Storing Coins
a basic guide
As any numismatist will know, storage and display is an essential part of taking care of a coin collection. The myriad of options, however, can be daunting. Here, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of some of the most popular methods. For simplicity, ‘slabbing’ has been ignored (as a topic in its own right).
Albums
Coin albums present an affordable way to store many coins in as small an area as possible, and allow the collector to easily see both sides of their pieces. This being said, it can be difficult to remove coins and organise a collection without having to move everything around. If coins are directly in contact with the pages, there is also the potential danger of the plasticiser (softening agent) damaging coins over time, so you have to be careful when selecting an album to use: the cheapest may end up harming your coins rather than protecting them!
Flips
Just like albums, flips allow efficient display of a collection. They can, however, be re-arranged much more easily. Non-PVC flips (without harmful plasticiser), such as SAFLIPs, will be rigid and break/scratch coins when they’re taken out to hold, so they’re less suitable if you want to physically handle your collection on a regular basis. Cardboard flips have issues of their own; staple scratches are rare but always a possibility.
Envelopes
Made from paper, envelopes have none of the issues associated with plastic in flips and albums. They can also be written on easily and have space inside, enabling information and old provenance (e.g. tickets from previous collections) to be kept with the coin. They’re also very inexpensive, so work for large collections. The only major issue if having to take coins out to even see them, but if you have lots this might not be a massive concern.
Trays
Good trays, such as those produced by Abafil in Italy, are not cheap. For the cost and slightly more space they take up, however, they offer a near-perfect solution to displaying a collection. Coins are complemented by their setting - often a beautiful red or dark green - and can be seen all together, easily organised. Unlike all previous options, they can also be handled without any difficulty (part of the joy of collecting, in my opinion).
Cabinets
The most expensive on the list, the (wooden) coin cabinet has to be the most striking way to store a collection. They take up lots of space, but can be beautiful objects, elevating the coins inside. Unlike trays, recesses are generally circles instead of squares, and felt can be lifted to store notes next to the coins they reference, hidden away. If you want one of these, but can’t afford a conventional cabinet (like me), I propose two options:
buying a small one - I store my personal collection of favourite ancient coins in a cabinet with just six trays. It can still fit ~150 coins, which is more than enough for me, and is much easier to transport.
fixing an old one - Recently, I was kindly offered the 40-tray cabinet above (from Coincraft in London) for free! Very few trays had any felt, some were warped, and the structure of the cabinet itself had to be repaired, but it had a lot of charm nonetheless (made, I believe, in 1914, with clear references to previous owners).
All methods of storing a coin collection, therefore, have unique benefits and drawbacks, and the one that works for a specific collector might not suit another with different circumstances and needs. With these in mind, therefore, you should hopefully be able to make an informed decision of what to choose for your personal collection.