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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,255 |
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Valued Member
United States
411 Posts |
Since there is no coin supply store anywhere within the vicinity of where I am every day, I am not versed in storage lingo. I know what a poly is and, before I started roaming around here, I though the safest way to store coins long term is in poly's that are in turn kept in flips. When I first sent something to PGCS, the flip and the poly were provided by Stacks. Since then, I bought a number of somewhat stiff two-and-a-half inch plastic flips, and then I bought the ANACS submission kit, which has soft flips and poly's. Are these holders meant for temporary storage? I worry that, without the poly's, the coins I want to store in the stiff plastic flips will get friction from the plastic when the coin is inserted or taken out for whatever reason, including I just like to look at the coins. Same with albums. Recently, I overheard a conversation between a dealer and customer about slabs and the dealer said he didn't like slabs because they were the end result of way too much exposure for this guy's comfort zone, which really alarmed me because I look at my coins a lot, carefully and over a mass of velvet in case I should drop it. I can't imagine collecting anything I can't look at from time to time. It's what put me off a brief flirtation with comics. Thanks for any info.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
3831 Posts |
Flips unfortunately are not the best way to store the coins. The best if you can afford is coin capsules but that too isn't really the best alternative out of all. Depending on the type of flips, there are flips that are still made with PVC because it's cheaper. Flips are only good if you want to use it to for short term display purposes.
In one of the flips that I got from the Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Expo, I got a "warning" side that states - "This packaging is not recommended for long term storage. It is only intended for convenient auction lot display". If a major auction site has that as a warning, I suppose that flips aren't really a good idea.
But likewise, unless your coins are valuable or has any value over $100 or over, please do consider coin capsules. Alternatively you can send them for slabbing but I personally detest such because slabbing usually doesn't allow the viewing of edges and that makes it pointless in my opinion.
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Rest in Peace
United States
954 Posts |
I have been storing my coins in Kointain Safeflips for years. No PVC. With a 10x glass I never detected any scratching of any coin taking them in and out. I heat seal the flips which protect the coin from air and moisture. I can still see both sides of the coin and have designed an album for them to boot.
catman
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Valued Member
 United States
411 Posts |
Thanks for the advice. gxseries's point about slabs concealing the rims is well taken. I guess it occurred to me before, especially since I started studying grading because among the first things I learned was to evaluate the rims first, which is something that I was overlooking, and which, since I've been aware of it, has made a major difference in how and from whom I obtain my coins. Plus, there's something about a raw coin that gets lost in the slabbing. catman: I'm glad you told me about Kointain Safeflips because I've seen them as options in online supply outlets, but I didn't know what they were. One of my big worries was PVC contamination and I didn't know if what I'm using has that potential. Anyway, thanks again.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
I also use SAFLIPs and a heat sealer. There are advantages to these such as the note card you can use with in them. And you can store them in Whitman Blue Boxes. You can usually get about 70 flips in these boxes--alot of coins in a small amount of space.
However I'm not too convinced that hard flips, are a good idea for proof or Unc. coins. Hard flips are difficult to work with. You always run the risk of a scratch when putting coins in them. And you also run the risk of rubs. These risks are not that huge to me because I usually only buy circulated coins or tokens. It seems rather pointless to worry about a rub on VF coin. But I've also coated tokens with nail polish and put them in hard flips and when I looked at them with a loupe I could see where the nail polish blistered on the rims. Rubs, I suppose, don't happen if you use a poly bag but I don't like them. I'm not putting them down I just don't like the way they feel. Maybe it's just my imagination, maybe they're just fine, but to me they feel "oily" so I don't use them with flips.
IMO you should *never* keep a coin in the holder it came in, especially if the holder is a flip even a hard flip and especially if it's a soft flip. If you buy SAFLIPs then you know what your coins are in. You don't know what you have with someone's else holder. And coin storage is *not* the place to try and save money.
Edited by longnine009
10/30/2005 7:35 pm
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Forum Mom
 United States
5877 Posts |
For more expensive coins, I suggest Intercept Shields (square hard holders). They run around $1 each and are designed to neutralize any contaminents that are on your coins.
Air-tites (round hard holders either form fitting or with a foam ring)are a good choice for less expensive coins. These will fit in an album. They run about $.75 each.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
980 Posts |
Hi Stephen,
2x2s, if care is used to ensure that no cardboard "fiber" is present in the window, can be a good less expensive way to store coins that aren't valuable enough to justify intercept shields or saflips. And if care is taken not to scratch the coin, I think saflips are fine too. As always, care on insertion, and handling are important with saflips, and to a lesser extent 2x2s. That's a nioce thing about airtites and intercepts-once the coin is inside, it's pretty safe as long as it is kept in a cool dry environment. (read Natl Dealer's posts on silica gel packs if unfamiliar)
Don
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Rest in Peace
United States
954 Posts |
Hi Don,
Cardboard is not that good. Sulfer breaks down and forms a gas that get on the coin be it in the window or not.
catman
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Pillar of the Community
United States
980 Posts |
Thanks for keeping me honest catman...
Don
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Replies: 8 / Views: 1,255 |
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Posted 10/30/2005 4:27 pm
