Folders...bad?

I just came across some old Harris cent folders I've had since the 80s. Fortunately I don't have anything valuable in them. I popped a few out and have noticed that the backs of some of them have become discolored from contact with the back of the folder for the last 25 years or so. I've heard Dansco's are safe, but I don't have personal experience with them.

Switching to binders would be a good substitute. Just get a cheap one at the store and buy some of the pages intended to hold slides. DO NOT put the coins directly into those pages, put them in 2x2's first.

i should add that all the coins in the folders are found in circulation. all my pretties are in 2x2s and have unfortunately uglier siblings in the folders (when duplicates are available, of course)

I have no problem putting plain old everyday circulation coins in my Dansco albums.

my old uglies are in folders as I try to build sets...i haven't completed any one set yet, but when I do, they'll probably go into a dansco or 2x2 holder binder. my bulk coins go in coin tubes. I've had to resort to prescription bottle containers at the moment while I wait for a large order to arrive from valley coin. I actually store my ikes in large prescription bottles as they happen to fit perfectly. my huge stash of wheats and old nickels are rolled and stored in the coin boxes from which they were pulled. I also store my tubes and 2x2s in coin boxes. easy to stack and put away.

I agree. You have to do what makes you happy or you miss the point of the hobby (or any hobby). It is good to get advice, but make sure that you will be happy with what you finally choose to do.

I've explained this several times on this forum and sure wish I knew how to find them all. Regardless, here is some of the problems with Folders.
1. Ever notice how difficult it is to put most coins in those slots? When the cardboard for those slots is produced, the slots are made tapered. The slots are smaller at the top than at the bottom. This is why when you finally get a coin in, it sort of smaps in place.
This forces people to push with thumbs, fingers and I knew a person that used a rubber hammer to get the coins into those slots.
2. Every time you open a Folder, you risk spitting, sneezing, coughing on them. Not only from you but anyone else in the area.
3. Every time you open a Folder you risk damage due to something falling on a coin.
4. If not deep enough into the slot, the paper from the folded over page can rub against those type of coins.
5. If dropped many coins tend to fall out of those slots and can fall on a floor.
6. Is the worst part of a Folder. That shinny stuff on the rear of the slots is glue left over from the manufacturing process. Kids usually like that since they usually find out that spitting on a well worn coin will reactivate the glue and help keep the coins in place.
When you see or find a coin with darkened streaks on the reverse it very well could be from a Folders glue. The process for putting glue on those sheets is a streaking method not a washing type so as to save on quantities of glue.
Regardless of if you are a serious or amatuer collector, it is just not the best place for your coins.

I have an old Whitman folder from the 50's for a G-VG collection of IHCs that I put together in the late 70s. There is about 35 different dates in there, with some better dates. I popped out the 1870 last week and the reverse looks pretty much the same as when I bought it more than 30 years ago. The glue on the back has gotten very dry and somewhat brittle, and has not affected the reverses. As it was my first foray into the world of coin collecting, my strong sense of nostalgia (I got my coin collecting merit badge with it) for this folder overrides any sense of preservation I might have if these were MS or modern proof coins. Folders seem to be a thing of the past, most collectors are now condition conscious, so albums are the way to go for the better classic coins or for higher grade coins. I personally use labelled 2x2s for common coins, Air-Tites for silver/gold/rare minor coins, and coin tubes for bulk rolls.