Storing World Coins

Coinguy19

I have a lot of foreign coins that are all jumbled together with no real organization. Can anyone give me some advice on how to store them by country without taking up a lot of room or spending a lot on supplies? Thanks!

Scioto

I have mine in cardboard and mylar 2x2's in binders @ 20 coins per page. Takes up about 2 feet of bookshelf space.

Everything is inventoried on Lotus Word Pro and looks like this:

ALBANIA (9)
KM 27 - 1940R - .05 Lek - aluminum - bronze
KM 29 - 1940R - .20 Lek - stainless steel
KM 30 - 1940R - .50 Lek - stainless steel
KM 35 - 1957 - ½ Leku - zinc
KM 5 - 1930V - 1 Lek - nickel
KM 31 - 1939R - 1 Lek - stainless steel
KM37 - 1957 - 2 Leke - zinc
KM 38 - 1957 - 5 Leke - zinc
KM 47 - 1969 - 50 Qindarka - aluminum

I like using a Word type format. It's easier for me to enter new coins than with a Lotus 123 type report.

tbirde56

Coin shops, online and off, usually have small 2"x2" envelopes available. These will do for short term organizational storage while you decide which ones to put in the better cardboard 2"x2"s. The envelopes, and 2x2s, can be labeled with Country, Denomination, Date, etc.
To store either of the above cheaply and efficiently, collect your old used aluminum foil boxes (2"x12" and 2" deep). They are great for compact storage, easy to sort through, organize and add new additions. Each can hold a couple hundred envelopes or 2x2s. A cabinet or set of small drawers to hold the boxes completes the assemblage.

laurentyvan

When I started collecting world coins I wanted something fancy, something like a really nice stamp album with leather cover which would look nice on a shelf.

After much experimentation, a really good binder with coins in 2 x 2's in 20 coin plastic pages enabled me not only to flip through them like a book but lent itself to proper organization and display and very inexpensive.

Coinguy19

Thanks for the fast replies; the binders and 2x2's sound like a good idea.

olmanjon

I have my foreign collection in the 2 x 2's also and then in binders. However I have found that the vynal pages tend to sag if you have the binders on end. Would be better if you can store them flat.

tbirde56

Also, with the binders, if you make numerous additions you are continuously having to shuffle them to put them in order.

dcamp78

About how many coins do you have in your collection? 100 or 1000?

Coinguy19

I'm not really sure, probably a couple hundred not a thousand though.

dcamp78

I would suggest keeping your coins in mylar 2x2 flips placed in 9 inch or larger storage boxes.
I believe the 9 inch box holds about 100 coins.

You may want to purchase some coin collecting software for organization purposes.
They go from cheap to quite expensive. I use CoinManage. It's okay, but is lacking
in some respects. (my opinion)

I hope this helps...

crito

Airtites in Whitman boxes. 40 crowns per box.

pendragon1998

That's a snazzy solution to storage! I'm a big fan of AirTites, although I'm a little paranoid about the kind with inserts - I prefer the direct fit kind.

crito

The rings are completely inert, unlike paper, which is what I'm trying to eliminate. I've got coins in intercept shield albums and boxes that are toning, rather unattractively too.

Stork

I like the Crito solution! Right now mine are in pvc-free flips in the red intercept boxes. I've also got a Dansco for my Japanese coins, which I stuck in one of the archival sleeves. It came with some coins already in place and none were poorly toned, so I'm hopeful (the album is probably 20 yrs old or so). I tried the binders and got tired of the reshuffling and I tore the pages alot. It was nice for looking, but otherwise I found it frustrating.


Cathy

1jester

Whatever you do, please avoid PVC like the plague; mylar is good.

Coinguy19

Don't worry, I already know to stay away from PVC.