HOW do you place a coin into something that holds it?
Insider2
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Collectors use many different ways to store and display their coins. Some use flips, 2X2's, Cointains, capsules, Whitman folders with a one-sided closed hole, albums with sliding covers, etc. Some use cotton gloves. There are many ways to insert the coins and it is not as simple as it sounds. I'm sure most of you have seen a coin in some form of holder with a fingerprint. I hope to read comments from "perfectionists" such as myself.
Think about it, the TPGS do an awesome job; nevertheless, they are not "plugging a Whitman or Dansco album.
Do any of you care to write a detailed account explaining the "secrets" you use to put coins in any type of holder? I'm sure collectors everywhere will thank you for your advice. 
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Interesting topic. I do have my own somewhat eccentric method of placing coins into albums, (I use the album's with the slides for both obverse and reverse viewing) but this should be good reading and learning as to how others get it done.
I have OCD and don't think the server could handle my response.
HOW DO YOU DO IT!
DITTO! Your response is are EXACTLY what we need to read.
I doubt my responses on this forum fall anywhere near what people should do.
Lol, why would someone flag my post? Gee thanks. I'm sorry trying to make light of my disease to ease the pain of having it offended your sensibilities.
One thing I am very careful with is when placing a proof coin in the Dansco, I will always do it from the back, so that if there is any chance at all of scraping the coin with the slide after insertion that it is not across the obverse. I will also push the coin very far into the cutout to also minimize any possibility of the scraping with the slide. I do not use cotton gloves, but a soft handkerchief covering the coin.
I remember when I first put coins into some of my folders that were open face, with no slides, how sore my thumb was afterwards!
After some 50 years I finally figured out how to put a coin into a Blue Whitman album. Set it over the hole and then set another coin of the same denomination on top and smash with a hammer. Top coin drives the lower coin into the hole and no damage as the rims absorb it all....finally.
bob
If I take a coin out of a flip I usually pop it through the plastic with my fingers on the plastic. Then I usually will lay it on a piece of paper. If I want to examine the other side I'll flip it with the edge of another piece of paper, usually a post-it note. I take care not to slide it around. Then if I put it in a mylar flip or other device, I put such device right by the coin and shuffle it in using whatever it's laying on while trying to minimize sliding.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Insider2, right now I'm all tied-up working on the old '76 Silverado. In the mean time......come on guys! Let's share and learn!
P.S., Self admitted O-C-D, ECCENTRIC? I think Insider2 is on to something or knows something about us collectors. This could be fun!
I grasp the edge of the slab and slide it carefully into the blue box. Once there are 20, I put the lid on.
Is there a different way??
I also utilize coin albums with obverse and reverse sliding clear holders. I remove the obverse slider and utilize a eyeglass cleaning cloth to press the coin into its receiver. I tried cotton gloves but they are too cumbersome for me. Fat fingers I guess. I utilize the same cloth to handle raw coins to be placed in flips. JMO.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
When I was a kid, I filled my single and double sided Whitman albums with brute force. Lined up the coin as best I could, placed a soft cloth on top of the coin, aligned a small piece of wood on top, and gave it a shot with a hammer. Worked pretty good if you were careful. And remember, I was inserting coins pulled from parking meter change - not rarities.
Later, I found an easier way. Using tongs, I submerged the coin in liquid helium as it is inert and won't harm the surface. Cooled that puppy down until the helium stopped bubbling. This would shrink the coin enough to more easily insert them.
Fast forward to today and I suspect the TPG's warm their flexible plastic inserts to make them more pliable. (Or at least that is what I would try).
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
THANKS! That is a really EXCELLENT suggestion and I'll bet few (including me) had never thought of that. I hope the "hammer" addition was just humor.
2 1/2 pounder works best for sure.
bob
What do you do for NGC coins, they don't slide so nicely?
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
@Cameonut said: "Fast forward to today and I suspect the TPG's warm their flexible plastic inserts to make them more pliable. (Or at least that is what I would try)."
Nope. However, at PCI we had to do that several times as the inserts were not very pliable.
For NGC, use a grey box!
Honestly, handling and protecting coins is an important topic. There is no doubt that slabbing is enormously helpful in this regard. Still, something is lost when you cant feel the sharpness of the reeding and the heft of the metal. It's so rare now to see a really nice set of anything in an album.
I prefer the albums with sliders on both sides, but it's surprising easy to drag hairlines across the surfaces. I prefer to just grasp the rims, but I will very occasionally use cotton gloves when it's impossible to do that. It's much easier to drop a coin that way though.
For albums with slides, I first remove both slides and make sure that they are clean. Rubbing alcohol and tissue work decent to clean them. I generally won't put the coins in until I can do a whole row at once so I don't have to put the top slide in more than once. Simply press the coins in [I use gloves] until they are deep enough so that the top slide won't contact them an presto, yer done.
I lay a cardboard 2X2 over the coin and press. The lens keeps my finger off the coin.
I simply use a tissue over the coin to push it in.
When putting coins in an album - or, for that matter, any extensive handling - I use blue nitrile powder free gloves (I have several boxes - a lifetime supply).... They allow me to handle the coins freely, and give me tactile pleasure as well...especially satisfying when handling the large gold coins...no prints, no scratches and the only danger is fumble fingers...
Cheers, RickO
I have PCGS do that for me.
Here is a photo of me getting prepared to add coins to my album...
Cloth works better. Tissues can fail at the most inopportune times.
With coins too.
I'm one of the weirdos who doesn't use gloves, I wash my hands to get any oil off first. I use the two sided albums with sliders. I set the coin over the spot then carefully with my fingernail on the rim press it into the space. Never had an issue doing it this way.
Collector, occasional seller
FINGERNAIL PRINTS !!
First thing I do is to blow on it, then wipe it shiny. Then I vigorously thumb it into place.
You'd be surprised how easy it is.
Pete - Edited to add: This is me being funny. DO NOT use the method I posted!
i think it was a pcgs employee in the tech dept that didn't like you thinking their hardware couldn't handle your ocd-ish algorithmic response.
but i've been wrong before. hehe
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Pete, your post is funny, I et it; however some folks are not too smart and less experienced than you. I hope they figure out the joke. AU has come up with a great solution (coin on coin) to put coins into a Whitman folder. I'm going to spread his method as I tried it. I didn't use the hammer.
OK. Good idea. I followed your advice and posted a disclaimer.
Pete
Someplace -- the ANA, maybe -- there's a 500 page manual on how to insert a coin into a 2x2 flip. Maybe a whole week-long summer seminar on the subject. Combine that with casual reading of the 14-volume series "The digit 2 on American coinage and its role in the Manhattan Project success," and you'll be all set.
I'd like to get those books! Tell me where I can find them.
Pete
Well, I think the summer seminar class has had double digit attendance every year it was offered --- however. both digits were "0."
The 14-volumes set might still be classified "Really Secret Stuff." After all, "2" is a powerful digit, I guess.
By the edge. I hate fingerprints on the lens over the coin when imaging.
I wash my hands then usually use my fingernail on the edge carefully. For flips, I just hold the coin by the edges.
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I use an air chisel .
Actually, this discussion is not a joke. In fact I've learned on really neat trick fro Mr. AU.
The reason I started this discussion is because of all the mishandled coins and dirty holders I see at shows when collectors come up to the table. Foreign debris on the coins, cardboard fibers from 2X2's that have stained the coins, prints from dirty cotton gloves with cotton fibers still on the coin, etc.
I'll admit that most of you don't examine coins as closely as I do; nevertheless, if you are not careful you WILL harm your coins - even if it takes a year for the mishandling to show up.
A clean fingernail seems to be common and I've done that. I cannot recommend tissue, cloth, hammers, or gloves. I have used non-PVC plastic flips to cover a coin that I'm pushing into a hole.
If the OP could see how coins are handled in certain "TPG" situations, it might, indeed, be sadly funny.
PS: The 2-1/2 lb hammer trick works better, and more safely, with a small block of hardwood - cured raw oak is good. Use the straight grain, not end grain. Then there is no chance of damage if anything slips. If you want to blow off dust or surface debris from a coin or holder, use only moisture-free compressed air or the "canned" air available from camera stores. A pure sable professional artist's brush can help also -- but don't be cheap. The cheap ones are just stained cat fur.
Now about those 14 volumes --- the text has been sent to China for printing and should be ready by 8pm EDT.
Years ago at my old employer when they were getting ready for ISO certification, they actually had work instructions for how to make ice cubes using the ice cube tray in the refrigerator that was in one of the training classrooms. I chit you not.
Ice Cube? Isn't that the Rapper Guy?
No. I think his name was Ice Tea.
Pete
I press coins into albums using a fine cloth for cleaning glasses (grime free). The slides are curved slightly so i insert them facing away from the coin.
As I read this I was wondering if anyone else does what I do normally. So what Insider2 said works best for me:
I have used non-PVC plastic flips to cover a coin that I'm pushing into a hole.
My Washington Type B/C Set
The OP does see how they are handled. Every day of his life!
Hmmmm. So is this a subtly humorous thread?
My lips are sealed.
Actually, I treat everything, even the PMD, corroded "mint errors" the same way as the Proof $20 Liberties. Your coins are MINE for a while and I'll bet I'm just as anal with my coins as many of you.
This thread was started because of something in another thread a collector asked. Most collectors do not get their coins slabbed, They keep them in various holders. I've seen what some do and I cringe.
"They keep them in various holders. I've seen what some do and I cringe."
Like in soft vinyl holders next to the water heater....? or maybe at the "beach house" ?
Have you been doing some experimenting?
this technique also works for puzzle pieces that look like they should fit, but don't quite fit. hammer!
I stick them in my mouth for awhile until they get soft and can be molded to fit into the space. No hammer needed.