I use guardhouse brand like this. I bought a pack of 500 at my local coin shop for $15 or $20 a while back and I'm still on the first pack. They seem to be exactly the same as many old collectors envelopes that have came with coins I've purchased with provenances going back to the 60s and 70s in some cases and none of these coins seem to exhibit damage from improper storage so I trust them.
I'm glad to hear you recommend them because I have been thinking of switching from 2x2 cardboard flips to envelopes. Cheaper, easier to store, and easier to handle coin and rephotograph. @red_spork how do you write the provenance and attribution without using a tag? Can you take a pic of one of your envelopes?
Here is what one of my envelopes looks like: All the pertinent info is there: denomination, catalog numbers, moneyer, mint, year minted, provenance, etc.
And the tags that come with the coins, do you put them behind the corresponding envelope in the envelope storage box? Just curious...I'm trying to plan my switch and I want to see what works for everyone
Tags go into old flips I've cut in half when I have tags or if the coin came in an envelope the old tags go into that envelope and the coin goes in my envelope. My collection has grown a bit since this picture was taken and will soon be large enough that I'll be storing them separately: tags and things in one box at home, coins in the safe deposit box. Right now it's just all in the SDB together. One other thing I neglected to mention is the collection number. The "JMR..." numbers you see on the back of the envelope are collection numbers. Each coin has a unique one and it's written on either one of the tags or a little piece of paper in the tag container as well. I also have all these old tags and things scanned into my computer and stored on Dropbox as well and I'm working on uploading all of them(along with old catalog scans and things) to my website both as a gallery of all sorts of historical dealers' tags and for future owners of my coins in case the tags end up getting separated for them.
I'm curious why you switched from the mylar flips to the envelopes. Can you tell us your thinking on this?
I second using Guardhouse envelopes. Cheap and very good quality. I switched to envelopes last year after using cardboard 2x2s for a long time. I did it for several reasons: 1. Envelopes are economical. 2. You can fit more coins per coin box using envelopes. 3. I can write more info on them. 4. Envelopes are very traditional. People were using them a 100 years ago to store their collections and the coins survived quite well. In a hobby that has a very traditional mindset, it's pretty neat to use a storage method folks a 100 years ago would recognise. And besides, there is a certain antiquarian charm about using them you can't get with flips or other holders.
I've been using 2 x 2 cardboard holders for years, probably because before I got into ancients I collected US coins. But I'm thinking about switching over to mylar flips to make it easier to take a coin out and hold it. (Handling an MS-65 US coin is, of course, a mortal sin; hence, cardboard holders.) The advantage of the mylar flip over an envelope is that you can see the coin in its holder, but I can see how, especially if you keep your coins in a safe deposit box, envelopes would offer several benefits over the flips. I'll have to ponder this a bit before I commit one way or the other.
If you don't mind viewing your coins through mylar plastic. I prefer seeing them in hand with no barriers.
I've been wondering about this issue myself. It is possible to get so much information on the envelope. I was thinking about putting the coin in the 2x2 to protect it against handling and then putting that in an envelope for the information. Has anyone done this?
I prefer paper envelopes. I liked open trays better but when the collection gets too large, the compactness of envelopes wins.
I like to be able to get my coins out and handle them in-hand and the flips simply broke and scuffed too easily for me. Envelopes seem a bit more durable and work just fine for me, plus as Doug pointed out they are more compact.
To go to the original question, here is one place to buy them, my favorite supply dealer: http://www.brooklyngallery.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?search=action&category=0134&searchstart=20
What Works for Me: 2x2 Saflips stored OPEN in my 2x4 slot album pages (6 slots to a page). Coins can easily be pulled and held in-hand from the open Saflip, and stored open so that I can view them (both sides) as well as the attributes for both sides as I turn the album page. Saflips do not break at the seam as they are always in the album in the open 2x4 position. I have seriously considered Archival Paper Envelopes, but could not "see" them. When I happened on my above approach through trial and error, I love it! I do NOT like the closed/stapled paper/Mylar flip method. You cannot hold the coin, the coin is entombed so you cannot take follow-up photos (sounds like a SLAB?), attribute space is sparse, reminds me too much of the "you-can't-touch-that" modern coin collecting BS, etc. etc. My 2 cents...
I much prefer flips. You can't see a coin in an envelope until you slide it out. The back side of a flip has room for the info you could put on a paper envelope. If you are looking for a particular coin it is a lot easier when the coin itself is visible. The two-sided flips are hardly thicker than paper, so saving space is not an issue. That said, I have a friend who puts coins in archival cotton pouches that then are slipped into paper envelopes. But, he had a case when a coin got misplaced and he could not find it for a year until he stumbled across it. That's what opaque storage can do.
The word "flip" does not apply to stapled mylar 2x2s. "Flip" refers to two sided plastic envelopes with room for the coin in one side and a paper description in the other. Most auction coins now come in "soft" flips (so the coin won't get scratched by a viewer sliding it out) with the recommendation they not be used for long-term storage. If you use "hard" (non-PVC) flips, you must be careful when sliding coins out because the edge can be quite sharp--sharp enough to scratch soft silver or gold. Non-PVC flips often break at the hinge after several foldings, but, compared to coins they are cheap and worth it.
I always remove all my in-bound coins and put them into Saflips. I do not use the soft or pvc type flips. Thanks for the further info! (Lol, you caught me munching on an O&H Kringle too!)
I thought about switching to envelopes, but a part of me likes the colored ones and I'm not sure if those are archival. I also played with the idea of trays but again it's a space and cost issue. Probably going to stick with the Saflips, page, and binder setup.
We have breaking news. Unnamed secret sources within the FBI confirm that due to compromising pictures and video in a Moscow hotel room, the Russians have blackmailed Sallent into switching to paper envelopes, and abandoning the 2x2 cardboard flip method. Sources indicate that Sallent was seen buying 500 paper envelopes and several storage boxes. A spokesman for Sallent was heard to say out loud, "I told that fool there were cameras in the hotel room. It's his fault for letting himself be filmed holding modern coins, and saying out loud how cool modern coins are. If he gets banned from the ancient coins collectors' club, he has no one to blame but himself." Sallent released the following statement: "I swear I never touched a modern coin. The tapes are false." We still do not know whether this insidious operation was done on direct orders from Vladimir Putin.
