Question on Archival Quality Vinyl Flips vs Museum Quality Flips

I am out of flips and not sure which ones i want to order. I want them for long term storage for the future w/o the problems i had with cardboard flips that ruined over a dozen silver coins with black spots. I have the mylar and what i don't like is they don't stay folded, they open like a clam, and frequently split on that seam.

Seems both Coretek, which NO ONE has in 2x2 now, or SAFlip are the only choices for "Museum Quality at coinsupplyexpress.

Then you have the Archival Vinyl Flips and i though i ready vinyl (PVC) is not good to store coins due to the plasticizers. Of these i see Guardhouse, Supersafe, and Frame A Coin. Do they have less plasticizers that PVC?

Interested in hearing all comments and suggestions about which flips i should be using. Thank everyone in advance.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I have been using Guardhouse for at least a decade now. The package says "Unplasticized Vinyl (uPVC)" and "Free of oils and plasticizers". I have had coins in the same holders for years with no issues.

I used Saflips once upon a time but found they were too fragile (brittle).

 

Saflips, Guardhouse coretex, and others are made from stretched Mylar( BoPET) for strength and high visibility. They do vary in thickness which affects those 2 characteristics. Most Coin grading companies use similar makeup. Thickness can become a problem for flexibility and tearing after a period of time or high temperature situations. If you have to move a coin into and out of the flip, the low flexibility ones can cause marks, if roughly handled, on the coins, especially softer metals. If one is shipping coins sometimes a seller will put it into a PVC flip with a label "Do not store in this soft protective PVC flip, discard and replace with a FLIP of your choosing." IMO, Jim

 

https://www.translinesupply.com/store/pg/42-PVC-and-PET-Flips.aspx

 

Since PVC is so brittle, I can't quite see how they can make an unplasticized version. I would think polyethylene or one of those kinds of polymers would be good.

 

Thank you! Though what am i suppose to use to hold these coins? I don't want them banging on each other, and the capsules get expensive & bulky.

 

You're a witch!

 

Transgendered Witch.

 

Don't ask, don't tell

 

I doubt it was the 2x2 cardboard holders that caused your silver coins to spot. It was more likely the environment the coins were in. If the humidity is not controlled, then silver coins will corrode and I'm using the worst possible word here. But toning, tarnishing, corroding are all the same thing.

I don't favor mylar/PVC flips for all the reasons mentioned in previous threads. I do use 2x2 cardboard flips for raw coins. If the coins are circulated I just use a standard cardboard flip stapled with a flat-clinch stapler. If the coin is mint state or proof, I use the 2x2 cardboard flip that is self-sealing (brand Supersafe). Now, all my valuable coins in 2x2s are stored in 3-ring binders using the 2x2 pocketed pages. Each page is separated from adjacent pages and the front and back binder covers using a 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of heavy artist paper that is no-acid paper and thus no sulfur. This keeps the coins pretty safe from damage due to rubbing. If I was keeping them in a 2x2 storage box, I would use an unused and unstapled 2x2 to separate each coin.

For raw coins of value that are going into a collection of mostly slabbed coins, I use one of several brands of "make your own slab" that are available wherever coin supplies are sold.

Of course, you can use the "Air-Tite" - type capsules but I think you said you don't want the expense of those.

Finally, wherever you keep your coins, I recommend you control the humidity. I use dessicant packs that can be recharged by plugging them into the wall outlet. Keep your coins in something where the environment can be controlled and with the dessicant packs and you will have little to no problem for many years. The container could be a safe or even a metal ammunition box.

 

My problem with the cardboard was a few developed pin holes and that is where they turned black. There were in coin boxes with dozens of others buried away in a bigger box for almost 2 decades.

I do use desicant in everything also and got the ones from Interteck that you can put in the oven and i have them all in a metal filing cabinet with dessicant all around, though i think i'll get some of the bigger ones that you mention and put them in there. In Dallas its a little humid, though not as bad as Houston...

Thanks to all for their valuable feedback.

 

I think Doug @GDJMSP has addressed your black spot problem before and ascribes some, if not all, of it to cardboard dust getting on the coins before you sandwich them and staple.

 

But I have a lot of 5/$1 coins...

 

I get it, makes sense, now have to look at case level pricing! Its for all the non graded coin I have, which are quite a few in a hundred shapes & sizes...

 

I could not agree more! This 1909 VDB is high AU or MS but not worth slabbing. In an airtite it will never get a staple scratch or get cello rubbed from pulling out of an album repeatedly. Best 40 cents investment I can make.