| Author |
 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,368 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1108 Posts |
Although I've avoided using them in the past due to the annoyance of having to constantly purchase different sized 2x2 coin holders and dealing with annoying staplers, I am starting to realize the potential and versatility of using them for coin collections. Normally, my go to for coin collecting is Dansco albums. However, I am starting to realize that not every single coin purchased needs to turn into a full fledged date and mint mark set. And, not only that, sometimes it's not really feasible due to budget constraints. There are various coins I'd like to own at some point for example, possibly some Peace dollars, older silver half dollars like Walking Liberty, Franklin and Barber. I'd love to have a small set of Shield nickels. Again, not being able to find a Dansco album for them, 2x2's come in handy. I've noticed they also come in handy for example... Coin sets that I had started, but abandoned either due to budget or loss of interest. It's also really nice being able to build a set of your own choosing, how you want to do it. You can leave out expensive key dates if desired. This is NOT a cheap hobby, and honestly, paying 40-50 dollars for Dansco books adds up pretty quickly! I've occasionally dove into ebay or trying to find whatever I need at coin stores, but usually not successful or they are not that much cheaper to make it worth it. I do have the Dansco 2x2 coin stock book and I've used it on and off. I used it for the longest time for my Buffalo nickels. Honestly, the one thing I do dislike about it is the quality of the pages. They are kind of firm and stiff and rip easily. I've read about others cutting down certain other brands pages that supposedly fit quite nice in there instead. Any advice? Who else uses 2x2 for their collections? I think I'm going to start going this route a lot more. Edited by Humanist1287
09/22/2025 09:39 am
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1182 Posts |
Aside from some Whitman folders for cents etc., I've been using some $26 "Cash Albums" from Amazon. They're fabric lined and zip up, like a vehicle owner's manual, but are full-sized three ring binders. They come with a bunch of pages and some (questionable) flips. The album itself is good quality, but doesn't present well. |
|
Moderator
 Australia
16806 Posts |
I use 2x2s pretty much exclusively for my "main" coin collection. Since I don't "collect sets" to any great extent, buying those Dansco-style albums would be pointless for me, and for most world coins, such albums simply don't exist.
An advantage of 2x2s is that they're exactly the same size as old photographic slides. This means that any artifact designed to hold slides, can also hold 2x2s. I buy all my coin albums and coin album pages from photographic supplies stores.
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
|
|
Moderator
United States
187544 Posts |
Quote:
I do have the Dansco 2x2 coin stock book... the one thing I do dislike about it is the quality of the pages. They are kind of firm and stiff and rip easily. I have to agree. The older pages were better than the new ones. I assume it is because they are no longer made from vinyl. Yes, PVC is bad for coins, but I never had a problem with the pages as long as the coins were in 2x2s and the albums kept in a stable environment (to prevent PVC breakdown and gassing the coins). The problem with any 2x2 page I have ever used is they tend to sag over time, unless you lay the albums flat. Being in a Dansco, that is not really an option, so I got used to replacing the pages every ten years or so. The newer pages' lower quality has prompted me to start moving coins into the millimeter and other blank pages. |
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
9149 Posts |
All my coins Canadian , US and World are in 2x2s and that is sets for the kids and grandkids.
|
|
Moderator
United States
94666 Posts |
I like my Dansco albums for all my sets as it helps me to keep them organized and can be used as a quick reference book as well. Now for custom 'sets' Like my World coin Set I'm currently acquiring and Dansco 2x2 coin stock book is great for all my 2x2's that I still have yet to get into any type of order to place in the book. I already filled one 2x2 Dansco book for my 'birth year' world coin collection. But until I get my much larger world coin 2x2s organized, it currently looks like this:  But they are ONLY for my world coin set - which keeps it fairly organized from other collections I have started. |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
1108 Posts |
Quote:
I have to agree. The older pages were better than the new ones. I assume it is because they are no longer made from vinyl. Yes, PVC is bad for coins, but I never had a problem with the pages as long as the coins were in 2x2s and the albums kept in a stable environment (to prevent PVC breakdown and gassing the coins).
The problem with any 2x2 page I have ever used is they tend to sag over time, unless you lay the albums flat. Being in a Dansco, that is not really an option, so I got used to replacing the pages every ten years or so. The newer pages' lower quality has prompted me to start moving coins into the millimeter and other blank pages. Years ago, when I was younger and into collecting SBA dollars, and various other half dollar and dollar coins, this is what I used to keep them in. It was kind of a pain moving them around, though. It was nice being to avoid that expensive 1981 type 2 proof. However, once I picked back up into collecting again a decade later, I now own this coin for a much lower price than it was years ago. Lol. That said, yeah, I definitely feel the pages were a bit less prone to breaking or ripping back then. Someone suggested guardhouse sheets, and then cutting them to size. I may try this. |
|
Moderator
United States
187544 Posts |
Quote:
Someone suggested guardhouse sheets, and then cutting them to size. I may try this. That will work and work well. You just need a hand-held hole punch to match the Dansco post positions. Back in the 1990s I did this for a few pages I replaced. It was cheaper and easier to get a couple 20-pocket pages at the LCS than it was for them to order the "proper" Dansco pages—they did not keep them in stock and were more than three times the price each. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
876 Posts |
The Guardhouse Shield pages have several holes to accommodate different type binders. I've read that someone cut off the bottom and the right side and it fit into the Dansco. Not sure if that is true, but worth a look.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
My views are very closely the same as Sap's views.
A coin can be taken out of the 2x2 for further investigation, if necessary.
They have a universal way of presentation, where all of the details relating to the coin can be written on the 2x2.
Slabs don't do it for me. I don't have any.
A slab would be an inconvenient 'black sheep' for me, in the way my collection is presented.
They don't fit into a presentation of a collection that presents coins of all ages and cultures, ancient to modern.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
7933 Posts |
99+% of my current collection is in 2x2s for the reasons mentioned by contributors like Sap and sel_691.
I have 7 in slabs (none are U.S. coins) purchased only because the coin was as fairly priced as what I could find raw.
I still have some old albums from the 1960s and 1970s with my childhood collection of 20th c. U.S. series.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1108 Posts |
The only coins I've had in slabs have been cracked open so I could fill out spots in albums, one being my SBA 1981 type 2 proof, and the other a 1970-S proof Jefferson. So, nothing too crazy. If I did have some really particularly valuable coins however, for example, some of the key dates of wheat cents that are pretty costly, I would most likely leave them right in the slabs. I feel that paying upwards of or near 100 dollars if it's in a slab, it's probably best for it to do so. I did order some 2x2 album type stuff recently and should be getting some new guardhouse pages today, as well as a bunch of various 2x2 sizes. I played around the notion of getting some self adhesive ones, but I really don't feel like paying 20 dollars for them. I am going to start utilizing these however. I'm not entirely sure how to organize, but I think I will start by considering an album for each coin denomination I intend to collect. album for various cents, nickels, quarters, and then probably a general misc one for everything that doesn't fit into the other ones by category. I'd like to have one overall encompassing album for quarters. I'd love to collect some Shield nickels and Indian Head cents. However, per usual, you cannot find a Dansco Shield nickel album and I don't feel like spending the money on one.  So, not only is this a cheapest route to go, but it offers the most customization. Edited by Humanist1287
09/25/2025 07:34 am
|
| |
Replies: 11 / Views: 1,368 |
|
Posted 09/22/2025 09:59 am
