What's a Good Coin Album?

[astrostu]

First, I hope I placed this in the correct forum; if not, could a moderator please move it to where it goes?

 

That being said, I've been collecting since I was in 6th grade, around 1995. Since I was young and cheap and didn't know how long this hobby would last, I used Whitman coin folders to keep track of my best examples of circulating coinage.

 

It being more than 10 years later, I'd like to upgrade and I'm looking into coin albums to display more coins per book, see the reverse, and generally to make the presentation a bit nicer.

 

I've heard that Dansco is generally the best for this, but before I go spending oodles of money that'd be better saved for more important things like food and rent, I'd like to get peoples' opinions of what's a good coin album.

 

Thanks!

[MunkyMan95]

Dansco makes a nice album... Whitman is alright, though.

[Brotherman]

I use Dansco and Intercept Shield Albums, but I'm a newbie too.

 

Hays

[michael]

here is the best of the best

 

anything else is field fodder

 

http://air-tites.com/ATringtype1.htm

 

http://air-tites.com/ATQuarterAlbum.htm

 

 

http://air-tites.com/ATinfo.htm

[Regis44]

I've got a few air-tites and I like them. But, do you use them only for long storage where you won't look at them for years? Or, is there some way to diaplay them or store them so you can easily show or look at them?

 

Another newbie (but an ol' one)

 

Regis

[EZ_E]

Eagle Albums have plastic 2X2's with mylar windows that will hold 20 coins per page of coins of any size. The other type of album has spaces for 20 silver dollar sized coins per page in airtite holders.

 

But, I still prefer the Dansco album over even the Intercept Shield albums.

[astrostu]

Thanks for peoples' replies. It seems like Dansco is the general concensus (with five people replying), with one big dissent: Air-Tite. While I have some air-tite containers (and I'll be buying a few more for some of my nicer circulating stuff, like a DMPL (or perhaps BU?) 2000 P Sacagawea dollar or for my three large cents, my understanding of the air-tite albums is that you have to buy the album plus the capsule for each of your coins. This gets expensive, and at this point, I'd rather the coin be worth more than the album.

 

Please let me know if I'm incorrect here, and with 59 views and 5 replies, I think some other people should chime in!

[cpm9ball]

I used Air-Tites in the past. Not only does it become prohibitively expensive, but the black accent rings were causing coins to turn black around and along the rim. Needless to say, I have removed all coins from them. Even the Dansco albums can be a little pricey, but for my special sets, I'll stay with them. For everything else, I'll just use 2x2 flips and cardboard holders and the plastic pages that hold 20 coins per page. I've read alot of good feedback on the Intercept Shield holders, but I have yet to try them.

 

Chris

[ronday]

Ringless Airtites are great!

 

A little pricey but you can carry coins with you in your pocket you can hold them in your hands and look at them.

 

It is the next best thing to having a raw coin. All my favorites that are not in slabs are in airtites!

 

You can pick them up by the case (250) for $70. Do the math - it is not that bad.

[Hoot]

Have a look at this old thread for some notes on the Intercept Shield albums:

 

Notes on IS albums

 

Hoot

[cpm9ball]

Have a look at this old thread for some notes on the Intercept Shield albums:

 

Notes on IS albums

 

Hoot

 

Hoot, what did you do?.........run out of money before you got to the Intercept Shields for dollars?

 

Chris

[Hoot]

Nope. But was I promising to write more? Oh well, I think I complained about the stuff that struck me the worst.

 

With the way that the Mint is making new types and subtypes of coinage willy-nilly, albums may never be able to forecast accurately their space needs. If I were buying right now, I'd go with Dansco every time. At least you can replace single pages and get blank pages for all the new stuff.

 

Hoot

[cpm9ball]

Nope. But was I promising to write more? Oh well, I think I complained about the stuff that struck me the worst.

 

With the way that the Mint is making new types and subtypes of coinage willy-nilly, albums may never be able to forecast accurately their space needs. If I were buying right now, I'd go with Dansco every time. At least you can replace single pages and get blank pages for all the new stuff.

 

Hoot

 

Just gimme some blank pages!

Yes, that's what I said. Just gimme some blank pages!

No, I don't care if you filler up! They're the same price, aren't they?

Just gimme some blank pages!

 

 

*hic*Chris*hic*

[EZ_E]

You can pick them up by the case (250) for $70. Do the math - it is not that bad.

 

That's a good price. I've always had to pay a buck apiece for them.

[TomB]

I believe the modern Whitman Classic and Dansco albums are equivalent in terms of safety of storage and the difference is mainly in how one perceives the attractiveness of the album. It seems that more folks who post on the boards like the Dansco, but I think the dark blue Whitman Classic is more attractive. Neither of these holders will readily tone most of your coins, if stored in a dry environment, but older holders might do so.

 

Intercept Shield albums are also attractive and should be able to stop most toning over long periods of time. These may be viewed as somewhat more "archival" than the Whitman Classic or Dansco albums.

 

The Library of Coins brand of books is no longer made but you can buy these never used from many dealers. These are also quite attractive but are more likely to tone your coins over time as the sulfur content is higher.

 

Regardless of the album type, always be careful when moving the plastic slides as these can easily impart horrific hairlines on coins. It has not happened to me, but I have seen examples of this.

 

If you do not want to put your coins in albums I would avoid Air-Tites simply because I do not like them. However, I am an enormous fan of Kointains. They take a little getting used to, and your finger dexterity should be good if you want to be proficient in them, but they are by far the best method of long-term storage, in my opinion.

 

By the way, you are still way young!

[astrostu]

Thanks for all the input. It looks like there are some very strongly held opinions here, and I think the conclusion I should draw is that while most people who've responded like the Dansco, every album has its faults, be it price, layout, long-term preservation, aesthetics, etc.

 

While I do like Air-Tite, they are several times more expensive than pretty much any other album, despite what you can get wholesale. So, I think I'll be going with Dansco, or at least trying it out, to see how I like it. And I'll be careful with the plastic slides, per TomB's advice.

 

Thank you to all who took the time to reply.