Take this quick poll... are you guilty of this numismatic sin?
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,873 ✭✭✭✭✭
My crusade against a pet peeve, as posted on the Liteside.
Definitely applies to the Darkside, too. Word to the wise.
I think most folks who are guilty of this sin don't even realize they are sinning.
Hence my "public service announcement".
Definitely applies to the Darkside, too. Word to the wise.
I think most folks who are guilty of this sin don't even realize they are sinning.
Hence my "public service announcement".
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Comments
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
myEbay
DPOTD 3
Sure you hit a coin once in a while but that just adds to the character of the coin.
Zar's Ebay
<< <i>I still don't get it. Isn't the horizontal base of the stapler doing the flattening job already? >>
Yes, if you use a special flat-clinch stapler like I do (and I am pretty sure Aethelred does, as well).
If you are using a standard stapler, no, it is not flattening the staples. It is bending them flat enough to hold things together, but not so flat as to prevent them from snagging.
Take a look at the third picture down in coffeyce's recent thread.
His enormous pictures actually help make the point- look at that staple. The ends of it aren't even touching the cardboard. It wouldn't take much for them to catch on something and bend outward, and then you have a lethal weapon, just waiting to scrape across the face of a lovely old coin that has survived for centuries.
(And this is not to single him out- the stapler involved there was not wielded by his hand, but by the antique dealer he bought the coins from. Hopefully he will get some pliers and crimp that down before it wreaks havoc.)
PS- say, nice to see you back, Dimitri. I asked the Shroom what had become of you and he said you were on some island with your girlfriend. I said it sounded awful, being on stuck on some lovely Greek island with a lady friend, and I really hated to hear you were having such a rough time.
I quickly snagged some old worn pliers from my dads toolbox that worked, and i still use that pair
Like I said, a lot of folks don't even think about it.
I just happen to have seen some of the ugly results from uncrimped staples.
When they're crimped, they'll fit in boxes and pocket pages a lot nicer, too.
(And this is not to single him out- the stapler involved there was not wielded by his hand, but by the antique dealer he bought the coins from. Hopefully he will get some pliers and crimp that down before it wreaks havoc.)
Hopefully he'll learn to resize his images too.
This computer is dying,and the ADSL connection is not helping at all, it's worse than if I were on dial up.
PS: My rough times are over now.
myEbay
DPOTD 3
<< <i>Although I really don't see why you're even using these 2x2s, I loved your latest PVC free flips with your avatar printed >>
Those were nice for the better coins (my over-$1.00 pieces), but I have always used cardboard 2x2s for the 3/$1 bin material. You can't use flips in a loose pick bin like that because they'll break in two, with folks pawing through the bins.
Actually, I might be getting away from those printed flips, as nice as they were, for all but some of the ancient and medieval stuff. They're just too time-consuming. I wish I could continue using them, though. Maybe I will. We'll see. They looked a lot better than handwritten 2x2s.
DPOTD
Staples are bad news, when improperly crimped. When I use flips, I never staple them. I heat-seal them, if I seal them at all.
I keep putting off getting a flat clinch stapler in favor of buying another token. The stapler/token tug of war for my available hobby money has been going on for a long time and so far tokens have won every time.
Collecting:
Conder tokens
19th & 20th Century coins from Great Britain and the Realm
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
Adolf Hitler
(1) I don't know why anyone bothers with using pliers. It's a waste of time, it adds a second step, and there's additional risk to the coins from the pliers potentially slipping. Just quit being cheap and buy the dadgum flat cinch stapler. It's less than $20 and it uses the same staples you already have! I've gotten some scratched coins before because people don't use the flat cinch.
(2) There is absolutely no reason for trying to unbend staples from 2x2s to extract coins. Destroy the 2x2 to get the coin: use an x-acto knife to carefully pop through both windows, and the coin will easily tear through without any risk at all from the staples or prying device. Don't even give a second thought to saving the old 2x2 to reuse again!
The bottom line is that being a cheapskate is a risk to your coins.
but when I did, I used the plyers to flatten the staples. I mostly did it because those staple bows leave a nasty inprint on the 20 pocket sheets - ruined them every time. I never had an issue with resulting coin damage.
Now I use the archival flips and airtites.