Dansco Vs. CAPS Vs. ? For Proof/Mint Set Storage

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Author	Replies: 24 / Views: 5,347	Page: of 2
jwm74 Valued Member United States 68 Posts	Posted 02/19/2017 01:46 am (First, sorry for the length of this post). I have been collecting proof sets since my daughter was born (always hoped she would get interested - no luck) and expanded to include proof and mint sets back to my birth year. I now have almost a complete set from 1956 forward. As I have discussed in other threads, I have been looking for a way to store and display my sets. I thought I had found the perfect answer with the Dansco "additional" page 7091 which has 4 rows for cent through half dollar on each page. Unfortunately, I was only able to find 7 for sale. They are out of stock every place I checked. I wanted to keep each year's coins together, but that seems to be a difficult endeavor. So I began to investigate other alternatives. The CAPS albums looked like a great alternative, but the price is fairly high. Dansco seems to be a favorite brand, but I have read too many threads about no updates, out of stock, and a general feeling that they (Dansco) do not really appreciate the coin business. I started to price out a custom CAPS system (using generic CAPS albums and untitled pages) and discovered the fatal flaws of my proposed yearly collection: 1. The CAPS Type "A" page is 5 coins wide by 6 rows, but cannot accept a half dollar coin. 2. The CAPS Type "T" page is 4 coins wide by 5 rows, so cannot accept cent through half dollar in a single row. 3. The changes by the mint over the years ( Eisenhower dollar - SBA, Sacagawea and Presidential Dollar - State, Territory and ATB Quarters - Louisiana Purchase Nickels - Lincoln Bicentennial Cents) make a "standard" display almost impossible. So I changed my focus to the more traditional album per coin type. For the 1956-present Dansco albums, the price is about $500. For a comparable CAPS system, it is about $1000 (due to the added cost of the Air-tites). I was a bit shocked at the total cost of the storage medium for 60 years of coins whose current value is not much more than the cost of the storage medium. I will probably go with CAPS due to its added versatility, but am still not sure of the final page arrangement. Any words of wisdom? Have I analyzed the situation correctly? Have I missed something? Thanks for wading through my slightly verbose essay! * Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. * Report this Post to the Staff

TroyWhite Valued Member United States 112 Posts	Posted 02/19/2017 02:09 am Did you check out the Eagle pages for proof sets? I thought those looked good. Report this Post to the Staff
jwm74 Valued Member United States 68 Posts	Posted 02/19/2017 02:40 am Yes I have, but that would only work for Proof sets in hard cases. The earlier cellophane flat packs, the SMS sets from the mid-60s, several smaller sized sets in the mid-70s, Capital City Proof set holders and all the Mint sets don't fit. Also, it may be petty, but I don't like that you have to open the album up and away to see the sets with the printing in the correct orientation. Report this Post to the Staff
Earle42 Bedrock of the Community United States 10034 Posts	Posted 02/19/2017 2:13 pm Remember the Dansco albums will ave your coins in contact at their rims with cardboard. Cardboard will have some atmospheric moisture in it from humidity, and over the years the coins tone (well - maybe if you are in AZ?). I have my best coins, at present encased in plastic (plexi holders I made), air-tite or similar capsules, or for the clad stuff, in 2X2s. Whenever I store anything, its with silica gel packs. I got these by asking a furniture store to save them for me rather than tossing them out. They get LOTS of them with each furniture shipment they take in that needs assembling by their employees. Recently I also went to wish.com bought 10 half dollar sized capsules for 1.90 including shipping, and am awaiting their delivery. I want to find a way to test them to see if they are safe plastic for coins or not. If so, it might make the Caps albums method a lot less expensive. How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halves https://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 Report this Post to the Staff
jwm74 Valued Member United States 68 Posts	Posted 02/19/2017 3:45 pm Your cost will be $0.19 each. Genuine Air-tites can be had for about $0.30 each. I think this is a small savings on the total cost of an album + capsules (about 34% om the capsule cost, or ~17% overall). How do you plan on accessing if the capsules are coin safe? Your comments regarding Dansco albums and possible contamination are one of the reasons I am leaning towards the CAPS albums. Just awaiting an order of several pages to ascertain the ability to custom label them myself. Report this Post to the Staff
Earle42 Bedrock of the Community United States 10034 Posts	Posted 02/19/2017 4:06 pm Actually I ordered a small amount of them. I think when I looked before they were available in lots of 100 for less. As to the plastics, I will have to look it up b/c I have been away from working in plastics for at least 20 years now. I used to work in plastic injection molding and various kinds of plastics were utilized. There are simple tests that can be used to determine one plastic from another. Just one example off the top of my head is styrene plastic will have a distinct odor when you snap a piece of it in half. I will be looking it up online when they get here. Quite honestly I don't know why the caps pages are as expensive as they are unless they are still paying off the molds, or maybe there are a lot of middlemen. How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halves https://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 Report this Post to the Staff
Ham1947 Pillar of the Community United States 1298 Posts	Posted 02/20/2017 06:36 am I ordered (2) CAPS albums with capsule kits and slip cases. Here is the invoice. How did I do price wise? Now I will have a very nice used Dansco 7070 for sale. Item Qty Unit Price 1800 s Type Set 2293 CAPS Album New Slipcase: 40mm 1 $39.82 $39.82 1900 s & 2000 s Type Set 2298 CAPS Album New Slipcase: 40mm 1 $32.62 $32.62 Capsule Kit With Black Insert Rings For 2293 1800's Type Set Album 2293 CAPS Album New 1 $31.31 $31.31 Capsule Kit With Black Insert Rings For 2298 1900's & 2000's Type Set Album 2298 CAPS Album New 1 $18.98 $18.98 Sub-Total: $122.73 Standard Shipping (Standard): $6.49 Total: $129.22 Report this Post to the Staff
trout1105 Pillar of the Community Australia 7096 Posts	Posted 02/20/2017 06:49 am Saflips stored in 20 coin page albums work just fine. If you heat seal the flips the coins are fully protected and these flips and album pages can be had for a fraction of the cost of the cap's option Report this Post to the Staff
Earle42 Bedrock of the Community United States 10034 Posts	Posted 02/20/2017 1:27 pm @Trout - what specific procedure do you use to seal the Saflip without adverse affects like melting it too much or heat treating the coin? Rather than trial and error on this end I'd like to know a tried and true method. Edited to add: Here is a pic of the holder I made many moons ago. How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halves https://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 Edited by Earle42 02/20/2017 1:34 pm Report this Post to the Staff
jwm74 Valued Member United States 68 Posts	Posted 02/20/2017 4:13 pm Part of MY problem is that the presentation is almost as important as the contents of the collection. My thought process went from leaving the proof/mint sets in their OGP, to stapled cardboard flips in a a PVC free 20 unit display page (hated the look of the staples) to self-adhesive cardboard flips (didn't like the look of white so investigated black flips) to 2x2 plastic polystyrene holders in a polystyrene page, to "Year" Dansco album (no longer available) to finally, the CAPS album! Each step of the journey produced a better looking display (usually at additional expense!) Even the versatility of the CAPS custom albums comes with a greatly inflated price tag and several other problems (see my original post). So, the search continues for MY perfect solution. Report this Post to the Staff
Earle42 Bedrock of the Community United States 10034 Posts	Posted 02/20/2017 4:24 pm I feel for you. What I want to do is get some thin plexi. I want a cover sheet and a back sheet. Between it I want to get sheets of the same material used in plastic capsules to cut the appropriately spaced holes in and sandwich this between the two sheets of plexi. The bottom sheet of plexi actually would be extended to the left a bit so I could either make holes for a three ring binder type holder or even a modified Dansco-like looking system to hold them in. I want to use my labelmaker for customized labeling which I print backwards to stick to the inside of the top plexi sheet. I do believe overall I can make it look really nice and also the cost would be less than marketed items. My drawbacks would be not being able to access one coin at a time. But, then again, the ones I want to put in these are my permanent sets anyway. I am trying to come up with an easy way I can cuth the uniform holes in the sheet of material. I don't have a laser cutter. I could just use three sheets of thin plexi and drill holes in the middle one. But I like the idea of not having to take the time to drill all the holes. How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halves https://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 Report this Post to the Staff
batboy Pillar of the Community United States 650 Posts	Posted 02/21/2017 10:47 pm As much as I like Dansco albums, the CAPS setup is definitely more protective. Hey Earl, have you seen toning from Dansco albums? I ask because I've not heard much about Dansco toning coins. Other brands, yes. I have 4 or 5 Dansco albums that are 35-40 years old. None of the coins in those albums have toned. Edited by batboy 02/21/2017 10:49 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Earle42 Bedrock of the Community United States 10034 Posts	Posted 02/22/2017 12:55 am Batboy - I have no personal experience with Danscos toning coins as I have not had my Danscos long enough. The information I gave is gleaned from reading this forum for a few years when the subject has come up. I also have had other non-Dansco albums not just start to tone coins, but the coins also lose some of their their luster. THis is why I want to try to get everything I have out of contact with any material than can absorb atmospheric moisture. I admit I can readily see how it would happen. Cardboard absorbs moisture from the atmosphere in small amounts - especially in humid climates. The cardboard is in contact with the coins - and so is the moisture. You may want to start a new thread for people with hands-on experience with Danscos to verify it. How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halves https://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 Report this Post to the Staff
batboy Pillar of the Community United States 650 Posts	Posted 02/22/2017 08:40 am Thanks for the reply. You make a good point though, even if Dansco is the best album available, the coins are still in contact with the album material and could have potential problems. I might need to look into this some more. Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 188052 Posts	Posted 02/22/2017 09:53 am My oldest Dansco albums just turned 32 years old. No problems, no complaints. Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
batboy Pillar of the Community United States 650 Posts	Posted 02/22/2017 11:45 am Yeah, I have at least 2 Dansco albums that are close to 40 years old. I also have 2 or 3 others that are around 35 years old. No toning on any of mine so far. Seems like toning was more from those cheap folders. Edited by batboy 02/22/2017 11:46 am Report this Post to the Staff
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