displaying coins

jonesor

hi all,

i really like the silver eagle $1 and assorted modern commemoratives and would like to display them in some fashion (in their airtite's).

i was thinking about a shadow box... any other ideas? does anyone have a great product they use they'd care to share?

magikbilly

Do a search on "wood" and you will see it is important to use the right materials - even with "airtights" and slabs. My .02

Best,
Magikbilly

meos1

Check solid craft web site. Hes a board member here as handle solid.

dthigpen

Just remember that the mint capsules are not air-tight.

tmot99

I made a wooden frame and inserted a 2 x 2 tray liner. I decided how many "holes" I needed and then made the frame to fit. I put a glass front to slide down preventing the air-tites from falling out. I don't keep super nice coins in there, only collectible elongateds (in airtites). It works well and displays nicely on the wall.

jonesor

ok, i'm not a carpenter so i won't be making anything.

'solid craft' displays won't work for non-graded coins, right?


any other suggestions?

meos1

Contract with a wood working shop to build a custom case. Back to solid, he may be willing to try this.

relayer

You can check out Capital Plastics for holders

ms70

Check with Solid anyway. I believe he might make some custom products. His craftmanship is tops.

1907Quarter

how bout that shadow box?! I think it works great, and it's a homemade project!

anablep

If you have a Michael's Craft store or equivalent near you, you will find shadow boxes and displays in the framing section of the store.

jonesor

the shadow box looks good (i would have stained or painted the *outside*)


... i was just looking for other alternatives.

solid

Thanks for the mention, meos1 and ms70!

We are indeed beginning to make custom displays for non-certified coins.

Essentially, we can sandwich the coin in three layers of plexiglas, similar to how
Capital Plastics makes their displays, except the plexiglas is held together by
locking them into our standard rotating frame panel instead of with screws.

Here is one we recently made for a board member here. This one was particularly
challenging in that it is a hammered gold coin with an odd, unround shape.

Ken

jonesor

it looks woderfully crafted, solid, but I don't think 'custom' anything is in my price range.

stev32k

A display case you can make yourself can be made from picture frame molding, Styrofoam, velvet cloth, plywood (or cardboard) back, and glass or plastic front. Start with the Styrofoam and decide how big it needs to be by laying out the coins on the surface. You can buy 20" X 30" sheets for 2 or 3 dollars at most hobby stores. Put the coin holders on the Styrofoam and trace the outline with a pencil and cut the opening with an exacto knife. Then take a piece of velvet cloth of your favorite color and glue it to the Styrofoam surface. Then go back with the exacto knife and cut the cloth from the openings.

Once you have the Styrofoam center it is a fairly easy and cheap job to get it framed. You can frame it like you would a picture. I used to make gifts like these with cheap coins and everyone loved them.

WaterSport

I just use a "pocket watch" plastic holder. It comes in Black or clear plastic. Real cheap and allows you to switch coins real easy.Ebay pocket watch stands

jonesor

i like the idea stev32k.... maybe i can even use my hot glue gun somewhere in there!

stev32k

A hot glue gun is perfect for gluing the cloth to the Styrofoam. Lay down strips of glue about 3/8 to 1/2 inch apart. Place the cloth then use a rolling pin (gently) to get a smooth even surface. You need to work fairly fast to get the cloth smoothed out before the glue starts to set-up. For the holes I usually cut an "X" in the cloth rather than a hole. The flaps provide enough friction to hold the coin in place.

jonesor

i would like to be able to flip the whole thing around to see the back of the coins too..... think I'd be able to get both side framed in glass... (know what i mean?)

think 1/4 in. styrofoam would be too thin?

stev32k

That thin is awful brittle and breaks easy when you try to cut it or even pick it up by the edge. But, it's cheap so you can give it a try - if it does not work you may have wasted 25 cents.

meos1

If your going with the styrofoam you might try some spray adhesive to mount the fabric.

skydivdav

Take it to your picture framer. This, of course, coming from a picture framer!
He'll know what to do!
Bue skies!
david