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 Replies: 12 / Views: 3,747 |
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Valued Member
Pakistan
207 Posts |
Hello all!
I am currently living in a place where coin collecting supplies are basically unavailable, but I've got a visitor coming from the US, who asked if I wanted anything from there. Among other stuff, I figured I should get some form of storage for my coin collection.
I collect world coins, mostly those in circulation (and some of those from pre-euro Europe), and none older than the 1940s. I currently have about 261 unique coins (not counting different years and/or mintmarks of the same coin as unique), or about 530 counting different years and mintmarks. The smallest coin I have is 14.9mm (10 Netherland cents) and the biggest I have is 31.5mm (50 Australian cents).
So my question is, what should I ask for that would be able to store all this stuff most conveniently? Could someone suggest me some sort of generic (not country-specific) coin album or folder? Would I need several coin albums? Should I get a euro album and a usa album and another album? Should I get 2x2s? Which sizes should I ask for? Which company should I ask for? I'm obviously not going to stop collecting with what I have now, so what should I get for the extra coins I may later have? I get the feeling that out of politeness, my visitor would wish to pay for and give as a gift whatever I ask, so which one would be cheaper? And they'd be carrying it in their luggage by air, so it would be convenient for them if it didn't weigh a ton, or take up half their space. Could you provide links where I can buy them online (for their convenience, instead of making them go out to some shop to purchase them)? Or are the good ones not available online?
Thanks in advance!
Edited by Babar
05/28/2012 08:21 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2120 Posts |
Most coin collecting supplies can be purchased online and mailed to you. I would just message the owners of the site beforehand, and make sure they are ok with shipping to Pakistan.
A couple sites to try,
Valleycoin.com
Wizardcoinsupply.com
I would think you want 2x2's. Many different sizes, since they are pretty cheap.
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Valued Member
 Pakistan
207 Posts |
Things can be sent here easily enough, but receiving is the bigger problem. I've not had any good experiences with the Postal Service here. This is why I found this method easier.
Thanks for the 2x2s suggestion, though!
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Valued Member
Pakistan
207 Posts |
Okay, sorry for the double-post, but...I've being going through those sites, and while I understand I am getting it ordered from the US and they are US websites, the almost total american-centric nature of the albums is astounding. I had to go through to the end pages to even get a couple of Euro albums. Speaking of, one of these ("Lighthouse Euro Folder") speak of "spaces for one complete Euro mint set". The price is for $2.19. Does one complete set mean one set of all the euro coins from just one country, or one set of all the euro coins from all countries? I'd link to the one I am talking about, but I'm not sure I'm permitted to link currently. Another, (just says "Euro Coin Folder") is for $8.21 and says it is a "Complete 96 Euro Coin Folder". Both these are from the wizard website. Now I also have a question about the 2x2 coin flips. They come in sizes of US coins. The cent one is the cheapest, $0.95 for 50. Now the US cent is apparently 19mm wide, but I was wondering, how wide is the area in these slips? I am specifically talking about "Southern Star Mylar Cardboard Flips - 2x2 - Cent Size" from the Wizard website. Again, I'd link, if I was sure I was allowed. The thing is, I only have 38 unique coins up to 19mm exactly. However, I have 100 coins sized 21.25mm and less. Does anyone know if they would fit? That way, I could get 2 packs of those. In fact, how much allowance for space do any of these have? 1-2mm? And conversely, there isn't any problem with putting a coin that is 2-3mm smaller than the size the flip is meant for, is there? If you'll allow me to break it down (for my own benefit probably as much as for the help I could get from all of you), I have 38 unique coins from 14.9mm to 19mm - Cent size (I'm skipping the dime) I have 58 unique coins from 19.03mm to 21.21mm - Nickel size I have 94 unique coins from 21.234mm to 24.26mm - Quarter size I have 51 unique coins from 24.5mm to 26.5mm - What I assume is the "Small Dollar" size I have 19 unique coins from 26.75mm to 30mm - Half-dollar size (which is 30.61mm apparently) I have 2 unique coins of 31.45mm and 31.5mm - That are greater than the exact half-dollar size, but within the ranger of the "Large dollar" size (which is apparently 38.1mm). All these sizes I've gotten from numista. I hope they are not wrong. I guess my major question is how much allowance these coins have. Like would the cent be able to hold up to 21.25mm as I said before? And would the half-dollar size be able to hold those two extra coins of 31.45mm and 31.5mm? I plan to get a lot more State Quarters (I only have about 20 right now) and Presidential dollars (I only have 2 right now), but aside from that, what else EXTRA size should I get? I suppose for the extras I should get them in small dollar size? Finally (thanks for bearing with me so far), what do you guys say about Cowens Mylar Cardboard flips and Southern Star's Mylar Cardboard flips? They good? Have any problems? Thanks again! Edited by Babar
05/28/2012 5:39 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I agree from what you say about your postal service. Not the best way to get coin supplies to you that way.
Since someone is going there that you know, find out how much or many items he could take with. Have him get you those flips and as many as he can take with.
If you check coin supply places you would find not only 2" x 2" sizes but there are also 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" sizes as well for larger size coins. At coin shows most dealers today use the smaller 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" sizes. I'm not even sure if they list any in mm sizes. If so I guess that would be
38mm, 50mm and a 64mm. We just can't get used to that system here yet. Not sure if you want to burden whoever is going there but you may want to ask him to acquire some of those Red or Black Whitman, 2 row, storage boxes made for 2x2's.
And note that in the 2x2 sizes, they are made to hold coins of various sizes too. They are basically sized to hold either Dimes, Cents, Nickels, Quarters, Half Dollars and even the larger Dollars which are 38.1mm but that really is pushing it on the size and difficult to seal properly.
For coins in that size range I suggest the larger 64mm size flips.
Another thing to possibly look into is the plastic flips. They normally have two sides so you can add a piece of paper to one side describing the coin on the other side.
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Valued Member
Pakistan
207 Posts |
Thanks for the advice, Carl!
While my friend has loads of weight allowance, I get the feeling the bigger problem will be space. How much space do a pack of 100 2x2s take? I've decided, if possible, on
1 50pack of cent 2x2s
1 100pack of quarter 2x2s
1 100pack of half-dollar 2x2s
and a "Complete 96 Euro Coin Folder".
The total comes to $15, which I think is a goodly amount. This won't fill up the whole suitcase, will it? I'll skip on the storage boxes for now, because I get the feeling they take up a lot more space.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2120 Posts |
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Valued Member
Pakistan
207 Posts |
Heh...having the measurements in mm isn't really an issue to me. I was just using a unit I was comfortable with. The problem is I can't really conceptualise inches in my head (you all in the US probably have a similar problem with mm). Wouldn't it get difficult to measure coins in inches? You'd have to use eighths of inches and 16ths of inches. But nevermind that digression. Would I really need 1-1/2"x1-1/2"s? As you said, 2x2s already have most of the relevant sizes. My real issue is hoping all that stuff doesn't take up massive amounts of space. The websites give the sizes of the coins that fit in those items, but not the total size of those items. I can't even find a relatable figure through ebay for how much space a 100 pack or a 50 pack would take. Those binders seem much too expensive for the number of coins I have, though, Namachieli  . I guess I'll stick with flips for now... |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
507 Posts |
I would have recommended the 2x2 cardboard holders as well. That way you can write whatever you want on the cardboard without relying on some other company's printing. I personally collect world coins and use the 1.5x1.5 holders as they are more convenient and 95% of the coins fit in them. They are big enough to hold an old UK penny, but anything bigger needs a 2x2 holder. It just seems like a big waste of space to put small coins in a 2x2. The downsides are that there's a lot less writing room and you have to split your collection into two different sized holders. There isn't a lot of slack with the sizing. Putting a nickel in a nickel holder is a tight fit and I doubt you'd get another 1.5mm into one. If you are getting the holders, you need some way to store them. One way is with cardboard boxes. They might have from one to three rows and hold 50 to 100s of coins. Another method is plastic pages that fit in a binder. This is where the 1.5x1.5 holders are nice, as they fit 30 to a page as opposed to 20 2x2 holders per page. Different parts of the world have different types of binders (how many rings or prongs there are) so our 3-ring pages might not work for you. I don't know about the Euro holder, but the 50 pack and two 100 packs you mention should take up about the same amount of space as a medium hardcover book. If you buy boxes the holders can be folded and put into the boxes, or if you buy pages those should be flat and store out of the way. I recommend wizard if your friend is able to order from them, but most of these supplies are available at coin stores also. -wheatiefan |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
You can go down in size a fair amount, but not up at all. For instance, a half-dollar size works great for small dollars, a quarter 2x2 still works great for nickels, and a cent 2x2 still works great for dimes. I don't even know if they make dime size 1.5x1.5 holders; I think everybody uses the cent size for cents and dimes.
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Valued Member
Pakistan
207 Posts |
Just to update everyone if you wished to know, I got my 2x2s a while back, but it turns out I underestimated how many new coins I'd be getting, the result of which...I need more again  . Also, Having gotten both "Southern Star" as well as "Cowen" 2x2s, I'd like to say for the future reference of anyone who would like to know... DON'T GET SOUTHERN STAR 2x2S! THEY ARE BADLY MADE. I got it because it was a tiny bit cheaper than the Cowen ones on the same website, but it turns out that the reduction in cost came at the expense of a lack of quality. Quite a few I had to throw away because they didn't fold over properly (it was at an angle instead of lining up directly, or both halves weren't the same size, so the holes were misaligned). |
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Moderator
 United States
188130 Posts |
This is good to know.  I have bought some cheap ones in bulk before. They were really cheap, as more than half were useless. Although mathematically it was still a good deal, I definitely prefer the Cowen's for overall quality. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
And here is one more problem. So far as I know most fliops do not have the manufacturers name on them anywhere. Requesting a certain brand is sort of just a chance of what you may get. Quote:
They were really cheap, as more than half were useless. Although mathematically it was still a good deal, I definitely prefer the Cowen's for overall quality. Yes but do they have Cowens name on them anywhere? Probably not. At coin stores and coin shows I've purchased possibly thousands of cardboard flips over the years. So far none have a manufacturers name on them. Many are in small packages but then too, no one can say what the brand on the inside really is. I've purchased some in packages and then again the same ones sometime later. And they were different in thickness from the first to the second time. And hopefully you know that although the flips are noted in a few sizes, they also come in a variety of coin sizes as well. By that I mean a 2x2 Inch sized flip has openings for the 1 Cent size, 5 cent, 10 cent, 25 cent, 50 cent and even a large dollar size. However, most that use them use the Dime/Cent one for both. The Quarter/Nickel size for both. And true, for space you may tell whoever is bringing them to you to simply put them in a large plastic bag, no cardboard boxes to save space and weight. AND alsthough they have a tendancy to allow coins to move, you may want to check into the plastic flips. |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 3,747 |
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Posted 05/28/2012 07:45 am
