| Author |
 Replies: 18 / Views: 6,621 |
|
Valued Member
United States
86 Posts |
Hello guys! I'm trying to upgrade my method of coin storage and could use some advice. I started collecting coins about 30 years ago, but then I just kept them in a jar, an old electric razor case, or a Whitman Push Type Folder. About 10 years ago I started upgrading to using 2x2s and tubes to store my coins. I even bought a few used albums at a LCS. I like the fancy Dansco, Whitman, etc albums because they look so cool. I also like having the coins in a book format, but they aren't without drawbacks, right?  I don't mind a few holes here or there for key dates, but a couple have holes for proofs. I'm not going to find those coin roll hunting and could go broke buying them. Also, they are expensive! I was thinking about putting together a set of Franklins, Walking Liberties, Mercury dimes, Roosevelt dimes, Jefferson nickels, Buffalo nickels, and Washington quarters. I think I have most of the coins, but I'd be spending nearly $200 in albums! So, I got to thinking that maybe I could start using binders and vinyl 2x2 pages. Then I could build my own collection and even start displaying some of the things I have like a handful of large cents, liberty head nickels, walking liberty quarters, etc. Is there anything I should be aware of buying a binder? I was thinking about these lighthouse binders from Wizard, but maybe I should just buy any old 3 ring binder? What do you guys use for a a binder? Thanks ahead of time. Cheers, AD |
|
|
|
New Member
United States
4 Posts |
Hey Alabama this is my first post but I am in a similar predicament so I cant help
Ive been lurking here for a year and I've learned a lot from these guys
Cant wait for replies
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1295 Posts |
I currently use the 3-ring binder approach for my collections, and it works great. I don't believe there is anything in a binder that would harm a coin, and the pages for the 2x2s are made out of archival inert vinyl. The thing I like about this set-up is 1) its much cheaper than the Lighthouse albums, and 2) you don't have to have empty spots for key dates or proofs. You're the boss. You fill the pages however you want.
I do like the look of Danscos, but you are right; they are not without drawbacks. The biggest one that keeps me from using them is this: to add or remove coins in the album, you have to slide a piece of thin plastic back and forth and if not done correctly, the coins could easily become scratched.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
My raw sets are in Intercept Shield albums but that's expensive.
I wouldn't recommend IS albums for anything less than silver coins, i.e., before 1965.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1584 Posts |
What I like most about the 3 ring binder setup is flexibility. This setup doesn't lock the collection into any set order. A full page can be devoted to one date/mm or the same date/mm can be arranged 2 or 3 in a row or whatever. Also no more pesky nearly impossible (sometimes) key date holes to fill!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
968 Posts |
Tip;
Buy the albums used. I've got something like 20 dansco's, and I didn't pay more than maybe 8 each.
|
|
Moderator
 Australia
16291 Posts |
I hope you're using the word "vinyl" generically when describing the pages you plan to use. "Vinyl" is sometimes (but not necessarily always) a synonym for PVC, and you don't want to be using PVC for your coin pages. Rather than using pages specifically made for coins, I use pages made for 2x2 photographic slides. They're the same size, and usually made of much better plastic. As for binder choice, there are some aspects to consider. I personally like using the binders and pages sold by photographic supply company Vue-All. Examples on their website, though you might be able to find them cheaper off ebay or elsewhere. These three-ring binders are hard, rigid, fully enclosed to protect from dust and minimise moisture (though they are by no means air-tight), and best of all they are stackable. You can make a stack as high as the ceiling if you want to, and there's no pressure placed on the pages inside the album at the bottom of the stack. If you tried that with regular binders you'd squeeze the bottom pages so much you'd be likely to get solvent transfer effects between the album pages and the 2x2s. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Valued Member
 United States
86 Posts |
Well, I think I'm sold and ordered some 2x2 pages this morning. Thanks for the guidance. Now I can look for a nice 3 ring binder, carefully label my 2x2s, arrange the pages....design my own book....sounds like fun. I like the idea of the slide pages, but I'd already ordered before I read your post. I did use the term vinyl generically. I actually ordered these: https://www.bcwsupplies.com/cat/coi...e-100-ct-box I got them for $14.95 on Amazon. Maybe I should return them and order the slide pages? You've got to start somewhere, right? I don't plan to stack them to the ceiling, ha ha. Not for a while anyway! What is solvent transfer? |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
814 Posts |
I mostly use stapled 2x2's in binder pages, except for my Ikes (which are in a Dansco) and my state and NP quarters (which are in push-in folders). The only drawbacks I've found with the binder pages are that sometimes you may encounter a loose pocket in the page, which could allow the 2x2 to slide out if the page should somehow get tipped upside down. Securing it with a small piece of transparent tape (NOT "magic" tape) is an easy cure. The other drawback is that if you have the page full of heavy coins (Ikes, Morgans, or even halves) and you store the binder upright and on-end (like you would normally store a binder on a shelf), the topmost hole will eventually tear out. NOt really a huge issue since the binder pages are cheap.
|
|
Moderator
Australia
16291 Posts |
Quote:
What is solvent transfer? Have you ever had 2x2s go "sticky" on you? On the outside of the film I mean, not on the inside touching the coin. Or have you ever had a 2x2 that sticks inside the album its held in? I have. I even recall one dealer who routinely handed over a little plastic spatula so you could prise his coins out of the album pages they were stuck in. These effects are caused by solvent transfer: Plasticizer from the album pages leaches out of the album page and into the plastic film of the 2x2. With album pages of the wrong type of plastic this can happen even at ordinary temperature and pressure, but under pressure (like underneath a tall stack of albums for a few months) and/or at higher temperature, even "good" album pages can leach out solvents. Quote:
The other drawback is that if you have the page full of heavy coins (Ikes, Morgans, or even halves) and you store the binder upright and on-end (like you would normally store a binder on a shelf), the topmost hole will eventually tear out. NOt really a huge issue since the binder pages are cheap. Which is another reason why archival folders like the one I linked to earlier are good - you can store them spine-up on a bookshelf, so the pages hang down inside the album when stored, spreading the weight evenly across the rings.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Valued Member
United States
86 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
814 Posts |
Hey AlabamaDan, I have ordered the 2x2 pages you have linked and I'm sorry to say but they are complete junk. I threw all mine in the garbage because the 2x2's just fall out of them and they rip easy and are very thin and cheap. I would return them. For me 2x2 flips and binders are the way to go. Get some nice pages and some nice binders and you wont have to worry. Being able to add a coin here or remove one or make a proof section or a error coin section is superior to any other method IMO. Also I like to write on the 2x2 flips stuff about the coin that lots of times the pre-made albums do not have. Sometimes I even write on the flip when I got the coin and how much I paid for it. These are the pages that I have now and they work great. Not sure where to get them in the USA https://www.collectorssupplyhouse.c...20pocket.htmThese pages are tight fitting but not too tight. 2x2 flips are actually not perfectly square and if put in the page right they fit great but if they are the wrong way around they are very tight and may rip the page. Any how hope tis helps |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
8425 Posts |
Solidifier...I would be concerned that the soft vinyl pages you linked to contain PVC . The BCW ones do not.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
814 Posts |
Im not concerned. They are the same ones that I have used and my grandfather has used and all the LCS use here for the last 50 years. Im pretty sure they are the standard ones. https://www.colonialacres.com/produ...edge?ref=477I wonder of there is a way to test it? Would love to actually know if they do contain PVC.......I guess I could e-mail the manufacturer and ask Even if they do contain PVC, as long as the flips are clear of PVC your good....but I do understand your concern. PVC has ruined a lot of peoples coins and paper money. I have seen paper money ruined from sleeves that have PVC. There is only one company that says their product is PVC free. so I changed all my notes to them....I think its lighthouse? cant remember The ones that AlabamaDan linked to are seriously bad. When I used them I would turn the page and the coins in the top would fall out from just turning the page. you would have to staple or tape every one so the 2x2's would fall out. This is just my opinion though....maybe the ones I got where different or something..... |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
the stiff vinyl pages are best for long term storage.
I use a normal 3inch binder and put my pages in that.
The soft pages have more PVC, that's why they are soft. Once I put a coin in a 2x2 flip, I don't even have to staple it, just slide it in the pocket where it stays nice an tight.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
8425 Posts |
I use the BCW non PVC pages. They also have the soft pliable thumb hole type but they do contain PVC. I really liked those but had to ditch them after learning they had the PVC. I doubt a 2x2 is gonna keep the gases from invading it.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
|
| |
Replies: 18 / Views: 6,621 |
Posted 07/01/2014 6:44 pm
