How do you store your Conder Tokens?

[Catbert]

I have recently acquired an uncirculated, rare Norfolk Blofield #11 token. What do collectors do to protect their tokens? I do not plan on slabbing. The token came in a cloth sleeve and I am worried about the sleeve scratching the token as I remove it and place it back in.

 

I was thinking about an air-tite, but do they make them for these kind of coins?

[physics-fan3.14]

I would imagine you would protect it like any other coin.

[Catbert]

It is now in a plastic flip. I guess I'm really asking do they make air-tites sized for these tokens?

[Yarm]

Although I keep all my Conders in airtites (because I'm clumsy and I like the acrylic boxes for organization),

I think your concern regarding the paper envelopes and cotton (sulphur free) pouches is unwarranted.

In my experience that's how most have been stored over the years (ideally cool and dry as well).

Most Conders would be covered with hairline scratches if the cotton pouches scratched the surfaces each time

a token was removed and replaced. JMO.

 

By the way, retain the envelopes and inserts in any case. Some collectors really like the historical auction/pedigree aspect

so they're things to have when it come time to sell.

 

[farthing]

I will echo some of yarm's statements. Keep the old envelops, tags, etc. Some of us are interested in the lineage of our coins.

 

I would also not worry about the cotton pouches, some of my most expensive tokens have arrived in these inside paper envelopes.

 

I keep my best tokens in Airtites, while the majority of my tokens are in Saflips.

[Best2u]

I've got all mine in NGC holders. I found that when I had them in, over the counter, Airtites and Saflips I was always tempted to take them out for a better look. Like one of the responders said I too have the dropies. The below token was droped by me, and thankfully, onto a mouse pad and no ill effects were noted. It was after that all my Conders were sent to NGC.

[Catbert]

Thanks for all of the replies. My Norfolk #11 fit into a 30mm airtite. Are these tokens generally the same size or have you found a certain mm range is required? If so, please share.

 

Sorry, I just have to post this pic again......thrilled:

 

[Conder101]

The diameters of Conders do vary. Typically they will be in the 28 to 30 mm range. Of course farthings, pennys will be different. Some contemporary counterfeits will also be off sized.

[Best2u]

Don't you just love the Lion head shoulder pad.

[heinlein99]

Okay, I'll bite: What are these things? Local-issued money?

[farthing]

heinlein - sort of. They started because of an acute shortage of small value coins in the late 1700's in Great Britain. The first ones were minted in 1787 by the Parys Copper Mines in Wales to pay their workers. The idea spread to other businesses as a means of providing small change for employees and customers.

 

They became a collecting rage in the 1790's and many designs were made in small numbers for collectors to trade amounst themselves.

 

There are also a number of contemporary counterfeit varieties of some widely used designs, tokens with no expressed value/redemption for general circulation, as well as mules and rare edge varieties made for collectors.

[Catbert]

Just an update to this old thread.

 

I am unhappy with the air-tites since they scratch so easily. What do you guys think of Kointainers for Conder tokens? I see they are sold in U.S. large cent versions at 28.2mm and 29.2mm. I have also heard that Kointainers are very difficult to reopen once a coin is sealed.

 

Any feedback for me, especially about scratch resistance?

 

P.S. I no longer own the Blofield #11 that was mentioned earlier in this thread. Over time, I became dissatisfied with the small spots and wipes on the reverse. The seller accepted a return minus a small amount which was acceptable to me after a few months of ownership.

[conderluva]

I prefer intercept shield 2x2s. I think they present the tokens nicely. They seal pretty tightly but are still easy to open (which I tend to do often). They are offered in many of the same sizes as are Kointainers (unfortunately the American sizes don't always work for Conders.)

 

I have some smaller farthings in 19mm, larger farthings in 21.2mm. Halfpennies in 27mm and 29mm. Very small penny tokens in 30.6mm and a large penny token/medal in what I think is a 38.1mm if memory serves.

 

The plastic used is decent. My tokens get taken out and put away frequently and I haven't had any problems with scratching.

 

Two drawbacks with the intercept shield holder. First, the foam insert is firm and will not give as much as the foam rings that come with Airtites...so there's less room for error. Second, most dealers in my area sell these in packs of three so I usually make sure to measure twice and make a list of the sizes and quantities before I head to the store. If you're like me, returning is not an option. Three empty holders is all the justification I need to buy more tokens until I find ones that fit in the holders.

 

Nevertheless, I still prefer them over all others...but that's just one collectors opinion.

[farthing]

I really need to take some pictures of my storage method. The best ones are in Airtites. The vast majority of my collection are kept in Saflips which are stored in Cowens 20 slot holders in a 3-ring binder. Behind each 20-coin page is a plain page holding a sheet of paper with 20 boxes positioned so that they lay behind each token. In each of these boxes is the attribution for the token, pedigree (if any), grade, etc. Behind this is another 20-slot holder with any of the paper flips, auction cards, old collection cards, etc. that came with the token.

 

I picked up this idea ATS when I posted a question on how to best store coins so that you could easily store many coins yet quickly access any single coin for further inspection. Previously I kept all of mine in Airtites but that was becoming unwieldy as my collection grew and made looking for a specific token time consuming.

 

So far it works for me.

[farthing]

Here's some quick shots of how I store my tokens.

 

The first page is the tokens stored in Saflips in a 3-ring binder page from Cowens

 

The next page is a sheet in a 3-ring binder clear plastic insert with the token descriptions (yes the paper is brown).

The last page is again a 3-ring binder page. You can see the next page of tokens behind.

[Catbert]

conderluva - I appreciate you posting what works for you.

 

farthing - very nicely displayed. Thank you for sharing your approach. I would love to meet you someday and see your collection!

 

For me, I think I'll stay with air-tites, but put them into holders as yarm has shown. The scratch issue was when I had 4 of them in my pocket when I was travelling long distance and after about 11 hours when I pulled them out, they were all very scratched. So, I just need to be more careful.