Holders and collection display... I think I've found my solution.

coinpictures

I've been fighting with how to holder and display the raw coins in my collection... 2x2s... flips... airtites... paper envelopes... you name it.

I've moved away from 2x2s entirely. Get those staples away from my coins! And long-term I don't trust the chemicals in the adhesives in the self-stick 2x2s. For cheap coins and stuff for resale, I'm using non-PVC flips. They work great... stick 'em in a double-row box and all is well. But for coins that I plan to keep in my collection and want to photograph and display, they don't work well. With an insert in the back, you can only see one side of the coin easily.

I was using a binder and 2x2 pages with the flips in them which is all fine and dandy, except for two aspects: (1) reordering and moving coins around (the perpetual shuffle), and (2) this does NOT work for coins that are heavy, like morgan dollars or Canadian dollars, because the pages get darned heavy, the pages tear, and the flips slide out of the slots in the page.

At the end of the day, neither 2x2s nor flips protect the coins in any way, but I don't like Airtites or Kointains, as there's no place to put information.

AUGH!

So, I decide to consider Coin World holders. I like the bigger size of the "Premier" holder (and it's the same size as PCGS slabs, so storage integration is easier), but hate the green insert. The non-Premier holders have a black insert, but I don't like the size (these are the same size as old ANACS holders).

At $4.99 for a package of 3 holders through AmosAdvantage with their subscriber discount ($5.99 if you're not a subscriber to an Amos publication), they're not exactly cheap, and neither are the shipping charges. Plus I still don't like the green insert.

So I start looking around on Ebay, and I find a seller selling the Coin World Premier holders... but you have your choice of green, black, or white inserts... hello!

www.valleycoin.com

I *really* like the way they sell these holders. Mix and match sizes and insert colors. No minimum. If you want 1 large cent holder with white insert and 3 nickel holders with 2 black and 1 green inserts, you can order exactly that. They're also cheaper than Amos Advantage's discounted price: $1.29 per holder. Shipping was quite reasonable. For a $230 order, insured FedEx delivery was $9.90. Order was filled the day after I ordered and got to me in about 3 days.

They are sized to U.S. coins, although they do have a size specifically for Canadian dollars (this is the biggest reason I'm going this route... for all the Canadian dollar toners I have). Using the hole sizing chart given at the bottom of this Amos Advantage page, you can hopefully find the right size for your Darkside coins... and since you can buy onesies, there's no downside. Holder seems firm and robust; definitely will protect the coins.

Darkside-specific sizes they list:

Canada 50c (1870-1967) 29.7mm
Canada Silver Dollar (1935-1967) 36mm
Canada Dime 18.08mm
Canada 1/4oz Gold Maple 20mm
Canada 1/2oz Gold Maple 24.9mm
Canada 1oz Gold Maple 30.1mm
Great Britain Crown 38.6mm

Hey, if nothing else, you can buy the white inserts and start your own home slabbing company like the numbnuts on Ebay.... just drimmel off the Coin World logo.

I took a few quick shots of the same coin in each of the 3 insert colors (wanted to highlight the insert rather than the coin, so I didn't make an effort on the angle or lighting ). Personally I like the white the best. The inserts are the same on both sides, so you don't have to worry about facing. You can place a card in the indented insert area at the top or just throw a label on the outside of the holder.

GREEN:




BLACK:




WHITE:

dcamp78

Nice. Thanks for the heads up!

Stork

Any worries about how inert the inserts are? Looks like a cool idea.


Cathy

goldboy

Those do look nice. Thanks for the quick report info. Gonna be checking on those myself

coinpictures

According to the Amos Advantage page:

The insert is made of inert polythelene that is PVC-free and is similar to the insert ANACS uses in its certified coin holders.

Material Safety Data Sheet for Snap-Tite Holder

Material Safety Data Sheet for Insert

Material Safety Data Sheet for Premier Case Top

Material Safety Data Sheet for Premier Case Bottom

Keleum

A followup question for you. Now that you have 100+ of these holders, how the heck do you store them all, without renting a warehouse or burying them 3 deep in boxes. My problem with slabs, is sure in a 2X2 i can only see one side. But if I have a number of slabs I have to put them in a box and then I see no sides...

coinpictures

Well, I already had 100+ slabs and managed to live with those.

I store these in PCGS boxes (or in the boxes that are made for these holders -- same thing really). It's more of an "easy access" thing than literally a display thing.

With these I can pass them around to people and let them fondle, without fear of the coin getting munged. Same thing with re-imaging a coin as I try different lighting/shooting techniques. I don't have to take coins out of holders and put them back in. Also, with these, I can throw a coin into my pocket without worrying about damage.

I don't mind flipping through slab boxes... I'd rather do that than risk damaging the coins.

They do make slab albums, but I've found them cumbersome; it's easier to flip through a slab box.

Unfortunately, I don't think there is an absolutely perfect solution for everyone. This one takes care of most of my concerns and is (relatively) cost effective...

laurentyvan

I was a long-time stamp collector when I was a youth and I've gotta say, stamps display better than coins; you can't beat stamp albums for that.

As a collector of raw coins 2 x 2's were perfect for me (not entirely satisfactory), adequate but definitely not pretty).

What collectors of slabbed coins did was not relevant to me but your solutions sound good.

1960NYGiants

Nice solution you got there. I, too, like the white for toned coins. How do white coins look in the black and green? How about gold coins?

For display purposes, those holders should fit into Eagle slab albums.

FilthyBroke

I just ordered some of these holders. I was considering a submission, but weighing the cost versus value of the coins, this way just makes more sense right now.

I also had to buy a caliper to measure all of the coins, but I probably should have one anyway. So I should have about 35 holders for an $80 investment (overall). Hope they turn out to be decent holders.

BBQnBLUES

I've been "contemplating" having a nice flat dark wooden chest made to display my slabbed Gold Milled Reales & Escudos on a single layer... Velvet lined..
Maybe even having a generic shipwreck carved into the lid.. hmmm

Anyone know of a cabinetmaker/artist ?

Muygrandeoso

I have used for my British penny collection and I really like them. The inserts are supposed to be inert and I have had coins stored in them for almost two years with no problems yet, but I do keep an eye on them for any issues...just in case.

Chris

harasha

Anyone know of a cabinetmaker/artist ?

I had a cabinet made for me some time ago. I do not remember the name, but I note that in my "Favorites" on my browser, I list a
"home-museum.com"

Also, a quick scan on google revealed another familiar cabinet maker, "richardscabinets.com"

SYRACUSIAN

For those considering buying a coin cabinet, I'd suggest to avoid buying a new one whose fresh wood might damage the coins and instead buy an old cabinet from an auction. I've seen to my great despair irreparable damage in coins stored in new made to order cabinets. The choice of wood,as well as openings in the slots for breathing are also very important.

BillyKingsley

I found really great holders for my US coins, they have five or six holes so I can display the entire range of a year's coins togther.

Unfortunatly that does not really work well with my world coins as there are very few countries that have coins the exact same size as the US...Canada is all I am aware of, and they are going into the same holders. (I've never seen any Canadian coins larger then the half dollar, however).

Hussulo

They look good. I use similar slabs for my raw gold but I do like how you get the different colours with the ones you suggest.

For my other raw coins I use a mahogany cabinet by Peter Nichols:
http://www.coincabinets.com/

I keep my PCGS fractional farthings in a PCGS Prestige box:
http://www.pcgs.com/storageboxes.chtml