
05/25/2012 5:36 pm
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Sure must be something you did wrong. I don't think a company that size would go out of buisness overnight.
One more thing to remember if and when anyone does use those two row Whitman boxes. Not all 2x2's are equal. In the past I've noticed different manufacturers make them slightly different. Some are a bit thicker than others so where some may get 100 in those boxes, someone else may get 125 and/or 85. I presently have 9 of those full. Someday I'll figure out what to do with all that stuff.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
. . . . hey, they have the dollar flips way cheaper than Hobby Lobby!! ($3.99 vs $5.49--when you make nine bucks an hour that extra buck-fifty is a lot) I know where I'm getting mine now.
I love that album, Trout, but it looks a bit out of my price range (see above comment about flip costs). How much are they?
I think for now I may order the small storage box . . . my 1883-1932 box (that sounds like the box should be impressively big until you realise I only have maybe ten cents between 1883 and 1915) is falling apart and no amount of packing tape is helping.
Thanks, justcarl! I use Whitman flips (it's all Hobby Lobby has), so 50 should fit in the single-row box, right?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
Quote:
I love that album, Trout, but it looks a bit out of my price range (see above comment about flip costs). How much are they?
They cost me $21 each and they hold 120 2x2 flips  |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
Thanks, justcarl! I use Whitman flips (it's all Hobby Lobby has), so 50 should fit in the single-row box, right? Sure thing but as I mentioned some 2x2's are a bit thicker than others so you might only get 48 in one or 53 or who knows pending on who made them. Whitman makes a large variety of those things. I'm using the shorter, two row ones for error coins. They hold about 30 + or - a few. I've seen some at shows that are made for slabs too. Order a catalog so you can see what is available. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
OUCH, album is *definitely* out of my price range. Dang!
Justcarl, it looks like they've got a selection on the website. Young'in asks, is this essentially a digital catalogue or should I get a paper one?
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
Justcarl, it looks like they've got a selection on the website. Young'in asks, is this essentially a digital catalogue or should I get a paper one? I prefer the paper one. It's sort of nice to be able to look up something without turning on a computer. And you can ear mark or post-it on a page you frequently turn to. Also, write something on a page, take it with you to a coin show, store, etc. to show what your talking about. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
I belong to Generation Google, so looking stuff up on a computer isn't such a hassle to me. I might get a paper one anyway so I can circle some things and leave it where my mom can take pity on me and pick up one of those $20 albums, though  Related but separate note, is the shoebox going to be a problem? Or should it be a neutral factor, given that there's a layer of something between every coin/piece of currency and the actual box? |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
10034 Posts |
Frequent your local Goodwill shops and hope someone dumps a load of the old plastic, rectangular boxes they used to store 35 mm slide pictures in. They are great for 2X2s. I have some with and without individual dividers between each 2X2. I suppose the old circular slide trays would work as well - but would be awful awkward! Some of the larger slide boxes will hold several rows of 2x2s side by side with plastic dividers between them. Maybe try ebay as well for these? Probably pick them up very inexpensively since slides are mostly a thing of the past. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Earle, I wish my grampa hadn't moved a few years ago! My grandma was a seamstress, and if I recall correctly she used slide boxes for her "little junk" (buttons, hook and eyes, etc.). That stuff is all with one of my cousins now.
Thanks for the tip! I don't know about the local Goodwill (I have the good/bad fortune to live in a town where Nordstrom is kind of low-class), but there are lots of flea markets in the area--maybe I can find another retired artist like my gram.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1817 Posts |
Quote:
(I have the good/bad fortune to live in a town where Nordstrom is kind of low-class) LOL, I can think of only four places in the country where that would be true: Beverly Hills, Boca, Southampton, NY and maybe Nantucket Island, MA. Try Valley Coin at http://www.valleycoin.com, they have most of the supplies that you need and shipping is only $5.99 per order, regardless of size. The shoebox is not a good permanent place to leave your collectibles, nor is using a lot of tape as it can migrate to the surface of your coins and bills, or trap humidity on the surfaces, leading to unsightly spotting and/or toning. I use a product by Intercept Shield that's a mint set box that's lined with a corrosion inhibitor. It costs about $7.50 per box from Valley Coin. I use it for my proof sets in OGP, bank wrapped coin rolls, coin sets in special packaging, anything that doesn't fit into a standard 2x2 flip. |
| |
Replies: 35 / Views: 5,198 |
Posted 05/25/2012 02:20 am
